10/08/2003   English German
  Edition # 46  
San Francisco, 10-08-2003

Oahu

Michael To escape the stupid TV chatter of the Austrian village idiot, we retreated to Hawaii for two weeks in September. On the flight there, we noticed that due to new FAA security regulations, the curtain between first and second class had to be removed - we laughed so much! So, those who pay three times the airfare or tie themselves to an airline with frequent flyer miles to snag an "upgrade" no longer even have the right to protection from the common folk in economy class, who then cheekily and unauthorizedly run to the first-class toilet - outrageous! Rumor has it that even Bill Gates doesn't fly first class because he doesn't see the point in shelling out exorbitant sums for the minor comfort difference. Probably one of the few areas where Bill Gates and I agree.

But back to Hawaii: This time we decided to explore urban Hawaii. After all, we're not getting any younger and need to scout out potential retirement homes. As seasoned travelers, we no longer stay in hotels in Hawaii; instead, we always rent small houses from private individuals.

Figure [2]: Rice fields and Sears.

We also explored the less attractive sides of Hawaii: The main island of Oahu, with the capital Honolulu, already shows some significant architectural sins. Honolulu always reminds me of San Jose, a typical American city, built up in the 50s and 60s without any historical context. As a result, an entire city can quickly end up looking like Landsbergerstraße in Munich.

However, if you head out to the east or up to the north coast, the concrete jungle disappears, and you're back in surfer's paradise. You hang out on beaches where mainly locals and surfers from all over the world who have retired from working life hang out. It's quite fascinating: on one hand, having a hut on the beach, and on the other, having a huge supermarket like "Costco" within reach, where you can buy a pack of 20 shrimp for 8 dollars, which you can quickly throw on the gas grill, naturally set up in front of the hut, and devour in no time. Oh yeah.

Figure [5]: Surf Board Rack
RSS Feed
Mailing Liste
Impressum
Mike Schilli Monologues

Get announcements for new editions

New editions of this publication appear in somewhat random intervals. To receive a brief note when they're available in your mailbox (about once every two months on average), you can register your email on the 'usarundbrief' Google Groups list.

Your email address
All Editions:

 

Send us a comment
We'd like to hear from you, please send us feedback if you want to comment on the content or have suggestions for future topics.

Simply write your your message into the text box below. If you'd like a response from us, please also leave your email. If you want to stay anonymous, simply put 'anonymous' into the email field. This way we'll get the message, but we have no way to respond to you.

Your email address

Message
 
Contact the authors
Latest update: 17-Oct-2025