Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On Nuʻuanu Ave, the now-abandoned
Pantheon Bar
was a favorite of sailors
in days past - even King David Kalakaua imbibed here. The avenue's granite-block
sidewalks are themselves relics, built with the discarded ballasts of 19th-century
trading ships. At the corner of King St, peek into the
First Hawaiian Bank
, with
its antique wooden teller cages that cameoed in the TV showLost.
before turning left onto seedy Hotel St, historically Honolulu's red-light district and
now a row of trendy lounges, nightclubs, eateries and coffeehouses. At the corner
of Maunakea St, the ornate facade of the
Wo Fat Building
resembles a Chinese
temple. The building-and, incidentally, also the villain of theHawaii Five-0TV
series-is named after Honolulu's oldest restaurant, which opened here in 1882
(it's now closed).
On King St, continue past the red pillars coiled with dragons outside the
Bank
of Hawaii
to the corner of Kekaulike St and venture inside the buzzing 1904
shops
where skilled artisans string and braid blossom after blossom, filling the air
with the scent of pikake.
Down by the riverside, the
statue of Dr Sun Yat-sen
, a Chinese revolutionary,
stands guard over the senior citizens playing checkers at stone tables outdoors.
Cut through the courtyard of the
Chinatown Cultural Plaza
. Back on Maunakea
ginally built in 1880. Finish with a peaceful stroll around the mid-19th-century
Foster Botanical Garden
(
Click here
)
.
TOP OF CHAPTER
1
Greater Honolulu
Bishop Museum
MUSEUM
(
infoline 847-3511, planetarium 848-4136;
www.bishopmuseum.org
; 1525 Bernice St; adult/child
4-12yr/senior $20/15/17; 9am-5pm Wed-Mon;
) Like Hawaii's version of the
Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, this museum showcases a remarkable array of
cultural and natural history exhibits. It ranks among the world's very best Polynesian an-
thropological museums. Founded in 1889, it originally housed only Hawaiian and royal
artifacts. Today the museum also has high-tech interactive science exhibits for kids and
Oʻahu's only planetarium.
