Hawaii Day 1: Drinking and Driving (Not in that order)

Due to some delays on my departure time from Manila and fantastic jackassery by the Honolulu airport staff, I eventually got out of the airport and met up with Honey and Lex at least two hours after we were supposed to meet up. Some jackassery on my part at the car rental agency then caused even more delays, and we eventually hit the road several hours later than expected. This messed up our plans for the day, but we made the most of it by driving up to the North Shore area of Oahu Island.

It was frustrating having to keep my eyes on the road, since all I wanted to do was look out at the water. The sight never got old; I found it just as awe-inspiring with every subsequent look throughout the whole week.

The three of us finally settled on place to go for a swim and made our way down to the beach.

The sand was unlike any sand I’d ever seen; not because of the colour, but because the grains of sand were so big. They looked like flakes of grain found on the crust of whole grain bread.

As for the water, it was rough. The waves made us their bitches and frantically tossed us around. With the strong pull of the tide, though, it was very difficult to try and swim in the water, so we decided to pack it in after a while and go looking for food.

After dinner, we found a nearby waterfall on our map and made our way over, only to find that the falls had just closed for the day.

We left slightly disappointed and started making our way back to our hostel in Waikiki…but not before catching sunset on the beach! We drove in a race against the clock to the nearest beach, watching the sun slowly make its way down towards the horizon, before finally pulling into a parking space, running towards the beach with a beer in hand, snapping a couple pictures, and taking a (couple) victory sip(s)!

You can take the waygook out of Korea, but you can't take Korea out of the waygook.

Finally back at the Waikiki Beachside Hostel, where I was immediately christened Captain Planet by the hostel staff thanks to my stellar shirt, I was introduced to some of our fellow guests.

After the 10:00 cutoff for booze in the main area, which was graciously extended to 10:20, a bunch of us headed out for more shenanigans. Things got hazy after that…

...and this happened.