Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A must-do on your Hawaii vacation: Take the time every day to stop and enjoy the sunset. You
can watch the big yellow ball descend slowly into the blue water of the Pacific from anywhere
on the Waikiki-Honolulu-Leeward side of the island.
Some insist on viewing the sunset with a locally made tropical mai tai, a combination of
fresh lime juice, fresh lemon juice, fresh orange juice, passion-orange-guava juice, and fresh
grapefruit juice, if possible. Pour this concoction on ice in tall, frosty glasses, then add Meyer's
rum that Tahitian vanilla beans have been soaking in for days. (Add cinnamon, if desired, or
soak a cinnamon stick with the rum and vanilla beans.) A dash of Angostura bitters, a few
drops of Southern Comfort as a float, a sprig of mint, a garnish of fresh lime, and voilà!—you
have a tropical, homemade mai tai, a cross between planter's punch and the classic Trader
Vic's mai tai. As the sun sets, lift your glass and savor the moment, the setting, and the first
sip—not a bad way to end the day.
In Hawaii, the mai tai is more than a libation. It's a festive, happy ritual that signals holiday,
vacation, or a time of play, not work. Computers and mai tais don't mix. Mai tais and ham-
mocks do. Mai tais and sunsets go hand in hand.
Speaking of which, nightlife in Hawaii begins at sunset, when all eyes turn westward to see
how the day will end. Like seeing the same pod of whales or school of spinner dolphins, sun-
set viewers seem to bond in the mutual enjoyment of a natural spectacle.
On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 6:30pm, as the sun casts its golden glow on the
beach, and surfers and beach boys paddle in for the day,
KuhioBeach,
where Kalakaua Av-
enue intersects with Kaiulani, eases into evening with hula dancing and a torch-lighting ce-
remony. Start off earlier with a picnic basket and your favorite libations and walk along the
oceanside path fronting
Queen'sSurf,
near the Waikiki Aquarium. (You can park along Ka-
piolani Park or near the Honolulu Zoo.) There are few more pleasing spots in Waikiki than
the benches at the water's edge at the
DiamondHead
end of Kalakaua Avenue, where lovers
and families of all ages stop to peruse the sinking sun. A short walk across the intersection of
Kalakaua and Kapahulu avenues takes you to the Duke Kahanamoku statue on Kuhio Beach
and the nearby Wizard Stones.
THE BAR & CLUB SCENE
On the Beach
Waikiki's beachfront bars offer many possibilities, from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's
MaiTai
Bar
(
&
808/923-7311
), a few feet from the sand, to the unfailingly enchanting
HouseWithout
a Key
(
&
808/923-2311
), at the Halekulani, where the breathtaking former Miss Hawaii,
Kanoelehua Miller, dances hula to the riffs of Hawaiian steel pedal guitar under a century-
old kiawe tree. With the sunset and ocean glowing behind her and Diamond Head visible in
the distance, the scene is straight out of Somerset Maugham—romantic, evocative, nostalgic.
It doesn't hurt, either, that the Halekulani happens to make the best mai tais in the world.
Halekulani has the after-dinner hours covered, too, with light jazz by local artists in the
Lew-
ers Lounge
from 7:30pm to 1am nightly.
