Apologies in advance to my friends on Oahu but I have to admit that when I visit your lovely island, I spend little time in Honolulu. While I have done some sightseeing in the city–including, of course, Pearl Harbor and the downtown galleries–like most people, I make a beeline to the beaches upon arrival. I can’t help it. Your beaches are beautiful!
I figured, however, that there must be something more to the city than beaches, and certainly more than the few highlighted facts we know from travel magazine headlines. Here are some fun facts about Honolulu that I was delighted to discover.
1. Honolulu is the only city in the entire U.S. that’s home to a real royal palace. Iolani Palace is located right in downtown Honolulu at 364 South King Street. Before the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893, Iolani Palace was home to King Kalakaua and Queen Lili’uokalani. After the coup d’etat, the palace was used as a government building until it was restored and opened to the public in 1978. Today, you can go visit. It’s quite opulent.
2. That’s right. There was a coup d’etat in Hawaii. In 1893, an anti-monarchy group (mostly headed up by U.S. citizens) overthrew the government with the underlying dream of being annexed by the United States. Once that happened, Honolulu gained two things that are still major players in present times–hotels and resorts, and a U.S. military presence.
3. Iolani Palace got electric lighting a whopping four years before the White House did.
4. You might think of all the Hawaiian islands as peaceful paradises where you can get away from all the hassles of modern, city life. But Honolulu has some of the worst traffic in the country. A Forbes listing of cities with the worst traffic puts Honolulu at number two, with 60 hours of time wasted in traffic per person per year. (More apologies to my Oahu friends for bringing up this fact.)
5. Honolulu has more than 33 Buddhist temples.
6. While English and Hawaiian are the official languages of Hawaii, you’ll often hear people speaking something entirely different from both, even on television or in advertising. This less official language of Hawaii is Hawaiian Pidgin, a Creole language that developed out of immigrants from China, Japan, the Philippines, Portugal and other countries all trying to communicate with each other in the 19th century. Pick up a copy of Da Jesus Book (the Bible in Hawaiian Pidgin) for a good laugh.
7. Waikiki Beach brings in more than 70,000 tourists every single day.
8. Honolulu translates in English to “sheltered bay.”
9. Duke Kahanamoku is widely credited with taking surfing from a little-known Hawaiian pastime to an internationally known sport. He grew up in and around Waikiki, learning to surf and swim at Waikiki Beach.
There are lots of options in terms of accommodations in and around the area. You might try the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa. While it’s not in Honolulu, I have to admit that the Hyatt is one of favorite hotels and worth the drive from Waikiki to the city to do some sightseeing.
Travel Well,
Beth
*****
Photo credits:
Kailua Beach, Honolulu: Floyd Manzano via Flickr
Iolani Palace: Cliff via Flickr
Waikiki Postcard: nosha via Flickr
Hawaiian Pidgin: Kai Hendry via Flickr
Statue of Duke Kahanamoku: Luke H. Gordon via Flickr
Da Jesus Book “a good laugh”?
I’ve been thinking about a trip to Maui, but after reading this article, maybe will spend a couple days on the Big Island first.
Anne – Honolulu is actually on Oahu, not the Big Island 🙂 Although it can be confusing since Honolulu is the capital, you would THINK it was the Big Island!
That was a wonderful article. There were many interesting things that I didn’t know about the state of Hawaii. Thank you so much!
Where can I find the pidgin Bible verse on the wall? Is this downtown? Beautiful. Thank you.