Maui, India :))

Hawaii is closer to the "Tropic of Cancer" and I definitely expected Maui to be very tropical. But, in many, many ways Maui exceeded that expectation and took me closer to home! As we pulled out  of the airport with the rental car, the first thing that caught my attention was a chicken running across the road!  :))

Sugarcane fields

Sugarcane fields:
The flight from San Diego started its descent slowly with a beautiful view of long stretches and squares and squares of Sugarcane fields. Maui has a long history of Sugarcane farming and it is still a major activity.


Sugar Cane  Juice:
Everyday, we were drove by this juice stand/van at the side of the road. One day, I pulled over and ordered the Sugarcane juice.When the lady asked me if I would  like to have a dash of Ginger and Lime with it, I was instantly transported to our village, Kattalaicherry!!! Decades ago, one summer, Sekar, Shankar, Visu,Mani, Govinda, Selvi anni, Jamuna akka and Latha got in to bullock carts and made a trip to Kattalicherry village.

Waiting for Sugar Cane juice!

The workers in Chinna Thatha's farm were making அச்சு  வெல்லம், squeezing the Sugarcanes using a hand cranked machine, boiling the juice and pouring it over small rectangle wholes made in huge wooden planks. Chinna Thatha asked the workers to add lime juice and ginger juice to the freshly squeezed Sugarcane juice and we all drank it up. The Maui Sugarcane juice was good but in no way came closer to Kattalaicherry Sugarcane juice!!!

Shoe flowers:
The red, pink and yellow "shoe flowers" ( செம்பருத்தி ) in Maui reminded me of the செம்பருத்தி tree we had in the backyard of our old home in Koranad. As a kid, I used to pluck these flowers and bring them in and Thatha would use them for his daily pooja.

Banyan Tree:

Right in the center of the busy shopping area of the town of Lahaina, there is a huge Banyan tree. This Banyan tree is a gift from India to the "Lahaina Protestant Mission" and was planted by the local sheriff on April 24th, 1873. This tree, tagged as the biggest Banyan tree in USA,  has spread out with multiple roots and is a huge attraction to Maui visitors. It was really interesting to know that during Christmas holidays, the whole tree is decorated with colorful lights!

Mangoes:
 Mango tress were all over Maui.  Just like back home, we saw Mango trees in parking lots, in home gardens, while driving by and in the fields of the Buddhist,  Jodo mission in Lahaina.

Road side stalls selling Mangoes, Papayas and Sugarcane.

Banana Flower:
Who doesn't like the yummy Banana flower curry!!! Sheila was about to steal this...but she realized that Hawaii airport folks check for smuggled agricultural products before boarding the plane and dropped the idea :))

Coconut:
On our day on "The road to Hana", we passed through many small villages with road side stalls selling food, flowers, papayas, mangoes and coconuts. At one of the shops, we enjoyed sweet coconut water from fresh and huge tender coconuts. The guy selling the coconut said he never gives drinking straws and we drank it straight up!!!

With Sugarcane, Shoe flowers, Banyan tree, Mangoes, small Bananas, Banana flowers, Coconuts, Palm tress, Papayas, Pineapples and huge Croton plants we all felt at home at Maui!!!

Hang loose !!!

Big Island, Hawaii
 
One of the new things I learned while at Hawaii is the "Hang loose" sign. It involves extending your thumb and little finger while curling the middle 3 fingers, raising and rotating the hand back and fourth.

It is used by locals as a way of greeting or to say "hang loose" or "cool" or "relax". As we drove through the remote areas of Big Island,  kids on the street side greeted us with this sign. Swetha and Shreya with the Luau dancers showing the Hang loose sign.

@Night: Maui II

Few of my favorites from the March 2013 Maui vacation.

March 25, 2013, 5:32 AM. Even with bright lights near by and the morning sky brightening up, plenty of stars were visible.
 Ursa Major (Subtharishi) on the left side.

Once I saw this view, I decided to try taking Sunset and  Moonset photos
with the Sun and the Moon placed between the coconut trees.

Sunset: March 25, 2013, 6:30 PM

Since the Sunset photo above came up pretty decent, I tried capturing the Moonset over the same location. I really wanted to take a photo of the Moon touching the water. Unfortunately, low level clouds blocked the Moon as it got very close to the ocean.

Moonset: March 26, 2013, 5:39 AM. Moon was setting and Sun was not up yet. Ursa Major (Subtharishi) on right side.
Bright lights were behind me casting my shadow.

Moonset: March 26, 2013, 5:40 AM. Early in the morning and there was no one around to take a photo of me
in this beautiful background. I started the long exposure, ran in to the frame and caught myself.
There is a first time for everything you do :)

Sunset: March 25, 2013, 6:37 PM.

Moonset at the same location. March 27, 2013, 6:19 AM

Snorkeling

Big Island, Hawaii

Effect of the boat ride on Swetha and Shreya

None of us had done Snorkeling before and we were all excited.We woke up early, left at 7:30 and drove an hour to the pier to board the boat. We were on the boat for an hour which took us further south close to the underwater reefs. After having breakfast on the boat, we tried our newly bought snorkel masks to make sure we have a good fit. It was such a rocking boat ride that it affected Shreya, who threw up :). Swetha was feeling queasy too. I was surprised that Sheila didn't get affected since she is the one with motion sickness problem :)
















After the boat stopped, we put on our snorkel masks and fins and got down to the water. I have to admit that it was little bit overwhelming, once I knew that the water is any where from 10 to 50 feet deep. It was tough  to let go off the boat and just float. Thanks to my recent swimming lessons - and the floating tube :) - I got very comfortable in few minutes.

Once I relaxed, I started enjoying and was able to swim around to any place I wanted to checkout. The view of the underwater reefs was fantastic. Spotted a wide variety of fish with yellow and blue stripes. More than the reefs and the fish, it  is an amazing feeling to float on water. I felt that I had graduated from 5 feet deep swimming pools :))

We had picked up an underwater (film) camera and
I tried to take as many shots as possible.
Few of the shots turned out to be ok.

At lunch time, the boat crew rang the bell and we got on board and had a BBQ lunch. Right after lunch, we got back in the water to do some more snorkeling. As we were snorkeling, one of the crew members got in to the water with a underwater video camera and recorded every one. We should be getting the DVD in 2 weeks. Soon it was time to pack up and return.  While returning Swetha and Shreya were just fine but not Sheila :)

Effect of  Snorkeling on Swetha and Shreya :)

Maui: Humpbacks & "Honu"s

Almost all the coastal cities in USA have "Whale Watching" rides where you get on a boat and go deep in to the ocean to watch the whales during their north-south-north migration every year. In Maui,  we were watching the whales everyday, right from the shores. It is an awesome sight to watch these 45 feet long mammals, weighing 45 tons, breach the water and fall back in to the ocean, making massive splashes.

Humpback Whales:

The North Pacific Humpback whales, start from Alaska around September, travel around 3000 miles in 2 months and call Hawaii as their home from December to May. A group of these whales visit California and Baja California (Mexico). The Humpbacks visit south mainly for breeding and birthing. It is interesting to know that they don't eat in the warm tropical waters and eat only the Krill fish in the icy cold waters of Alaska. Each year, thousands of whales make this 6000 miles round-trip! 

Breaching:  The whale leaps up from the water,
does a 180 degree turn andlands on its back
with a huge splash.

The Humpback doing a "Fluke up Dive"

The huge splash after a whale's breaching.

Honu:

The Hawaiian Sea Turtle is called as Honu by the natives. These turtles are 4 to 5 feet in length and stay close to the shores. Two of these turtles were always hovering near our condo and we were hoping they would get out of the waters - but they never did!

The Turtle picture you often see in a Hawaiian Shirt

A Swing by the Sea

Big Island, Hawaii

Sheila and I went for a morning walk on the beach, 10 minutes walking distance from our condo in Waikoloa. We were told this is a rocky beach with less sand but decided to check it out anyway. As we approached the beach I was stunned by the unique combination of pure white rocks and the dark brown/black rocks (which are due to the Lava which had flowed in to the sea long time back). Adding to this breathtaking contrast is a line of coconut trees along the beach.

There were not many people around except few joggers, a family, an old lady and a guy with a bike. As we were walking along, spotted few whales breaching the water at a distance and a line of early morning sea kayakers  rowing their kayaks out to the ocean.

As we turned a corner, we were taken aback to find a wooden swing made of  a tree trunk hung between two trees. A swing at the edge of the sea!!! A fitting finale to the stunning scenery and a pleasant morning walk.

@Night: Maui: Magical Night Time Rainbow !!!

On the last night before leaving Maui (March 28th), I was on the balcony of the condo on the 9th floor, taking photos of the the constellations over the Pacific. After I took my first shot,  as usual, I zoomed in to the photo to check if the focus is OK. To my utter shock, I noticed a small arc of a rainbow in the photo. I looked up at the western horizon and was able to see a very faint rainbow. To the naked eye, it was visible as a white arc. Of course, a digital camera's powerful sensor can "see" and record more colors.

The previous day was full moon day and the moon was shining brilliantly! It was drizzling very lightly on and off and has created the perfect conditions for the nighttime rainbow (aka, Moonbow or Lunar Rainbow). From 9:20 pm to 11 pm, the rainbow was very active, disappearing briefly and appearing again shortly. As the Moonbow got stronger and stronger, we were clearly able to see the colors and even the secondary rainbow. All of us stayed on our balcony screaming and yelling with joy to watch this "first-in-our-lifetime" phenomenon!!!

Swetha did some on the spot google research and we learned that the following 3 conditions must be met for a Moonbow to form:
1) The moon has to be close to full moon ( + or - 2 days).
2) The moon must not be at greater than 42 degrees from the horizon.
3) It must be raining or drizzling (of course).

On top of this,  for the secondary rainbow to occur, it requires a double reflection of the light in the water droplets.  Looks like, this is a very rare phenomenon. In all of the photos, the lights you see close to the horizon are from the island of Molokai which is next to the Maui island.

This is before the Moonbow started. The bright object is Jupiter which is in the constellation Taurus.
The bright star to the left of Jupiter is Aldebaran (Taurus).
The small cluster of stars below and right of Jupiter is Pleiades.
The pentagon shaped constellation at the center top is Auriga.
Below Auriga, constellation Perseus is partially visible.

The V shaped stars to the left of Jupiter are part of the constellation Taurus.

The secondary Moonbow is very lightly visible above the bright primary Moonbow.

The clouds blocked the stars. Palm trees in the foreground.

The universe is an intelligent and brilliant entertainer. Every day/night something mystical and magical is going on up in the sky. All it takes is a little passion and interest to enjoy these free shows :)) There are more chances of you seeing a Moonbow if you are in Hawaii or in UK (where it rains almost everyday and there is a high probability of raining around the full moon day).

No wonder that the car registration plates in Hawaii  have a rainbow :))

In addition to all the other well known natural wonders of Hawaii, enjoying the Moonbow is yet another reason to visit Hawaii again and again and again :))

Off The Beaten Path

While on vacation, I enjoy striking a chat with locals and strangers I meet. People share a slice of their lives with me. Sometimes, this leads to strange connections, coincidences and common interests. I also love the small towns which are tucked away from the big cities and touristy spots.

HAMAKUA:
On our driving trip to Hilo, we stopped by in a small town called "HAMAKUA" to have a snack and pickup our picnic lunches to eat at the waterfalls. This is a very small town with Mom & Pop shops. It looked as if this town was stuck at 1950s and never changed. Loved the antique look of it. This town also reminded me of the many coastal New England small towns we used to visit from Boston.

The owner opened this shop 4 years ago and is absolutely enjoying making and selling fudges and ice cream and
having customers from all over the world.

This Sandwich shop lady just had her grandson born and was proudly showing the photo of her grandson to all the
customers and her friends visiting her at the shop. This lady told Swetha and Shreya that a Mom sacrifices
a lot for their kids and advised them never to fight with Sheila :) The shop has a beautiful mural on one side.

A Guy sitting outside a shop:

A middle aged white guy was sitting out side enjoying the Sun. When I passed him first I smiled at him and he smiled back. On our way back, he stopped us and asked if we are all from India. He told that his wife is from Kerala and he enjoys visiting India. When I asked him what work he does, he told that he is working as a hiking guide to tourists. What a way to work, have fun and enjoy the beauty of the Big Island everyday!!!

A Japanese Couple at the Luau:
When we attended the Luau @ the Hilton, we all were dressed up for the event in flashy, colorful attire.  Sitting right across from me at the dinner table was a middle aged Japanese couple, dressed in normal, simple dress. After few minutes of conversation, he told me that he has visited Mumbai and Delhi. When I asked him if he was visiting as a tourist or for business, he said he visited for business. He then handed m his business card and said he is the Chairman of an Airport Construction Company in Kansai.!!! Can't help noticing how humble and simple he was.  He asked me to visit him  when we visit Japan :) and I ended up inviting him to San Diego. After the Tsunami, I sent him an email inquiring about his family, friends and company. He replied that his family is not affected as they are all living in Osaka but few folks he knows were affected by the Tsunami.

PUNALU'U Bakery:

When I told my friend at work that I am  visiting Big Island, he asked me to stop at the Punalu'u Bakery which is at the southern most tip of the big Island. He especially recommended the Coconut Bun which is similar to the தேங்காய் பன் we get  back home. After visiting the Volcano National Park, we drove another 2 hours and stopped by the bakery @ 4:59:59 pm. As we parked the car, some one said, "they are closing the shop". Sheila ran in to the shop and pushed through the door as they were closing. We were the last customer that day and were able to enjoy the தேங்காய் பன் :)). Apparently, this is a famous bakery and so many folks came after the shop was closed and were disappointed.

Retired Guy on Bike:
While going for a morning walk at the beach with Sheila, met a retired guy on a bike. While chatting up with him, he mentioned he is from Connecticut but lives in Big Island for 5 months from Jan. to May. Hmmm. That sounds like a good retirement plan for me. Looking forward to it :) :) :)

Nou Ka Hale

Big Island, Hawaii

Whenever we go on vacation, our first preference is to rent a house or a condo as opposed to staying in tiny hotel rooms. This is working out well since there is no rush in the morning to get out and have breakfast elsewhere - the girls love to sleep in late on vacations. We all love it when Sheila whips up a spicy and yummy Indian dinner (:-P...

The condo we stayed at during this Big Island vacation,  "The Shores",  was fantastic in many ways. It is located in Waikoloa (வைகோலவா) resort area which includes Hilton, Marriott resorts,  plenty of luxury condos overlooking the  beaches, multiple restaurants, a golf course, couple of shopping  centers and with an easy walk to 2 beaches.

The whole resort area is nicely landscaped with multiple ponds, water falls, almond tress and coconut trees. The complex was very quiet and is nicely located away from highly commercialized, touristy areas but still close enough to the spots we wanted to visit and enjoy.

It seems that the entire Waikoloa resort areas was built on lava fields since many buildings and  landscaped areas are surrounded by long stretches of black lava fields and rocks.

For 6 days we felt that we are staying in our home. A welcome card placed in the condo correctly captured our feelings as "Nou Ka Hale" which in Hawaiian language, means "Our Home is Your Home".