"Just Tell Them Jojo Sent You"
So we landed in Hawaii. The meal on the flight made this domestic flight seem foreign and exotic. One certainly can't ask for much these days, you know?
What struck me first were the casual Hawaiians. A teenager girl (or boy, I simply could not tell) offered us a ride to Waikiki for $10. Sure we said, but where's the van? "It's just right outside, you'll see a white van... just leave the luggage with me and tell them JoJo sent you". Right, I was thinking, so you think I was born yesterday? Either the luggage or I will get kidnapped by your people I'm sure, but my luggage probably appears more valuable than me after five hours of flying. "Thank you Jojo, I think my luggage wants my company." Looking hurt, Jojo sent us with the luggage to the van, and a rowdy fat guy showed up and announced he was our driver. "Oh no, I guess they want to kidnap both the luggage and me...". But the guy proved to be very friendly and it was all good~
"Dr. K"
But the warm weather soon wears our guard down. Day 2, while we were waiting for a bus to Hanauma Bay, a stoic Japanese man by the name "Dr. K" jumped out of his van at the bus stop. "Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, $4. Bus, many many stops, me, no stops. Bus 1 hour, me, 25 minutes. Bus, very far, long walk, me, no walk!!" We were eager to start our day, so we jumped on the van without much hesitation! But of course, at the next bus stop, he jumped off from the van and repeated the same thing again. Seeing us, two American guys jumped on the van, paid their fares and were happily heading to Diamond Head. And at the next bus stop just down the block, Dr. K stopped again. My friend Ashley snapped "Hey, you said no stops!!" Being the stoic Japanese, of course he ignored our complaints and went on, "Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, $4." For some reason, people at this stop persisted better with this offer, so Dr. K repeated again "Diamond Head, $3(!!?), Hanauma Bay $4" "What?!!" The Americans started laughing at themselves as they see two Europeans getting their bargain ride.
As we approached Hanauma Bay, Dr. K wasted no time to sell the returning ride. "I'm here every hour at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30.... just wait me at this garbage bin" Excited about the day before us, we started hiking towards Hanauma Bay and sure enough, about a mile later, we saw the bus stop. A complete liar, by now you see, but we were simply too excited to pay attention to such trivial non-sense.
And this is what amazed myself the most. After a relaxing day in the water, we promptly packed all our belongings at 3:00 sharp and started hiking back, past the bus stop, under the sizzling sun, and right to the garbage bin waiting for Dr. K to show up. And we waited, and waited... And guess what, Dr. K never showed up! Finally we decided to F(orget about) Dr. K and walked back a mile to catch the bus. And just for the record, the bus didn't take an hour, and the A/C worked so much better than Dr. K's cheap white van!!
"F*ck, just don't go to Hanauma Bay again"
But our other casual encountering were much more pleasant. A Taiwanese mother saw us looking for a spot at the Hanauma Bay, she kindly offered to share her spot. And we started chatting with her & her friends, we took some photos of them, they took some photos of us, and they even offered us some watermelon. Without hesitation, we each took a piece. I was surprised of our intimacy, but it only felt right. Seeing our too-soon-too-close relationship, the Taiwanese father half seriously joked "each of you can take as many as two pieces of watermelon, go on" Not taking the obvious hint, each of us took the second piece and thanked him. It was not until later that we realized watermelon is very expensive in Hawaii. A watermelon cost $20 at the grocery store in Waikiki, 5 times more expensive than the one in California!! What's more ridiculous is that pineapple cost $8, and it is grown right next door!!
On another day, we stopped by this Japanese dessert place near our condo. They sell outrageously priced Oolong Tea, but we were interested in their macha shaved ice. The Japanese lady was excited to see us Taiwanese, as her husband is a Taiwanese whose family grows these Oolong Tea back in Taiwan. She looked totally disappointed that we didn't want to order any of her $15 a cup Oolong Tea though. Later her husband returned, happy to see some Taiwanese visiting their shop. He asked where we've been and we told him we've gone to Hanauma Bay in the past two days. "Gan! (Taiwanese "F*ck!") Not for two days!!" This time, it was me who was shocked by the quick intimacy. But he generously gave us all the good tips about nice restaurants and best spots to go. But whenever I asked him further details such as where it is located, he could not provide "It's right around the corner, next to that main street" Being the persistent me, I kept asking "which main street?" Struggling a little bit, he went "Gan, who knows what the street is called? it all sounds the same, it's just two blocks from here!!" But seriously, who can blame him? I can hardly pronounce Kapiolani or Kalakaua let alone remember which one is which. And nevertheless, he was resourceful and thanks to him we decided to extend our territory beyond Waikiki and head to North Shore. As we parted, he reminded us again, "Gan! just don't go to Hanauma Bay again!!"
---To be continued with our Hawaii Adventure---
2 comments:
The Dr. K event made our friend Ashley very upset, not as much as at Dr. K, but more so at the gullable nature of the four of us. She is quite right, the four of us combined has more than 120 yrs old, and we still fall for that. Gan.
Sorry these are so old, but I don't think I've read this. Somehow I think Taiwanese don't swear so often now in public (compared to a few years back).
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