Kauai: A Stunning Place to Stay
I never recommend a place to stay at a destination, for all the obvious reasons. This web site doesn’t shill for anyone, and anyway, properties change and what is a good deal one year may not be the next.
But now I will make an exception to the otherwise practical rule. In the island of Kauai, in the town of Waimea, we have found the most wonderful set of cottages. Originally my son, who lived in the area for a year and a half, showed us the place.
1) The beach and Nihau from Waimea Plantation Cottages
Originally part of a sugar plantation, the land drips with history. The people who built the hotel moved cane workers’ cabins from various places and also several management buildings into position to recreate an authentic picture of a Hawaian plantation circa 1900. Many of the trees at the cottages are over a hundred years old.
Rather than describe the property I will let photos do the talking.
2) The main building and front desk from the beach side
3) The manager’s house; yes it’s for rent
4) Banyan tree
5) Our cabin – we’ve stayed here twice
6) An Australian pine borders the pool
7) The beach – given its proximity to the Waimea River, swimming is not advised. Oh, well…
8) Sunset from our lanai
Viet Nam: The Red Dunes of Mui Ne
Not far from the glorious beaches of Mui Ne lies another otherworldly site, known colloquially in English as the Red Dunes. Here the color of the sand – and in hindsight, sometimes the quality of the photographic film we used – give rise to the understandable moniker, The Red Dunes.
1) An overview shot; here the sand is is red, just as advertised
You arrive at the dunes via a path that leads through a small canyon with the most extraordinary features, caused by rain and erosion.
2) The beginning of the path
3) These miniature cliffs almost remind one of similar erosion in the coastal cliffs of Kauai in Hawaii
The sand has eroded here into the most exquisite shapes and delicate forms.
4) Diana walking through the canyon
Finally you arrive at the colossal sand dunes, so large that they would look right at home in the Sahara.
5) Going into a hole
The dunes are popular with the Vietnamese, who often use them as a setting for wedding photography. The reasoning is understandable.
6) Another look at the canyon
Viet Nam: The Hotel Continental, Saigon
Back in 2005 at the end of our first trip to Southeast Asia, we washed up in Saigon, like countless foreigners and expats before us. The 70s were long gone and the war but a distant memory, but we thought, if we can swing it we should stay at the Continental, famous during the American War as a hang-out for journalists and kind of like a Hotel California East.
1) The Continental, present time (more or less). It hasn’t changed all that much, except the hotel no longer sports a sidewalk cafe
We discovered that the establishment was owned by an obscure and undoubtedly corrupt arm of the present government, but best of all, you could procure a room for $70 a night. Not bad, we thought, wondering how run down the place might be.
To our great surprise, the hotel was done up like a fancy whore on Saturday night. The hallways were spotless and tastefully decorated with potted plants, and the fine woodwork varnished to a gleaming shine.
2) The hallway on the floor of our room
And the rooms… only two words to describe ours: retro unique!
3) The room. Two big beds, a lovely set of arches, a dining table, even a full writing desk where I imagined half-crazed reporters scribbled their notes thirty plus years ago
It even had a balcony that overlooked the square, not to mention the millions of mopeds, favored cruising vehicle of local youths.
4) A neighboring balcony beside ours. Hotter than hell out here but worth the scenery
The interior courtyard was a nice treat, too, and made for a pleasant diversion from the urban noise and pollution of Saigon.
5) The courtyard, a nice place for casual dining
On the whole we didn’t spend that much time in our luxurious, historic surroundings, as Saigon is a fascinating city with far more attractions than you can manage to visit in three or four days.
6) Studying touristic info at night
On a humorous note, I wanted to see if the the front desk staff knew about the site of the former American Embassy, where the last bitter chapter of the war had been written, but they didn’t speak enough English for me to properly ask them.
Photos by Diana and Kit Herring
You never know what you’ll find these days when you turn on the computer. Recently my email showed a comment from a reader of my blog. The writer, a guy named Steve originally from the UK but who now resided in New Zealand, indicated that he was on the Christmas 1975 trip of the Karanja from Mombasa to Bombay and he was wondering if I had been present during the same voyage.
1) The Karanja in 1948, pride of the British India Line (image courtesy of The Ocean Liner Virtual Museum, UK)
I had posted a scan of a document that passengers who booked third class were obliged to sign – although I never did – relieving the ship owners from responsibility pertaining to the mixing of races below decks. The document was a real piece of work and had survived in my possession all these years. Along with the paperwork I mentioned that I had traveled on the vessel. Steve had found my post somehow and was motivated to write back.
That memorable trip on the Karanja, across the Indian Ocean from Africa to South Asia, had also included a four day stop-over in Karachi. Steve remembered not only me but my friend Tony, along with a long list of travelers on the trip. Amazing.
The Karanja had started the passage a few days before Christmas, sailing from the port of Mombasa. As I recall, she didn’t sail very often and so I had waited out the time for the trip in a remote ocean-front cottage some miles north of the city.
2) View of the Indian Ocean from the house in the bush. A plethora of interesting critters called the tidal flats in front of the beach home. Many of them were venomous
The voyage itself was festive enough and included a wild Christmas Eve dance in first class. Luckily for us travelers the South African ship’s officers were not inclined to enforce the rules regarding the mingling of races, as long as said mingling was conducted only by whites. And I still remember the bar in the restaurant. We were able to buy all the duty-free booze we coveted, and the shop was run by a pleasant Indian fellow, whom Steve reminded me was often quite soused himself.
I also recall the lifeboat drill just after we left Mombasa. The whites scurried to the proper stations with haste, while all the Asians remained on their bunks, wondering what the fuss was about. It was a great introduction to Indian fatalism.
At night we used to go up on deck and listen to the Asians onboard making music under the stars with their homemade instruments, a lovely and spiritual experience.
In Karachi we spent the days wandering the city streets, our first glimpse of the complexities of the sub-continent. Everyone in the city seemed to be extremely friendly and I quickly became entranced with the East.
The only negative scene I witnessed during the ten or twelve days it took to cross the sea occurred after we tied alongside in Karachi. Another South African, this one a passenger, couldn’t handle all the “wogs” he saw dockside. He actually took a bucket of soapy water he found somewhere and heaved it over the side of the ship, in full view of myself and a number of other people, dousing the Pakistani longshoremen below. An unrepentant racist, he was quickly manhandled by officers onboard and taken to the brig. I never saw him again. His vitriol had been non-stop and we were glad to be rid of him.
Finally the ship docked in Bombay and we parted ways from our Indian fellow passengers and from the other travelers. I did run into Steve one time in Delhi, he tells me, but frankly, my recollection of the meeting has been lost to history.
It’s nice to know that the Internet has made the world smaller. How easily forgotten are the travels and travails of our youth.
3) The Para Ganj from my Delhi hotel room, coffee stains and all
NOTE: Originally published on We Said Go Travel by George and Lisa Rajna
Viet Nam: the Presidential Palace in Saigon
PHOTOS BY DIANA AND KIT HERRING
When we were in Saigon Diana and I made the inevitable trek to the old Presidential Palace, scene of so much treachery and betrayal during the Vietnam War. It’s now a museum. The experience of visiting its precincts was a haunting one.
We decided, at Diana’s prompting, to photograph the palace using black and white film.
The vibe there produces a mixture of great sadness, yet also relief in the sense that such a corrupt regime had been overthrown. Incongruously, we felt a delight in the time-warp nature of the mid-century architecture and furnishings.
1) The Palace
We climbed to the roof for expansive views of the grounds and city rooftops.
2) A look at the front gate, a grim reminder of the iconic image from 1975 when the North Vietnamese burst through it with a tank
3) Helicopters left behind after the last escaping regime members and Americans had departed
But it was indoors that we found the most fascinating relics.
4) Formal dining room
It was as if Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and his minions had left the day before.
5) Casual sitting room with period couch
The quiet unnerved me. There weren’t too many other visitors. I imagined that if I listened closely I could still hear whispers from the ancien regime, talking of plots, of cash, of resources stripped and stolen.
We proceeded to the underground bunker where Dương Văn Minh, the last and briefest of South Vietnam’s leaders, must have made frantic phone calls pleading in vain for help from his American “allies.”
6) Underground presidential bed and phone
Did this Mercedes get left on purpose or with great regret?
7) Mercedes in underground garage; I would have liked to take it for a spin
At the end of our visit we wandered the grounds outside, shaking our heads and thinking of the great hubris and futility represented by the Palace and how its ghosts must feel cheated because their time as human masters proved to be so short.
Kauai: Walking from Poipu
Normally a place like Poipu isn’t really high on my list of priorities. The resort area on the south coast of Kauai serves an admirable function, however, in that it segregates vast numbers of tourists from the rest of the of island. Designed as kind of an all-inclusive stretch of beaches, Poipu offers condos, hotels, stores, and restaurants. There is even a small shopping mall for those on vacation who just have to thrust their credit cards at expensive vendors.
1) Poipu’s stylish architecture, from Shipwreck Beach
But from one end of Poipu, at the above Shipwreck Beach, a trail begins that follows a magnificent stretch of wild coastline. Given the thousands of tourists that typically haunt Poipu, the walk is astonishingly free of people.
2) The hike begins: you climb up a bluff from the beach (below) and continue to the east
3) Movie fanatics will recognize this as the spot where Harrison Ford and Anne Heche jumped off the cliff in Six Days Seven Nights.
The hike passes all manner of hidden coves and strange rock formations. This one looks like something from the set of Planet of the Apes.
4) Strange rocks at left almost look like a giant statue of an ape with a helmet
Lots of flowers and grasses line the path.
5) Multi-colored wildflower
6) Grass (I think)
The vistas are great no matter where you look.
7) To the north
8) A small beach to the west, back toward town
But then again the path is small and sometimes you get lost in the thickets.
9) That’s me: photo by Diana Herring
At one point the path follows a golf course – and what a course! Although I don’t play golf and have little patience for the water-sucking, fertilizer-ridden constructions, I had to admit this one had a heck of a view. To my lasting regret we took no photos of the golf course, but the wall that shored the thing up from the bluff was interesting.
10) Old wall – but how old?
I thought, hello, what is this? Sure enough, just downhill was the distinct remains of an ancient Hawaiian path, such as those used ceremonially by royalty.
11) Pre-contact Hawaiian path
Peculiar stone structures came into view around the next corner.
12) Other ruins
We also chanced upon an old fish pond, nearly exact in shape and style to the ancient ones we’d seen in the Cook Islands.
13) Fish pond
We continued walking for about a mile. to the end of the point shown below:
14) The furthest we went, to the end of this point on the right hand side
Although it remained out of sight, beyond lay Gillan’s Beach, another trackless beach where you can get away from the crowds.
15) Gillan’s Beach – another day, another excursion - note the lonely house
Oddly, we heard voices over a loudspeaker that reminded me of a Mexican fiesta or perhaps a rodeo. So we turned around, not wanting civilization to intrude and spoil our hike.
16) At the end, the shade of the Australian pines near Poipu was a welcome sight: photo by Diana Herring
Hawaii: Kauai Sights and the North Shore
Descending the Cairo Side - a novel of the traveling life
Available as an e-book on Amazon.com
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On this trip we decided to make the pilgrimage to Hanalei, Ke’e Beach, and some of the other North Shore highlights . It’s an arduous trip from Waimea that involves fighting a lot of traffic around Lihue and Kapa’a, but in the end the journey is worthwhile, if only for the variety of wildlife and scenery along the road.
We got distracted early in the trip by a stand of Cook pines, located north of Poipu. These venerable trees, native to the South Pacific, were highly prized for their trunks, from which excellent ships’ masts could be fashioned. Members of the Araucaria genus, they are also called Cook island pines, although they are not native to the Cook Islands, but rather to New Caledonia. We presume Captain James Cook had something to do with their popularity but that notion was never made clear to us. They are sometimes confused with the Norfolk pine.
1) Cook pines. This stand was located on private property; any car driving down this road would find a gate that closed behind it, presumably so the authorities could be alerted to prosecute the wanton offense of DWO (Driving While Observing). But when you control a massive tract of land, such are the privileges…
2) Diana poses in front of a tree; they were planted over a hundred years ago to line this lane
A lovely waterway bordered the property of whatever lucky soul laid claim to the trees.
3) The stream
Our next stop came at the well-known landmark of Wailea Falls. In ancient times young men would leap from the falls in a test of manhood; this tradition continues in modern times and a Hawaiian vendor at the parking area told us that in recent years twelve people have made plunge. Nine have been killed in the attempt.
4) Wailea Falls – 170 ft. high
5) A view of the stone platform on top, from which brave young men occasionally leap
Finally we reached the North Shore. Our first destination was the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge, home to myriad species of birds and great views.
6) Kilauea Lighthouse; no shortage of bird poop on the approach
Near the visitor’s center we were greeted with our first interesting sight – a Wedge-tailed shearwater in its nest, presumably incubating an egg. This bird breeds throughout the Hawaiian chain and elsewhere.
7) The nesting Shearwater, or at least its hind quarters
Also in view were an abundance of White-tailed tropic birds, the Nene (Hawaii’s native goose – in true fashion we drove right by a bunch of them and forgot to get a photo), and boobies.
8) A Laysan albatross flies overhead – don’t ask how many pics I shot to get this one
9) Sea cliff nesting sites
10) Offshore lies Moku’ae’ae Islet, home to more birds, monk seals, and playground of humpbacks and dolphins
11) A Monk seal seeking leisure time, Poipu (we weren’t about to climb down the cliff at Kilauea and look for them there!)
Looking southwest we spied the not-so-secret Secret Beach.
12) Secret Beach – another great spot, we had been there before
Driving back to the main road we stopped at an otherwise unremarkable stone edifice with some stores and a restaurant. The Kong Lung Center turned out to be an original building from Kilauea Sugar Plantation.
13) Kong Lung Center
Our next stop was near Hanalei, at the incessantly photographed pre-contact taro fields, still in use today.
14) Roadside taro fields
Now the design of the road itself became interesting with a series of bridges.
15) This first bridge deters the tour buses, our guidebook claimed
16) The double bridge
All this stretch of road, it bears noting, would be washed away in a tsunami.
At last we reached our destination, the sacred mountain of Makana and Ke’e Beach.
17) Ke’e Beach and the beginning of the Napali Coast, North Shore style
18) Eroded roots, Australian pine – Ke’e Beach
Sometimes it’s nice to know you can’t go any further.
19) End of the road
