Travel Review: the spectacular magnificence of Dubai

Dubai takes your experiences beyond reality offering spectacularly designed architecture, and visuals that go far beyond the extreme with the world's tallest building, one of the world's largest aquariums, and more luxury high-end shopping malls per capita than any other city in the world

By Ray Hanania

When I first visited Dubai in 2006, it was a small Middle Eastern city with some amazing buildings and an exotic best known as having more construction cranes than any other city in the world.

The city was experiencing a massive building growth, but not just any buildings, buildings that seemed to require unique architectural designs. The most amazing building, the Burj al-Arab, was designed to look like the wind-filled sail of a ship sailing into a horizon of spectacular man-made islands shaped like a palm tree and a map of the world.

During the past 16 years, the forrest of construction cranes have been replaced by a forrest of some of the most unusually designed buildings, including among them the world's tallest building, a glass-like Shish kabob skewer that rises 2,722 feet into the glistening hot sun of the desert sky. Completed in January 2010, the Burj Khalifa rises to 163 floors, which is 35 floors taller than the next tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower in China at a modest 2,073 feet high.

The Burj Khalifa. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

There was a time when America boasted the largest buildings, the Empire State Building (1,240 feet), the World Trade Center Twin Towers (1,368 and 1,362 feet), destroyed by terrorists in 2001 but replaced with a magnificently new One World Trade Center which rises to a patriotic height of 1,776 feet, symbolizing the year in which America was born. Three of the once largest buildings in Chicago are now dwarfed by the construction achievements in the Middle East and Asia. The Sears Tower, now called the Willis Tower (1,450 feet), the Amoco Building, now called the Aon Building, at 1,136 feet, and the Hancock Center which is a meagher 1,128 feet.

Visitors once awed by the view from the Sears Tower, are now blown away by the spectacular views from the Burj Khalifa's three observation decks. The Burj Khalifa first opened with a Sky Deck on the 124th Floor, the highest in the world, with an observatory at the 125th floor. But a few years later, the Canton Tower, in Guangzhou, China opened its own observation deck a few hundred feet higher than the Burj Khalifa. To regain its title, the Burj Khalifa opened a sky deck on the 148th floor, making it the unchallenged absolute highest observation deck in the world.

The elevator to the Burj Khalifa observation floors is a spectacular moment of amazing digital entertainment.. The lights dim to darkness and the walls and ceiling of the elevator turn into a night sky filled with stars and amazing images. As the elevator makes its way to the 124th floor in less than 30 seconds, you are entertained with amazing digital images of sky, space and buildings.

Shopping area adjacent to the Burj Al-Khalifa. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

But the dizzying heights of the Burj Khalifa, which is often called the Shish Kabob Skewer of the Arab World because of its glistening, narrow pointed shape, is bolstered by being located in a water plaza adjacent to one of the largest shopping malls in the World, the Dubai Mall, which has 1,200 stores in 3.8 million square feet. 

One of the most famous equally large malls is also in Dubai, the Mall of the Emirates, which is located adjacent to the Kempinski Hotel, and features 2.4 million square feet of retail space but fewer stores, about 630. The Mall of the Emirates is also located adjacent to the 25-story tall Ski Dubai man-made, indoor snow ski mountain.

The Mall of the Emirates adjacent to the Kempinski Hotel and Ski Dubai has 630 retail stores including more than 100 restaurants. The mall was opened in 2005 and not only has a lot of stores, but as lot of space. The plazas are enormous. You'll see a mix of shoppers from women in black Chanel Burkas with their faces covered peering either through the silk itself or through a 1/4 inch opening between veils on their faces, to women in halter tops, shorts and the latest in Western style that is both conservative and revealing. Men do not have the same restrictions as women and will commonly wear western styles like blue jeans or suits, to Arab style with long white jalabas or thawbs.

California Pizza Kitchen restaurant at the Dubai Mall adjacent to the Burj Khalifa. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

The first thing you learn about Dubai is that it is the Mall capitol of the world, and has more malls than any other city. Dubai is an economic resort where visitors come to enjoy the luxury of the city's surroundings, and its exquisite architecturally designed buildings. Although Dubai is the jewel of the United Arab Emirates, the majority of the population is service-focused consisting of expatriates from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines. Locals will quickly tell you that only 20 percent of the population are actually Arabs.

While the Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai complex adjacent to the Kempinski Hotel is spectacular as a massive retail and resort complex, the Dubai Mall offers even more besides access to the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Inside is a huge aquarium with the entrance consisting of a giant three story tall aquarium glass that is more than 200 feet wide. You can pay to walk through a glass tunnel that takes you through the heart of the aquarium as the huge sharks, sting rays and grouper float by staring at you like you are food. But so many people just stand outside of the Aquarium glass wall and watch the fish swim by from inside of the Dubai Mall itself.

The Malls have most of the same high-end, luxury retails stores that are found in any city around the world. Most of the stores, about 40 to 50 percent, are luxury, high-end jewelry, followed by high-end luxury clothing lines like Burberry, Chanel, Coach, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Versace just to name a few of the familiar ones for Western consumers. About 30 percent are jewelry stores. The remainder are popular retail outlets offering food, books, records, music and computers including Virgin, Apple and more. The rest are restaurants, ice cream shops and candy stores.

Dubai Mall adjacent to the Burj al-Khalifa. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

Dubai is divided by a main road that runs North and South with the ocean on the west and the endless desert on the east. Along the coast is the Burj Al-Arab, which overlooks a man-made island shapped like a large palm tree featuring thousands of newly built homes fronting waterways between the island's "fronds." The beach waters are beautiful and emerald green clear. But access to the Burj al-Arab, unlike the Burj Khalifa, is restricted for most and only guests at the hotel are allowed to enter and enjoy is gold and gold-plated faucets and bathroom appliances.

Called Sheik Zayed road, named after one of the patriarchs of the Dubai's original Arab family, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who died in 2004. A large fixed bill board of Sheikh Zayed adorns the roadway.

Dubai Taxi Cabs are like brand new and it only costs about $10 to go from one place to another in Dubai. The monetary system is the Dirham which is valued at about 28 to 30 cents per dollar. Most fo the Taxis take credit cards and will charge you based in Dirhams or Dollars. Prices for retail merchandize are about the same in Dubai as they are at malls in America like the Woodfield Mall. 

You will find the same food in Dubai that you find in America. I ran into Five Guys, the Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, and more. 

It's a little disturbing that there are so few local restaurants, although you will find some. But remember, most tourists to Dubai are not America. They are Indian, Philipino, Bangladeshi and Pakistani. Visitors come from other Arab countries, too, so they idea of eating a crappy burger at McDonald's doesn't phase them at all. 

There's lots of pasta, a local version of pizza, but if you try hard, you will find a few Middle East restaurants like Mado's a famous Turkish restaurant which offers a culinary inspiring food presentation of Shish kabob, quinoa salads with pomegranate.

Dubai Aquarium view from the entrance int he Dubai Mall. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

Al-Iraqi restaurant offers Mezgoof, a meal of smoked fish cooked around a massive fire not burned on a tanior. The Iraqis would catch fish in the Tigris River, filet them and stake them around a hot fire letting them cook for 90 minutes or more.

Everything is air conditioned, which is a blessing when the outside temperatures during the summer are as high as 102 by 8 am in the morning. I tried to visit one of Dubai's original, authentic souqs, the Al Fahidi Historic District at the north end of Sheikh Zayed Road near the Dubai Museum and the American Consulate Building. I went on a Saturday morning -- Friday and Saturday are more of religious weekends for Muslims, similar to the secular weekends on Saturday and Sunday for Americans -- and the place was nearly empty. But the temperatures were so hot and shade was hard to find, I didn't spend much time there. The best time to shop outdoors is in the evening after 7 pm.

I visited the Burj Khalifa on a Friday morning and the crowds were absent. Friday is a religious day for Muslims and most Muslims don't shop until late on Friday or they stay home with family. The Burj Khalifa staging areas and waiting areas were practically empty and there was no waiting to begin my self-led tour. Normally tours last about 30 to 45 minutes but I managed a relaxed pace and spent nearly two hours enjoying the views of the city and the deserts.

The views of Dubai's buildings is an architectural delight. They architecture is varied and unusual. No two buildings look the same. The imagination of the designs are phenomenal and nothing seems too complicated, and yet they are very complicated designs.

Dubai is an Emirate, a small country ruled by an Emir who is a part of the United Arab Emirates on the Southeast coast of the Saudi Arabian peninsula along the Arabian Gulf (sometimes called the Persian Gulf). It is a coastal city that runs along the Arabian Gulf from the northeast to the Southwest. Two major roads traverse the length of Dubai and they form a corridor of amazing architectural splendor.

Burj al-Arab hotel along the Dubai coast. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

The main road is Sheikh Zayed Road named after one of the Emirate founders. One of the most beautiful buildings is the Burj al-Arab which preceded the construction of the Burj Khalifa. The Burj al-Arab is a high-end, posh self-described 7-Star hotel that forms the shape of a sail on a ship. Just to the south is are two man-made islands that forms a palm trees. To the north is a group of small man-made islands that form a map of the world. The beaches along this coast are beautiful and the waters are crystal clear.

I stayed at the Kempinski Hotel which is not only a very classy hotel but connected to the Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai.

Dubai's downsides are few but still worth mentioning here.

The first is that access to the beaches is limited with very little support for tourists who are not staying at the very expensive hotels or villas along the beachfront. Most average people can't stay at the gold covered toilet faucets at the Burj al-Arab, or at any of the villas on the Palm Islands. There are no companies that offer chairs to beach-goers who are staying at hotels inland. So you are really stuck out there. Only the very wealthy have support at the beaches, which are beautiful.

The other downside is that for most average people, flying to Dubai from America is a downer. The Economy Class is a little more expensive than "affordable," and very uncomfortable even on Emirates Airlines. It's a 14 hour flight in a 17-18 inches wide seat. Business Class is too expensive for regular travelers and costs upwards of $4,500. So travel to Dubai is basically for the wealthy. Most other people would be better off choosing a different location for sun-fun.

Road Trip: Monument Valley offers amazing panoramic views

On a road trip from Las Vegas to Chicago via Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, we saw so many amazing sites. One of the most memorable was a drive through Monument Valley along the border between Utah and Arizona off of US 163. It's really worth it

By Ray Hanania

Every time we turn on the television, we can see majestic images of the American West. These iconic geographic images are stunning, but often burred by a sale pitch for a car, or distorted by a advertising promoting some agenda.

One of the most popular are the shale and sandstone buttes, narrow flat topped mounds with the steep sides of Monument Valley which stretches over the border between in Utah and Arizona.

Monument Valley has been used as the backdrop and setting not only for commercials but also for many movies including those Westerns staring John Wayne and John Ford. The images of the various buttes stir the imagination for those watching the big screens. But seeing them in person is breathtaking.

Mountain cluster. Monument Valley. Photo courtesy fo Ray Hanania

It's something everyone should do at leas once.

We drove through Monument Valley during a road trip that started out in Las Vegas and ended in Chicago. It took us through the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, dinosaur fossils and desert panoramas, many Native American reservations, and the super high mountain roads in Denver that reached 10,000 feet into the sky.
Monument Valley was spectacular.

It is a collection of small and large buttes and mesas. Mesas and Buttes have one thing in common, very steep walls that drop straight down. Buttes are small isolated mountains and Mesas are wider mountains and hills with flat tops. They're made of sandstone and shale, shaped by millions of years of desert winds, sand storms, and the heat from an oppressively hot Sun.

Monument Valley is located inside a 26,000 square mile Navajo Reservation that is on both sides of the Utah and Arizona borders.

The entrance to Monument Valley from the north is located off of US 163 inside Utah, and consists of a 17 mile dirt road "loop" which you can drive with a regular car that takes you across the border into Arizona. You don't need a jeep or four wheel drive, but the road can be dusty and sometimes rough like a washboard.

Camel Butte at Monument Valley. Photo courtesy fo Ray Hanania

Monument Valley has a Navajo Tribal Park visitor Center at the entrance where you can eat, enjoy the distant desert panoramas and pick up some souvenirs. You need to pay $20 per vehicle to drive your car into Monument Valley, but once inside you can either drive the 17 mile "loop" route yourself, or you can hire one of the many open air trucks to take you in as a group, or ride horseback. You'll need to hire one of the Navajo guides to take you up close off-road to see the Buttes.

It was our first visit so we decided to stay in the comfort of our car. It wasn't bad at all.

You should go in with a map that the Visitor Center will provide. Each Butte has a name. Most have signs and you can drive up to them. But some are far away in the distance, accessible mainly by horseback.

One of the biggest problems, though, is that not all of the Buttes and formation have signs with their names and there are very few well organized books or maps you can find that offer a carefully laid out design for the valley with a description of the Butte formations.

Three sisters Monument Valley. Photo courtesy fo Ray Hanania

Many of so well known they dominate the Internet but many are few and far between.

Don't expect anyone to help you understand where Buttes like Merrick got their names.

Still, the formations are awe inspiring. Beautiful in the changing lighting during the day. It will take you two hours to really drive through the 17 miles and pause to enjoy each formation but you'll have to go there several times before you actually recognize all of them.

And before you leave, make sure you pause on US 163 to find that spot where "Forrest Gump" is running and suddenly stops while his disciples wonder what he's up to. It's a great place to get your own photo, too, if you are prepared to find it.

The Buttes are named by their appearance. The first group are the Mittens, East and West along with Merrick Butte. The Mitten Buttes each look like mittens with an area for fingers and a thumb sticking straight up.

Moviemaker John Ford often used these three Buttes as the backdrop for his Westerns. You can see them very well from the visitor's center, and also from the road side.

View of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte from the Navajo Visitors Center before driving into Monument Valley. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

The next one is a view of Three Sisters and Elephant Butte on the right side of the trail. Elephant Butte consists of a face that looks like the narrow face of an Elephant with a large trunk hanging down. The Three Sisters are three formations standing together, almost forming what also looks like a "W".

You can pull over to a large area where you can take in the beautiful views.

 

Road Trip Observations: Native Americans deserve better

Native Americans have been vilified, cheated, brutalized and ignored by mainstream American society. During a road trip through the Southwest, it seemed as if their situation has worsened in this country. The lies and propaganda against Native Americans by the news media and entertainment industry is disappointing. The way America abuses Native Americans is a reflection of the corruption of American society. 

By Ray Hanania

Published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group August 3, 2017

As I ended a road trip to America’s majestic Southwest, I came away with some unexpected feelings, including some I already believed and others that were surprising.

I flew to Las Vegas then drove back through Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming before entering the far less visually exciting “Great Plaines” of Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.

I was surprised at how it seemed that there were so many more foreigners enjoying the tourist sites rather than Americans themselves.

Young Navajo guide at the Tuba City Moenkopi T-Rex dinosaur tracks site in Arizona

Most tourists I saw at the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and many Dinosaur discovery sites like the Moenkopi T-Rex and Velociraptor footprint site near Tibi City in Arizona were from countries like France, England, Germany, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and a lot from Japan. (The observation is anecdotal, but someone should do a study to determine the facts.)

I was also disappointed to see tourists pack places with so much less culture, or nutrition, like McDonald’s and Taco Bell. They were everywhere.

Lastly, I was reminded of what I already knew. How terribly this country treats the original Americans, “Native Americans” from Indian tribes or “Nations” that include the Cherokee, Crow, Navajo and others.

Native Americans worked some of the big tourist places where I stopped. But most were owned by others.

Worse, when I went to purchase cultural novelties, I discovered many were “Made in China.” Why would anyone want a little “handmade” doll of a Native American dressed in cultural garb that is “Made in China?”

The focus wasn't on American history or Native American culture. It was all about the money.

I had the same uneasy feeling about this country while visiting Hawaii several years ago for the first time.

Don’t get me wrong, all of these places in the Southwest and Hawaii take your breath away. But in Hawaii, I also made the mistake of shattering myths, reading history books that contradicted the tourist messages: White Europeans stole everything from the “Natives” in America.

In Hawaii, many native Hawaiians won’t speak to White tourists – although the largest tourist group isn’t American or families of World War II veterans, but Japanese. I knew it was bad, but when you see how much was stolen from Native Hawaiians and Native Americans, you realize how bad it really is.

Throughout the trip, I saw clusters of tattered, dusty tents clustered on the road side with sparse displays of jewelry handmade by Native Americans from Navajo Tribes. Old women and children sat nearby almost begging for business. I spoke with many Native Americans and they seemed resigned to their fate.

The Grand Canyon is really grand. The huge and tall standing stone mountains in Monument Valley are awe-inspiring. Driving through mountain ranges and valleys as high as 10,603 feet in Denver is impressive. It reminded me how beautiful this country is, geographically. But I was left with a bad taste.

History I read on the trip exposed ugly truths, such as exaggerated reputations of people like General George Armstrong Custer. He’s no hero. He was a brutal crook. Custer’s “discovery" of Gold prompted the Government to break more than one treaty with Native American tribes that ignited even more land theft from the Native American Tribes.

Our real history is all about profits, money and greed. In treaty after treaty, we immigrants abused Native Americans and stole their lands. We massacred their people and when they fought back, we used that to portray them as "savages."

Sorry folks. We’re the savages. And our history is filled with lies.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and former Chicago City Hall reporter. Email him at rghanania@gmail.com)

Hawaii and the tragedy of its real history

By Ray Hanania

Review of the book "Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure" by author Julia Flynn Siler. Lost Kingdom offers insight into the terrible history of the abuse of Hawaii by greedy American businessmen and by politicians who saw it as a strategic asset. It was the Hawaiian people who paid the price for America's enjoyment of this beautiful island and destruction of its rich history

Most Americans probably really don't know and don't care about the tragedy of Hawaii. All they see is a beautiful island of hula dancers and a dream vacation that often gather little more than dust in the bottom of the bucket lists of most Americans who never get to travel there.

Julia Flynn Siler's book "Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure" may sound like a boring academic look at a long gone history of the islands, but it instead a compelling narration of how explorers from Britain and later America's Missionaries destroyed the innocence of the Hawaii people.

First, it was Capt. James Cook of the British Royal Navy who accidentally stumbled upon the Hawaii Islands in the late 18th Century while looking for a sea route to Asia's wealth. When his ship landed, the islanders were a complex people with customs, culture and historic rituals dating back nearly two millennium settled originally by natives from the Polynesian Islands.

 

Halona Bay, From Here to Eternity Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

Cook brought fleas and gonorrhea to the people of the islands which he first named the Sandwich Islands in honor of another British Admiral.

Cook was killed during a battle with islanders but when his men returned to England they brought with them stories of great natural resources, wealth and beautiful naked women.  A few years later, a Methodist Priest Asa Thurston led a group of missionaries to the Sandwich Islands, which were later renamed Hawaii, in the hopes of civilizing the natives there. But in the 80 years since his landing in 1820, the missionaries became greedy prospectors, stealing the land and resources of the island and imprisoning the native Hawaiians with teachings of forgiveness and love -- forgiveness for the foreigner and suffering for the islanders.

By the end of the 19th Century, Hawaii's royal family was deposed and jailed and the descendants of the American missionaries had managed to put most of the land ownership and the economy of the islands in their own control and hands. Hawaii was annexed and in 1959 was incorporated as an American State, against the will of the island's natives.

Siler tells this story in a poignant, detailed manner. It's a compelling narration of destruction and tragedy. Beauty destroyed by the missionaries who were driven by evil interpretations of the Bible.

The story of Hawaii is tragic beyond comprehension. Man of the natural resources of the island were destroyed and driven to extinction, while imported resources like sugar and pineapples were exploited into industries controlled by the "Hawlay" or White People as the native Hawaiians called them.

I remember as a child how America celebrated the embrace of Hawaii. We were told that the Hawaiian people wanted to become a part of America, but we were never told the truth of how American businessmen and robber barons stole much of what is now an American colony.

America can claim many great accomplishments. But the story of Hawaii and the imprisonment of their culture, transforming it into a cheap tourist industry now overshadowed by the many Pacific battles of World War II that began with the Japanese attack against pearl Harbor in Oahu on Dec. 7, 1941.

This is a must read book that will open the reader's eyes to the truth. In 1993, President Clinton and the US Congress offered an apology to the people of Hawaii on the 100 year anniversary of the island's annexation by the United States. Later under President Obama, legislation was introduced to grant special status to the native Hawaiians similar to the rights given to the Native Americans on the American continent.

Too little, too late. But it's not too late to know the truth of this beautiful island's sad and tragic history.

Click here for more details.

Oahu Travel: How to really enjoy the Hawaiian island

Hawaii is described as an archipelago of eight Islands long ago known as the “Sandwich Islands.” After the Pineapple lobby based in San Francisco flexed its political and military muscle in 1893 to de-thrown Hawaii’s  Queen, Liliʻuokalani, and grab land and resources, the Island became a major vacation resort for wealthy American tourists. Today, Oahu, which is the home to Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, is the most populated island. Here’s a way to travel there and enjoy it, and respect its native Hawaiian history

This is the first of several parts. An overview of my trip with follow-up stories to focus on beaches, areas, restaurants, scenic sites, historical monuments and places that should be recognized in honor of President Barack Obama. Originally published at Illinois News Network.

By Ray Hanania

Part 1: Before visiting Hawaii for the first time in 2012 for my daughter’s wedding, I only knew what they taught us in school about Hawaii’s history. The lessons focused on its statehood, and the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and played-down the brutal occupation and theft of the land and resources by European and American settlers.

But I had read a few books hoping to enjoy the islands more, only to become depressed by the tragic history of that occupation in the 19th Century and its takeover by American pineapple and business interests. The one that depressed me the most was “Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, The Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure” by Julia Flynn Siler.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Hawaii and be respectful at the same time. You can. Here’s what my family did when we traveled there last month for a 10-day trip.

On our first trip, we stayed at the hotel made most famous by the new version of the TV series Hawaii Five-O, which was popular back in the 1970s and 80s, and relaunched in 2010, Hilton’s Rainbow Towers, which sits on the Southside of the Island in Honolulu, on the west end ofWaikiki Beach, which was the destination of the Hawaiian Island’s royalty in the early 19th century, but became the tourism capitol under the direction of American robber-barons and one of the first popular Pacific islands’ resorts.

For any beach stay, I would recommend buying a small umbrella that twists down into the sand, about $24. These beaches do not have palm trees for shade, although they frame all.

Waikiki is a beautiful beach that technically stretched from the Harbor and Kahanamoku Lagoon all the way southeast to the beautiful Diamond Head mountain, a long since dead volcano. But the main stretch of Waikiki Beach starts at the Hilton Village and hotels and ends at the Sheraton Hotel, which is about 5 blocks long. The light brown sand is course, rock strewn and slightly littered.

It wasn’t my favorite beach.

Moku Nui and Moku Iki with kayakers at Lanikai Beach

That’s why this second trip, we rented a two-story stand-alone loft on the Northeast or windward side of the island near Lanikai Beach, which is a sister beach with Kailua, named after the nearby town. The ocean-front villas are hugely expensive and ours was less than one block away, which was fine. It was a short walk to Lanikai Beach which is one of the four finest beaches you can visit, but probably won’t unless you rent a car.

Make sure whatever you rent allows for parking because parking is in huge demand. The rich upper-class that owns the villas and homes along the beaches do everything they can to discourage people from parking in front of their properties, planting large bushes on open spaces and placing rows of large rocks. But, you will find parking if you get there before 9:30 in the morning. Just make sure you car parks off the street and that no part of your wheel encroaches on the “bike paths.” Police love to nail tourists who park even an inch on the trails and the fines are stiff.

The beach is filled with a lot of morning teams of kayakers, pulling their long boats into the water with 6 – 8 paddles. The sand is power white.

The only real hassle will be with the homeowners who walk their dogs up and down the beach, many without much attention and they can be annoying. But the homeowners know each other and I assume they get a kick out of harassing the tourists. Clearly, they really don’t want to share the beach with the public, but all Hawaiian beaches are public, including at all hotel resorts. You can go to any hotel, park in an appropriate parking place and walk to the beach and enjoy it.

Another recent law bans all smoking on the beaches and at all parks and public places, so don’t expect to relax and enjoy a cigar here or anywhere.

But the water is a crystal clear teal color. The waves can vary from small and calm to huge, so you always have to be careful.

Lanikai Beach has some small close-in seaweed covered reefs which you can snorkel, and bigger reefs further out that offer an array of beautiful fish. And the clear sand areas are patchy, so sun bathers and swimmers not snorkeling congregate near each other. The view from the beach is beautiful and you will see two small mountains in the Pacific Ocean about 500 yards out, Moku Nui and Moku Iki. One is a nature and bird preserve and is closed to the public, but the other is open to the adventurous who paddle out there in kayaks or even on standup surf boards — large wider surf boards that people stand on and paddle in calm waters.

Kailua Beach facing northwest

About a half mile to the west along the north coast is beautiful little town of Kailua and Kailua Bay which is about 2 miles long. There are more free parking areas but they also fill up fast. We drove there and easily found parking near where we laid out on the beach so it was convenient to bring a large ice chest filled with snacks and drinks without worrying about carrying it long distances.

At first, Kailua beach looks like a public beach that is overcrowded with tourists, the kind most people avoid. But it’s not. Ironically, most tourists to Oahu don’t travel on their own and concentrate in the hotel district near Waikiki Beach, which can become somewhat of a circus atmosphere. But Kailua is unbelievable. Pure white, powdery sand on the beach and in the water, too. No reefs nearby and it’s clear for 100 yards. About 500 years or more is Popoia Island.

There are two parking lots at the east side of the beach and it’s a short walk to one of my favorite restaurants, Buzz’s Original Steakhouse right across the main street from the beach, near the start of an inland canal.

The home where President Obama lived when he was born in 1961. No markers commemorating him, just the address.

This brings me to President Barack Obama, who was born on the island on August 4, 1961 at Kapiolani Hospital in Honolulu. The home where his mother and father lived is further to the east along the south coast, adjacent to the Paiko Lagoon Sanctuary and Bay. It was easy to find.

Obama stays in the area, at the northwestern end of Kailua Beach at the villa of Pearl Jam rock star Eddie Vedder, which isn’t too far from the huge Marine Corp Base (MCBH) and the Ulupa’u Crater (further north). When the Obama’s visit the island, you can expect traffic delays, closed roads and the small bay where he stays closed off to the public, according to many locals who live nearby.

I thought we could handle the sun longer than four hours, but during the summer months, the temperature may read 90 but the beaches feel more like 100 degrees. So by 2 pm, we returned to the loft, washed up and toured the island. One of the first places to tour was the small town of Kailua.

It’s a modern city with a Target, lots of McDonald’s but also other cafe’s and specialty restaurants. Lot’s of parking so you don’t have to worry. So we drove through the town and enjoyed several restaurants and different ethnic cuisines.

The first thing you learn when you visit Oahu and Pearl Harbor is that the United States may have defeated the Imperial Empire of Japan, but the Japanese are the largest presence on the island and while were there, the largest group of tourists, too. Oahu has a huge Japanese population and culture that is probably more sympathetic to the Native Hawaiians. And you can see the difference in attitudes among the tourists.

Most of the Japanese tourists I saw were young. Most of the Americans I saw were seniors. Hawaii is a bucket-list destination for many Americans because it’s a 10 hour trip from the east coast, nine hours from Chicago, and that’s if you take a direct flight. Add in the five hour time zone difference — Hawaii, of course is five hours behind us, and you can see why many Americans may see Hawaii is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation while the Japanese have a much closer flight and cheaper travel packages.

Food trucks along the roadside many offering a popular garlic shrimp skewer

There are also a large number of military personnel stationed on the island who worked there and retired there, too. Lucky them because everything costs about 75 percent more to purchase on Hawaii. We stopped at Foodland grocery (which is a large grocery chain) and the food costs where so much higher, obviously because much of the products have to be shipped to the island. It’s pricey so be prepared.

We spent 10 days on the island and after enjoying the two beaches near us, we drove everywhere. Our first excursion was along the north coast which is dotted with beaches and food trucks. Yes, food trucks. They offer everything from popular skewers of garlic shrimp to ice-cold fresh coconuts and Lychee.

The drive is breathtaking, nearly everywhere. The mountains frame almost every perspective. The roads are safe, but slow. But we did the north coast in two hours, adding time for stops, and an hour for a return to our loft.

Halona Blow Hole

Heading east along the coast is Waimanalo which has wonderful beaches and several scenic stops including the Halona Blow Hole which is adjacent to a very small beach that you can only reach by taking a somewhat steep path down from the road which was made famous in 1953 in the movie “From Here to Eternity,” Halona Bay.

The beach has a small cave you can enter that leads under the road about 200 feet to a small opening at the end. It’s safe but filled with some rubbish from irresponsible campers.

There is a large parking lot where you can pull over and take great pictures of both the blow hole, a hole in the reef that spouts small to huge blasts of water straight up as the waves crash into its sides, and the Lancaster-Kerr beach.

From Here to Eternity Beach, Halona Bay

The beach is small but beautiful and if you have seen the movie, it hasn’t changed much from when Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kiss while lying down on the beach. Don’t be afraid. Just be careful and hike down the step-like reef steps and path which you can see from the famous movie scene of Lancaster and Kerr kissing, hasn’t really changed in a half century at all.

You’ll also pass Koko Head park, the also dead volcano crater, Sea Life Park where you can enjoy lots of fun, and the Hanauma Bay park where you can snorkel. The problem is the park opens at 6 am and by 7 am, it’s packed and long lines of people are cars wait until people finish. If you want to snorkel, get up early and get there by 6 am. The morning swim is worth it, especially in the summer months.

Just past that as you now head toward’s Honolulu and Waikiki beach along the south shore is Paiko Lagoon where Obama’s first home when he was born is located.

North from Lanikai is more breathtaking and takes you into the farmlands and more native areas. You’ll see many signs on the side of the road declaring “Keep the Country Country.” And “Enough Hotels Already,” and “No More Hotels.” Most of the trip will be on the Kamehameha (Ka-meha-meha) Highway, named after one of the island’s royal family dynasties.

You will pass many great looking beaches as you drive towards Turtle Beach Hotel and its beautiful but small Kuilima Cove on the east side of the hotel and Turtle Bay on the west side. We spent a day at Kuilima Bay and loved it.

Turtle Bay, Kuilima Bay

Sunset Beach, Oahu

But further down is my absolute Number 1 Beach of all time, Sunset Beach. The sand is soft and the waters are crystal clear. The waves can be huge but I enjoy waist to shoulder high waters anyway — thanks in a large part to the frights caused by the movie “Jaws,” and author Peter Benchley, who ruined swimming for everyone. Sunset Beach is a large beach with more than enough parking along the side of the road and also a parking area along with Sunset Beach Park. It’s all free, like parking we found everywhere. It’s not crowded at all.

There’s so much more including “Shark’s Cove,” which is really a shallow snorkeling area with small reefs and calm waters. It’s perfect for kids and their families. One area is for novices, and the other is for seasoned snorklers and divers.

The crown jewel of the north shore drive is just beyond Shark’s Cove at Hale’iwa Town which has several streets with cafes, souvenir shops and ice cream parlors. Park and spend the rest of the day there enjoying the small town Hawaiian ambiance.

From there, it is a start drive through the island back either through the southcoast and Honolulu, or back to the east coast and Kailua.

Waikiki Beach facing northwest to Diamond Head

The South coast is also worth seeing, of course. And if you have never done so, you need to visit Pearl Harbor, although you should book your tickets before you arrive. You can buy the tickets and take a cab from Waikiki, or drive there from Lanikai and Kailua.

Waikiki Beach is also easily accessible. There is a large parking lot where you can pay about $11 to $30 for 5 to 10 hours. It’s a short walk past the Army Museum, which is across the street and right near the north end of Waikiki Beach.

There are many historical museums including the Palace of Queen Emma, which is small and may take an hour to see the home of a past Hawaiian Queen and Hawaiian royal customs. There is a modest entrance fee to help cover the costs of maintenance and care. So much Hawaiian heritage was stolen and worse, destroyed, and this museum strives to preserve what remains. There is also the more expansive and detailed Bishop Museum, which is free. The Bishop Museum offers lots of detail on Polynesian, Hawaiian and the cultures of the Pacific (Oceania).

Heading towards Honolulu

Downtown Honolulu is like a more exotic New York City, but without the danger.

During my two trips, I never felt any threats and dangers walking through or in any of the locations. You should know that many Hawaiians, naturally, harbor a resentment to Americans and refer to them as “Haole” (pronounced How-lay) referring to White people from the mainland. Hard core Hawaiians will not speak with you, not out of rudeness but protest for America’s abuse and oppression. (They often say that the two biggest contributions the White Man made to Hawaii were fleas and gonorrhea to the islands. Can you blame them for being a little pissed?)

(I’ll have more on the beaches, favorite restaurants, culture and President Obama in subsequent travel columns I hope you will check for here at Illinois News Network at www.IllinoisNewsNetwork.com or at my column’s website at www.RayHanania.com.)

Travel: Western Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Epic

By Ray Hanania

Norwegian Epic Cruise deck

We cruised the Eastern Caribbean and the ports of the St. Thomas, St. Marten and Nassau in November 2013 over Thanksgiving and we decided to do it again over Thanksgiving in 2014, this time visiting the port cities of Ocho Rios, Cozumel and George Town in the Cayman Islands.

We enjoyed the Norwegian Epic a lot, mainly because of the stops, the Water Slides for the kids and the phenomenal entertainment that featured the must-see live performance of The Blue Man Group. The Blue Man Group is a show that everyone should see not just once but many times, and they are exclusive to the Norwegian Epic, which is why we decided to chose them instead of another cruise line for this cruise tour. The Blue Man Group is the most entertaining and enjoyable live show I have seen.

Norwegian Epic falls short in some areas, like food and on-board swimming pool, but it makes up for that with the three giant water slides and the “bowl” which was so much fun to try. Between the water slides and the Blue Man Group, my teenage son loved the trip more than we could have imagined.

Norwegian Epic one of the buffet stations

But, like I said, the food on board the ship is just OK. The dining areas are good, so we opted to pay extra to enjoy the specialty restaurants each night to avoid the unruly, sloppy crowds that sloshed their way into the main dining room like it was their home kitchens in the middle of the night.

One of the big problems with the Norwegian Epic is that you haven’t finished paying for things once you have booked the cruise. We had to pay for Internet that just doesn’t work. This is our second trip and the $100 I spent for 250 minutes of Internet time on each cruise was such a disappointment, despite the great Blue Man Group and water slide, we’re ding another cruise line next time. There’s no option when it comes to the Internet. It’s a necessity and it would be nice if the Norwegian Epic took that amenity as serious as they do the room accommodations, which were nice.

Inside La Cucina in the Norwegian Epic

We had to pay extra for good meals. We ate each night at a specialty restaurant including twice at the Hibatchi restaurant, Teppanyaki, which was a lot of fun. Cagney’s Steak House, which was good. And the Brazilian style steak house, Moderno, twice. It was THAT Good. We also tried Le Bistro, French cuisine, just to break up the monotony of the meals. And we enjoyed La Cucina,which featured Italian food in a very decorative, nice lower deck setting. It was part of the Ultimate Dining Package which only cost us $357.

There is lots to do on the ship, but I couldn’t find a place to smoke any cigars. The people on the cruise vary in decency. So many foreigners are just obnoxious and don’t care. We were sitting at a corner view on deck with 3 lounge chairs enjoying the view when an Indian family parked themselves on our seats while we were sitting down. These were Indian Americans! So rude. I had to threaten them with scowls and grunts in Arabic to scare the crap out of of them to get them to leave and show people respect. That was fun.

Our little place in cruise Heaven

Our little place in cruise Heaven

Reserving your lounge chairs is a necessity anywhere on a beach or a cruise line deck

But nearby was a loud-mouthed woman who just couldn’t stop telling everyone on the ship that she was from Texas. Yes Tex-ASS! Shut up lady. No one wants to hear your endless blowhard silly pointless stories while your husband gets sloshed on beers — that cost quite a bit, too.

Alcohol and drinks on the ship are costly and are not a part of the package. We had to buy a drink package. The alcohol package has to be purchased for all adults in your group, at around $100 a day. I couldn’t imagine drinking $800 in alcohol during the cruise, until you see the prices, of course. So we opted for the lesser all pop and cola drink package for $140 for the three of us. They give you a plastic Mug that you carry around and get refilled. (There are juices, and water in the cafeteria, if you don’t mind getting down with the sows.

There is a lot of deck space to find chairs and relax but it can get crowded. The ship carries more than 4,000 passengers and crew. That’s a lot for even the largest ship.

There are six Hot tubs on the Norwegian Epic

I slipped while walking down one of the deck stairs on the outside deck near the pool and jammed several fingers including my ring finger, and cut my leg, arm and hand. They have a medical center on board and it turned out that the young Doctor on board knew my family from Barranquilla, Colombia where he is from. Nice guy. They still have to investigate what happened and filled out all the accident forms. They obviously have to protect themselves from people who are looking to file lawsuits over anything. It’s better than playing the Lottery. The doctor had to cut off my three-braided gold wedding ring, which was not easy when my finger was swollen and turning blue. And they took x-rays. There was no added cost for it all and I assumed responsibility for the fall. The doctor noted that they have a dozen accidents on board every day, not to mention a few travelers who never make it back to the ship in time for sailing.

We had three port stops and we planned one day of activities at Cozumel, a split day of tourism (zip lining for my wife) and beach at the Riu for my son and I in Ocho Rios, and a day of luxury at the Royal Palms Resort in Grand Cayman Islands.

Ready to return to Cozumel Porto Langosta Plaza on the dune buggies from Playa Morena beach

Playa Morena, Cozumel, Mexico

Beachbuffet at Playa Morena in Cozumel, Mexico Dune Buggy excursion

We booked a 4-wheel drive dune buggy day excursion for Cozumel. That’s a caravan of dune buggies that drive from the port to a beach and tour the island. I’d been there many times before and the place has definitely changed. The excursion took us to the east ocean-side of the island where we swam and enjoyed a decent Mexican meal under a nice tent. It wasn’t bad but the water was too rough.

While in Cozumel, we also hung around the downtown area near the cruise port docks, Punta Langosta Pier, which is packed with tourist trap junk shops. We walked along the waterfront and had a nice lunch at a hotel restaurant overlooking the water, The Barracuda Hotel.

It was small, had a tiny pool but lots of kids. And turns out it’s a Gay and Lesbian hangout. Bit we had a great meal there on the outdoor patio by the pool overlooking the Cozumel waters. The Barracuda Hotel is best known as a divers hangout, too.

View from the Barracuda Hotel patio where we ate

What’s Cozumel, Mexico with a Senior Frogs?

tourist stand at Cozumel port

Norwegian Epic docking at Cozumel next to the smaller Norwegian Sun

In Jamaica, we split up and my wife went on the Zipline tour and my son and I spent the morning walking around downtown Ocho Rios, hassled by many needy people who wanted to be our guides. We finally relented and walked through the downtown area while the man pointed out the sites and some history. I gave him $20 for his time, which was equivalent to $2,200 Jamaica Dollars.

Coconut stand in Ocho Rios

Downtown Ocho Rios

Downtown Ocho Rios, Jamaica

At 11 am, we were booked to go to the Riu in Ocho Rios. I was a little hesitant about Jamaica. My last trip to Jamaica wasn’t a good one. I didn’t like the resort we stayed at the year before in Negril, the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton.

The beach there was so small and there were flies everywhere. I was hesitant to try the Riu, but the place turned out to be phenomenal. I really hated the trip to the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton,  but who knows, maybe I shouldn’t be so critical. I expected so much more from them and there was a lot the hotel could have done to make it a better stay by paying more attention to the needs of the guests instead of to themselves, and cleaning up the beach. Here’s my review of that trip.

But the Riu Ocho Rios was simply phenomenal. I am definitely going back there.

Riu Ocho Rios beach and jerk chicken outdoor barbecue

Riu Ocho Rios beach scene

Beachfront at the Riu Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Riu Ocho Rios beach view from water

Riu Ocho Rios beachfront

Riu Ocho Rios pool area

The Riu in Ocho Rios has a beautiful beachfront that is large and expansive. There are a lot of palm trees for shade and many lounge chairs to relax. And, it had a wonderful pool area. Plus, the hotel hosted an outdoor barbecue where they offered jerk chicken, rice and black beans and even fresh coconuts that you could drink from. Free. Drinks were free, too.

It was a day trip, which means the hotel allows cruise guests to enjoy their facilities for a fee. It only cost about $90 per person ($180 for the two of us.) It was well worth it.

We grabbed a cab from the cruise port in Ocho Rios, after walking through the town in the morning. I could have taken one of the tourist cabs which rip you off — they wanted $30 US to drive us to the resort which was about 2 miles down the road. We walked to the mainstreet and hailed a cab that had people in it.

Port Ocho Rios tourist stands

When I leaned in and asked how much the cab ride was, he said $200.

I said, “$200 dollars? You have to be kidding?” That was before I realized $200 was Jamaican dollars and less than $2 each. I told him I’d give him $20 and he said get in.

When he dropped us off, I handed him the $20 US and he gave me back $18 US. I was surprised by his honesty and I gave him a $10 US tip.

After show picture with a member of the Blue Man Group and my son Aaron.

The ride included four other ladies who were sitting int he front and back and we crowded ourselves in and listened to the Jamaican chatter as we crawled down the road through traffic. I thought my son would appreciate that experience more than an overpriced tourist targeting cab ride.

The water at the Riu Ocho Rios was beautiful. So clean and clear. We really had a lot of fun there. It was a day trip, so we returned by cab to the boat about 30 minutes before it was to depart. My wife loved the zip lining.

Our third stop was to be the Cayman Islands where I had booked a day of luxury in the sun and a private Cabana at the beautiful Royal Palms Hotel in George Town. But the waters were so rough the cruise ship had to skip the port. I was disappointed. That was going to be my one stop where I would relax and smoke cigars the whole day and enjoy the beautiful waters of the Cayman Islands.

Last year’s excursion to the Bahamas was so disappointing. The Bahamas have been ruined by tourism and over building of the Atlantis Water Park which has eaten up most of the beach area with dirty shark pools and stingray pools and water slides. The nice thing was that because the ship never docked, they didn’t charge me for the day trip there which was only $100 for the three of us. We’d buy our own food and drinks, which I didnt mind. Served by a waiter. We would have had a cabana and three chairs in front, right on the beach, that would be reserved just for us.

Oh the humanity of it all lost! Sigh!

Port Ocho Rios tourist stands

The two places I definitely will go back to is the Riu in Ocho Rios. I am so happy I found a great vacation spot in Jamaica. I was so worried about what has happened to tourism there. I’ve spent half my life there with relatives and friends since the 1970s — of course in 45 years, a lot sure does change although Rick’s Cafe in Negril is still brilliant and worth every penny.

The Norwegian Epic has a casino, many floors with music and a big screen TV, a dance floor, and casual dining restaurants that I never got to explore. The ship doesn’t do a good job of telling you what’s on board and you pretty much have to explore on your own, which is good and bad because you might find a gem and you might miss a gem. No matter what the deal they offer, it still will cost $3,000 for three people including the “Children free” option. With the taxes and the mandatory tip you are required to give to the cruise employees ($252 at the start of the trip), it all adds up, and that doesn’t include the drink or food packages, or any of the excursions.

Norwegian Epic Ice Bar

One bar we did try was the Ice Bar. This is literally a bar made completely out of Ice in a room that is chilled to sub-arctic freezing temperatures. You put on a fur lined coat with a hood and gloves and go inside and enjoy two drinks. It’s the one place where Vodka tastes great.

I realize Vodka doesn’t taste as good unless them temperature is below Zero! We didn’t stay long enough to finish our drinks, but it was really something to experience.

Norwegian Epic Ice Bar

Norwegian Epic Ice Bar