The spread of the coronavirus caused the U.S. government to stop accepting Chinese tourists on February 2, 2020. Before February 2, a friend in my circle of friends showed off his flight from Beijing to Honolulu. For Chinese tourists, Hawaii is undoubtedly the closest and most interesting place to Chinese mainland, and while Guam also belongs to the United States, it is more like a military base.
Compatriots will complain a few times about the temporary closure of the U.S. door to China, and naively believe that the U.S. finances will lose a lot. In fact, this is just our imagination.
The impact of Chinese tourists on Hawaii's tourism industry is just a matter of that.
According to statistics, among visitors to Hawaii, Americans still rank first. The second place is Japanese. According to the 2019 Summer Vacation Popular Destinations List released by the Japan Travel Industry Association (JATA), Hawaii has returned to No. 1 from no. 2 last year. Chinese ranked seventh. Chinese's contribution was minimal.
From the American point of view, from the beginning of the Christmas season in the winter, the tropical region can choose Florida. However, on a normal basis, May to October is hot and stuffy, and there are hurricanes in the summer. Compared with Florida, Hawaii has a much more comfortable climate, with average annual temperatures between 20°C and 31°C. The Big Island of Hawaii is particularly popular with travelers because of its ability to enjoy climates including humid tropical climates and polar tundra at the same time.
The average person who goes to Hawaiian Group will first go to Honolulu for a few days, and then they can use a boat or plane to travel between the 8 main islands.
This time, I decided to go straight to the Big Island.
Oshima: Fickle woman, part of temptation
Oshima resembles a fickle woman, and the closer she gets, the more intoxicated she becomes
I came to Oshima ten years ago, but my memory is unreliable. Vaguely remember driving to see the eruption of the volcano, the slow flowing magma on the shore of the shore is about to enter the sea when the dark red meandering in the black rocks, it is thrilling.
That time I stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel on the hilo side of the east side of the Big Island. That area belongs to humid rainforest. Volcanoes played a decisive role in the formation of the entire Hawaiian Islands, but it was surprising to see the long fence of the surrounding roads made entirely of pitch-black rock.
This time I decided to try the drier west coast of the Big Island. It seems that in the early days of love, men are confused by the variety of women. Oshima is blooming like this.
The plane landed at Kona Airport on the west side of the Big Island. Which hotel to choose? I'm not used to homestays and still tend to be formal hotels. After comparing online for half a day, the mauna lani resort, which was finally selected after spending more than $200 million to renovate and reopen on New Year's Day this year.
Sure enough, the drier West Coast weather suited my mindset better, and I didn't have to discount my mood by thinking about the weather from time to time.
Staying in a hotel, I like to look at three things. One is design; the second is service; the third is hardware.
Compared with internationally renowned hotel groups, the open-plan building spaces at Mauna Lani Resort seem to be more in line with hawaiian lifestyles and styles.
Mauna Lani Resort
Mauna Lani Resort follows this philosophy in its design, thus ensuring a "sense of transparency" in the complex.
As soon as I entered the resort gate, my eyes were drawn to the long wooden frame structure of up to 6 floors in front of me, the huge transparent space and staircase, and the breeze that traveled around blew away the labor of the journey. Underneath the long wooden frame, an all-wood open space is also carefully created, like a family's living room. Interestingly, there is no ceiling directly above the living room, but a blue sky. Imagine that when it rains, listen to the rain on the sofa, you, the sofa, the carpet are wet together, and return to the original state of human beings, "heaven is the quilt, the earth is the bed".
It is said that the boss of this resort was originally the general manager of Four Seasons Hotel Honolulu and was very aware of the needs of guests in the tropics. The success of an enterprise is often the success of the boss.
Mauna Lani Resort: Hawaii's Last Historic Heritage Site!
The airy design forms the overall style of the mauna lani resort
It is said that the investors of mauna lani resort were originally Japanese and later changed hands. In fact, the Japanese are the largest minority in the Hawaiian Islands. At one point in the early 20th century, Japanese made up more than 40 percent of Hawaii's population. Geographically, it is very appropriate for Japanese people to go on vacation to Hawaii. Michelin fans can also easily find their favourite restaurants in Hawaii, such as the vintage cave club and sushi ginza onodera. The French were far less culturally exported than the Americans, even though they despised the rudeness of the Americans in their hearts. Americans have used Hollywood culture to impress people all over the world. The French are in
The $200 million investment adds more modern facilities while excavating the historical heritage
It's about trying to export your culture in dining, and the Michelin Guide is that kind of output.
Mauna Lani Resort is located in a historical and historic area, close to the beach. 10 minute walk to the supermarket or to Wikoloa Beach Golf Course to practice.
With 292 standard rooms, 36 business suites, and 5 water bungalows, the resort's reception capacity is unquestionable. But beyond the hardware is the service, and the service does not simply refer to the service personnel, but also includes the cultural atmosphere transmitted by the hotel and the way of handling the relationship between the hotel and the passengers (family-like? Simple buy-and-sell? and so on.
The mauna lani resort seems to be trying to unearth the treasures that history has left them.
Turtles in fish ponds may live much longer than we do
The fish pond here contains more historical information. On the surface, these fish ponds are cut off from the Pacific Ocean by a dam made of volcanic rock, the gates are turned inward, the lake is clear and calm, the fish fly shallow bottom, the eels and turtles coexist in harmony, and the big fish and small fish and shrimp play each other.
The blackness of the volcanic rock suggests that history is a black hole
According to the resort's historical adviser, the former king lived in the northernmost part of the island, and in order to eat the delicious fish in the fish pond, he would send the fastest hand down here to fish, then wrap the fish with seaweed to keep the humidity, and then run back to the palace quickly, and the king could eat live fish. An old gentleman from New York saw us chatting by the fish pond and couldn't resist joining. I asked him why he flew to Hawaii by boat, and didn't New Yorkers go on vacation to Miami and the Caribbean? He said, "Hawaii is Hawaii." Mark Twain spent more than 4 months browsing the Hawaiian Islands and was mesmerized by the customs and customs there. As a special correspondent, he couldn't help but write in the media: "Hawaii is the most beautiful island in the ocean."
In addition to fish ponds that have existed for more than 2,000 years, there are also rare turtle ponds here. Around January of each year, the resort adopts baby turtles that have just been born for 2 weeks, usually for about 1 and a half years, and when they grow to enough size, they will be sent back to sea on the annual US National Day.
Go out to sea to see the sun rise and accidentally encounter it!
The gondoliers began to play local folk music
As a traveler, I'm used to having very detailed planning for every trip to make sure I learn something every time. The next day I got up before dawn, the sea was dark - I booked a boat to watch the sunrise project, about $150 a person, not cheap.
There is an awning on the beach side of the resort, and underneath stand two tanned men. They are responsible for the sea project. Before going out to sea, one of the middle-aged men, called the boatman for the time being, described to us the precautions, such as how the four of us in this group stood, and which side he was going to paddle to when he issued instructions.
Having lived in the United States for a long time, everyone is an activist. Although we have paid the fee, it does not mean that we can be a master. Chinese group to do activities, pay the fee can be cocked, the Americans ask you to participate in the whole process, work together. For example, in order to push the canoe placed on the beach into the water, the boatman gave us four orders, taught us to put two wheels of pushers under the canoe, slowly push the canoe to the sea, and then at the water, everyone worked together to lift the canoe slightly, pushed into the sea along the current, and then quickly jumped into the canoe with the strings on both sides.
The ship sailed into the sea, and the sun pierced the clouds and projected on the sea level, sparkling. We followed the boatman's Polylician trumpet, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, paying attention to the height and rhythm of the oars so as not to splash the sea to the people sitting in the rear.
The whale was five meters ahead of us
The boatman sat at the bow of the boat, picked up a conch-like object, and blew up the Hawaiian folk song, and we were closing our eyes and waiting for the sun to rise as usual, when we suddenly noticed that the boatman's volume had increased by an octave: Whales, there are whales!
I have had several whale watching experiences, such as Tasmania in Australia, Bora Bora in Tahiti, Victoria in Bc Province, Canada, etc., but they all have to take a yacht for more than 3 hours to the open sea, and they are turned upside down to meet whales, and 8 hours round trip is the norm. But today the whale was about 5 meters from our canoe! It's all within easy reach. Will the canoe be overturned by whales?
The boatman saw our nervousness, and said to the wind and rain: Whales are actually very intelligent, and they rarely attack humans, unless the canoe paddles too hard to scare them, or encounter a flustered little whale that does not understand the world. Whales and Hawaiians are said to be close to each other, they often come to visit them, and March is the season when Hawaiians call "whales come home". Hawaiians will frolic and swim with whales.
Last night I went to the hotel's hottest restaurant, canoe house, and only booked a location at 8:15. Coupled with the 2-hour time difference from California, it was equivalent to 10:15 p.m. before we could sit down and order food! I can't wait. So I walked outside for 30 minutes, and at 7 o'clock I ran to the restaurant to try my luck, and sure enough, there was no place. I asked the waitress at the door, "Do you think it's better when we'll come back?" She said 8 o'clock. I thought to myself, is there a difference between this and 8:15? Still smiling goodbye, walking hungry by the beach for half an hour, at 7:30 we decided to try our luck again, this time as soon as I saw her smiled and said: I like your dress, so beautiful! She immediately showed an elegant and mischievous smile: "Our manager is Japanese, so you see, this dress has Elements of Japanese Culture on it." I looked closely at her overalls and said: The texture looks particularly good, is it silky?" (Seriously, I can hardly believe that I would make overalls out of silk.) She smiled again, touched the skirt and said: It's really silk, it's not a skirt, it's a dress! After saying this, she held up the menu and waved her hand heroically: Come with me! Then gave us a good location closest to the sea.
Canoe Restaurant: It is estimated that it will not be long before it will enter the eyes of the Michelin judges
I have to say that canoe restaurant did not disappoint me, and my favorite is the dessert of each restaurant. Perhaps because japanese people come to Hawaii for a special holiday, Hawaiian restaurants have natural ingredients, light taste, and there is still no lack of fresh taste in the aroma of desserts.
Towards the end of this morning's canoeing, the boatman finally asked us: What day is it? I said: Is it the youngest day of our lives? He smiled and said, "When the sun rises, we Hawaiians will wash our hands in the sea and tell ourselves that today is the best day of our lives."
The ocean is the return of the Hawaiians, they grew up in Si, and finally this. For busy city people, the ocean is just a transit point for them to escape from continental civilizations.
Where will they go next? Explore more of the unknown like Captain Cook? In fact, most of the time we just bury our heads in walking, never looking up to see the direction.
After 14 days of closure, once the ban is lifted, we will be reincarnated, eating haystacks and lawlessness. We are stupid and stubborn. We die of self-righteousness and never knowing it.