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Your friend stayed all of 2 days, then decided to leave after only seeing what was in walking distance of her hotel? I have to say her bad experience was her own fault, not Hawaii's.
I agree a 2 day stay on the Islands is not enough time to give her complaint much creditability.
Even tourists stay longer than 2 days.
decided to leave after only seeing what was in walking distance of her hotel?
One time in NYC (Brooklyn) India Street Pier, I got off the vessel and walked around one block- what a city- I did not go back ashore again all the time we were tied up there.
One time in NYC (Brooklyn) India Street Pier, I got off the vessel and walked around one block- what a city- I did not go back ashore again all the time we were tied up there.
That is not the same because you are being specific about a particular area and street in Brooklyn that is understandable and is easier to relate to. The prior post makes it sound like all of the Honolulu area is trashy.
Before we get this thread off on race and/or neighborhood GPS, let's consider again how remote the Hawaiian Island are once you actually get here. When you wake up here on vacation, it feels (and looks) like paradise because you know you are really far away from everything. When you wake up and realize you're here to stay, it can be overwhelming. Somehow, everything that is really appealing for vacation can just take your breath away when you realize you're in the middle of the Pacific on a tiny volcanic protrusion. Then there's the tendency (for many whites) to feel overwhelmed by a predominantly Asian culture, new "ways," blah, blah, blah.
Those of us who have chosen it after years of consideration can still be surprised by its "different-ness." No place you move to is ever like the comfy, familiar place you've left, and nothing focuses your attention on that like thousands of miles of ocean. No roads to drive out on like you have on the mainland. No way back except the way you came.
This does seem like a rather extreme example of escapism-gone-wrong, but let's face it -- we see escapism all over these threads. This person had a job and a plan. It just didn't work out, didn't match up to her "vision." Call me crazy, but I'd say "mid-life crisis" before I'd jump on race or the hotel neighborhood. Especially now that we know where she stayed. [A couple of years ago, I stayed outside LA in Northridge at a friend's for a few nights, and there were helicopters with spotlights -- presumably law enforcement -- all night one night, but I didn't "freak out" and it didn't make me feel I needed to flee. It didn't make me want to move there, either. The next day, there was no evidence of whatever had gone wrong the night before. At the other extreme, I stayed on the Grand Canal in Venice and was awakened by the garbage scows three mornings a week. Stuff happens.]
I'm only sorry that this is potentially keeping other Portlanders from visiting the islands. Whether they want to stay or not, I think it's a state that's worthy of visiting. There's nothing like it anywhere else.
She told me on the way back from the airport that (and this is a girl that LOVED Hawaii since she was a teenager) I NEVER want to see that place again! I said "even Maui"? and she said YES, I AM DONE!
Loved Hawaii since a teenager?? What part of Hawaii had she visited before? Had she ever been off a resort property or outside of Waikiki? If so, then she must be aware that a busy street in Waikiki is not what Hawaii is all about!
I moved here sight unseen at the age of 25 to teach. From the airport to Ewa Beach. My apartment wasn't much and my street wasn't exactly the picture of paradise I had envisioned...but I was easily able to see the bigger picture!
Hope she learns a lesson from this mis-adventure...and looks inward to find the reasons for the failure of her plans. Can't blame Hawaii for this one.
(I'll add that after living in small-town Hilo for several years without visiting Oahu, being back in Honolulu last December was a bit of a shock, for about 10 minutes. But it's not particularly intimidating. A few areas I would probably avoid at night, but that did not stop us from wandering around near Chinatown after a late dinner and a couple of drinks. Both of us have been in bigger cities and felt much more trepidation in more dangerous areas.)
The hotel where she stayed was called Equus. Hopefully I am spelling that right.
In Waikiki, across from the Ilikai, near Hobron Lane.
Hotel near Ala Moana Harbor | Aqua Hotels & Resorts - Location | Hawaii Convention Center Hotel (http://www.aquaresorts.com/aqua-equus/location.htm - broken link)
I've been in that area at night proably fifty times. Never a problem.
Hank
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how livable is you city
