Our flight landed at Honolulu airport around 8am in the morning.  Unfortunately the gate we departed on JetStar was a long distance from the terminal. So we had to wait another 30/40 minutes for a Airport Shuttle to come pick us up. After waiting for a good hour in the immigration line, we we’re finally on the way. The taxi ride from Honolulu Airport to the Sheraton in Waikiki was about $40. Don’t forget, you need to tip the taxi driver between 15-20%. Coming from Australia the tipping system can be annoying and confusing. I will write more on tipping later on. We arrived at the Sheraton Waikiki at around 11am. We were way too early for check in which was around 2pm. We we’re both so tired from the flight (no sleep) that we decided to pay the early check in fee, which was only around $25 from memory. Thankfully the friendly lady at Sheraton managed to find us an already prepared room.

After a shower and some sleep, we we’re off on our first walk to explore Waikiki. Waikiki reminded me a lot of the Gold Coast in Australia. It has a very similar feel and layout. Anyway, our first walk had a meaningful purpose…food! And on our very first walk, we managed to find what would become our favourite place to eat out, The Cheese Cake Factory. In spite of its name, the Cheese Cake Factory does serve more than just Cheese Cake. In fact, it has a huge menu ranging from Pasta, Pizza, Mexican, Burgers, to Salads and Breakfasts. You can check out more about the Cheese Cake Factory at their website. For lunch I ordered the Chicken Quesadilla’s, and my girlfriend Alicia ordered the Burrito Grande. And let me tell you something, they we’re not kidding about the Grande part. This burrito was huge! Needless to say, Alicia managed to eat about a quarter of it. My Quesadilla’s we’re great. Crunchy on the outside, and cheesy in the middle. No complaints here! Anyway, after eating and drinking a few Coronos, we decided we we’re too full to eat any cheese cake. So we ordered some to take back to the hotel room for later. The rest of our afternoon was spent walking around the shops then off for an afternoon swim at Sheraton’s beach.

Dinner - We we’re fairly exhausted still from our lack of sleep, so we decided to try and find somewhere close for dinner. Underneath the Sheraton, which I must say looks more like a shopping mall than a hotel, is a bar/restaurant called Rum Fire. The Rum Fire is a very cool place to be at night. Positioned right on the beach, and surrounded by flaming torches, it creates a very pleasant atmosphere. To keep on theme with the Hawaiian mood, I decided to order a traditional Pinacolada, and Alicia ordered a white wine. For dinner I ordered the Rum Fire Lettuce Wraps, which consists of wok fired spiced garlic chicken, sweet chili oil, firecracker sauce. Alicia ordered the Baby Back Ribs. We both decided the Lettuce wraps we’re the way to go. Just a quick note, on the Rum Fire drinks menu, they offer their own version of the Pinacolada called the Deconstructed Pinacolada. This is nothing like the traditional Pinacolada. So if you are expecting a fruity creamy tropical drink, I do not recommend you order the Deconstructed Pinacolada.

As expected, we slept in until around 1:30pm. Although the Hawaiian time zone is not hugely different to Australia, it still took a while to adjust. We both awoke with the Cheese Cake Factory on our minds, so we salivated our way there for lunch. Since I had not yet eaten, I decided to try one of their breakfasts. I ordered the Joe’s Special, which consists of scrambled eggs mixed with spicy chicken sausage. Alicia decided she didn’t want to eat anything this time round, and went straight for the Cheese Cake. After indulging ourselves with food, we decided it was time to burn off some calories..and went for a walk towards Diamond Head. To make the walk more interested, we decided to stroll a long the sand of Waikiki beach. The weather was nice, and as you can imagine the beach was very busy.

On the walk to Diamond head, besides passing many bikini babes, we also walked pass the Zoo, and the War Memorial museum which looked like it was closed for renovations. After reaching Diamond head, we decided it was time to turn back…this time we walked along the foot path, checking out shops on the way

After our walk, we we’re understandably hot…and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon swimming at the beach. The water was beautiful and warm…and the Japanese tourists seemed to have fun getting dumped by every wave that rolled in

That night we decided to treat ourselves to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for dinner. Unfortunately we did not make a booking, and the restaurant was very busy. But we just sat at the bar drinking until a table was available. I recall ordering a nice juicy Fillet Steak, and a bottle of South Australian Shiraz. Both the food and service was great! No complaints here! Was a nice way to finish the day