Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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1
Chinatown
The location of this mercantile district is no accident. Between Honolulu's port and what
was once the countryside, shops selling goods to city folks and visiting ship crews alike
sprang up. Many of these shops were opened by 19th-century Chinese laborers who had
finished their sugarcane plantation contracts. The most successful entrepreneurs have
long since moved out of this low-rent district into the suburbs, making room for newer
waves of mostly Southeast Asian immigrants.
The scent of burning incense still wafts through Chinatown's buzzing markets, fire-
breathing dragons spiral up the columns of buildings and steaming dim sum awakens
even the sleepiest of appetites. Explore this revitalized neighborhood's cutting-edge art
galleries and fashion boutiques, rub shoulders with locals over a bowl of noodles, consult
with an herbalist and buy a flower lei or shop for 20th-century Hawaiiana antiques.
Foster Botanical Garden
GARDEN
(
522-7066;
www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/hbg/fbg.html
;
50 N Vineyard Blvd; adult/child 6-12yr
$5/1; 9am-4pm, guided tours usually 1pm Mon-Sat, closed Dec 25 & Jan 1;
) Tropical
plants you've only ever read about can be spotted in all their glory at this botanical
garden, which took root here in the 1850s. Among its rarest specimens are the Hawaiian
loulu
palm and the East African
Gigasiphon macrosiphon,
both thought to be extinct in
the wild. A free self-guided tour booklet is available at the garden entrance.
Several of the garden's towering trees are the largest of their kind in the USA. Oddities
include the cannonball tree, the sausage tree and the double coconut palm capable of pro-
ducing a 50lb nut - watch your head! Follow your nose past fragrant vanilla vines and
cinnamon trees in the spice and herb gardens, then pick your way among the poisonous
and dye plants. Don't miss the blooming orchid gardens.
For docent-led guided tours, call for reservations in advance. Limited free parking.
Hawaii Theatre
HISTORICAL BUILDING
