The Honolulu Hula

Let me make a suggestion.

If you ever have to spend a three day holiday in a place where it is going to rain a lot, make sure that one of the three conditions is true:

1 - You're extremely ill, and can't go outdoors. Or
2 - You're on your honeymoon, and don't want to go outdoors. Or
3 - It's easy to surround yourself with a lot of beautiful women dancing to great music.

Kanoe Miller

On our trips to Honolulu, it's a given that rain will come and go throughout our stay.
At most destinations, this would be a bad thing, but here, it's just an excuse to look for cultural stimulation.

And in Honolulu, the only difficulty is in the choosing.

You could, for example, sit at the fabulous Halekulani Hotel's 'House without a Key' restaurant.

There, under the banyan tree, you can  listen to the Hiram Olsen Trio play Hawaiian classics, while sipping a Mai Tai. Order the excellent appetizer combo plate, if you're hungry.
But, as wonderful as this may all seem, the best is yet to come. Here, the main attraction is former Miss Hawaii, Kanoe Miller, who dances a graceful hula every night in front of the setting sun. The sun disappears quickly, to the oohs and aahs of the gathering crowd, but Kanoe dances till 8:30. Oh, did I mention that the show is free?

Best bargain in the Pacific!

Or you could sit by poolside at the Sheraton Princess, drinking a 'fire dancer', the hotels' potent specialty, while enjoying the fire of the real dancers.

Or you could go to Tapas, a bar in the Hilton Hawaiian Village, where a duo plays until 11:00 each night.
Yes, they have a dancer.

I found the Sheraton Princess....

Traditional Dress

The first time we went to Hawaii, eight years ago, it wasn't easy to find a good hula show. But the dance is in a period of renaissance, it appears.

The numbers of shows has increased.
The number of books published about hula has increased.
And the number of contests, and contestants, is on the rise.

A great moment on our last trip occurred when we were watching a local trio in a lounge. A dancer in the audience rose from her table and danced an impromptu hula to the song, wearing jeans and a contemporary shirt.
It says a lot for hula - and for her abilities - that the dance was just as beautiful and powerful in this 'unusual' context.

Seeing the dance go from 'showpiece' to a part of life gives one hope for the 'back to Hawaiianness' movement.

But if you want to expand your horizons beyond Hawaiian dance, you could buy tickets to the spectacular 'Drums of Polynesia' show at the Sheraton, and eat dinner while watching the dances of Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji, and Hawaii.
I'm not positive, but I think these ladies carry more plant life on their bodies than there is in the entire city of Beijing.

If you guys out there have been looking for a pickup line to use in Hawaii, that doesn't use the word 'lei', try this.
Next time you're in Hawaii, ask a lady, "Hi, mind if I water your skirt?"
Let me know how it goes....

'Drums of Polynesia' Performers