Anytime I see a pineapple, it reminds me of the largest pineapple in the world that was once located in Iwilei,  Kakaako. Although it has been dismantled, the iconic Dole pineapple water tower stood proud and tall and it could be seen from most vantage points in Honolulu from as far as Diamond Head. Years ago we bought a white ceramic pineapple water jug to remind of us of that tower.

Their Only Defense is Poison

Following heavy rainfall, wild mushrooms sprout from spores earthed in areas where they spontaneously appeared before like these on the grounds of Iolani Palace. Unique in form, these delicate fungus would probably inspire artists and architects such as Frank Gehry and credit would never be given to them. Their only defense would be poison but only if they were the poisonous kind, and even then, I ask the question, "How would they extract venom from themselves to plot against those who have stolen their intellectual property?"
 Perhaps I'm just attributing human quality to these beautiful things that have lifespans of about two days before deteriorating into nothing; but isn't it only natural to humanize everything as a human being, including inanimate objects such as these mushrooms that couldn't care about their own credit?  Any doubt, just recall the dancing mushrooms on Fantasia.  Click here for another view of today's photo of the day.

Angry Korean Lady

Jars of Kim Chee on the Roof of Mu Ryang Sa

The Ah Lang Korean restaurant in downtown Kakaako district is owned by the "angry Korean lady" (click on the link to see more about Ah-Lang). She is known for having great Korean cuisine with reasonable prices and most of all being pissed off if you don't follow the rules of her shop. Before going there, we visited the Mu Ryang Sa Korean Buddhist Temple in Palolo to see the jars of pickled kim chee cabbage fermenting on building roof top to prepare ourselves for our excursion to Ah Lang. Because the angry Korean lady is a one woman show, she is the cook, the wait help, the bus person, the host, the cashier, the shopper, etc... She has rules in place that you must follow or be subjected to a tongue lashing and maybe refused. Here are some of those rules: You must seat yourself, you must write down your own order, you must choose how spicy your dishes are by using her number system of 0 to 8 (8 being the spiciest), food comes first then water, you must pay in cash if your order is under $50, if you bring alcohol then you must bring some for her or else there is a corkage fee, etc... The wait was long but the food was well worth the wait. We were her last customers of the day and so we conversed with her a bit about her kim chee cabbage before she ran out to buy ingredients for dinner and left us in the shop by ourselves. Apparently she purchases fresh ingredients for every meal and she ferments her own kim chee as she brought out half a head of cabbage to show us and for me to photograph. Click here to see the kim chee that the angry Korean lady brought out. I don't want to ruin her reputation but she turned out to be quite a character and a cool lady. The food is a ten out of ten and I would definitely go back but only with time to wait.

A Fire Spread Across the Entire Town

Honolulu Chinatown 2011

Honolulu's Chinatown is colorful in more ways than one. The historical buildings were probably built in the early 1900's after it was burnt down starting at the boarder of Iolani Palace on King Street all the way to City Mill in Iwilei. Many of the people who lived in the area were infected with the Bubonic plague. Doctors and politicians believed that it was a disease of poor people and their remedy for it was to burn down the buildings that they thought carried the disease. Little did they know, people were infected with the disease by means of flea bites and because the lower class lived in highly soiled and littered areas (manily in Chinatown) where the fleas thrived, they were targeted as the inferior who were susceptible to the disease. There were high winds on that day that it was decided to set some of the buildings on fire for cleansing and unexpectedly the fire went out of control and it spread across the entire town. This same remedy was also used in Maui's Chinatown and in South East Asia. Click here to view a local vendor in Chinatown.

Art and Flea

Every Thursday evening in the heart of the industrial district in downtown Honolulu off of Queen Street, there is Art and Flea. Vendors selling vintage items, collectibles, handcrafted items, and interesting knick knacks gather to fill the parking lot and the entire space of a local coffee house/cafe', Fresh Cafe'. Twirlers twirl their LED hula hoops, the DJ spins his records, and the people gather to be a part of an exciting and hip mini-market. A youthful and energetic crowd 20's and 30's roam the market in search for unique items. I purchased a domino set that was handcrafted out walnut wood with gold metal inlay for $8. Click here to see today's outtake on facebook.

You've Got Nada?

Mailmen and ladies with their deliveries for the day at Honolulu's main post office.

 What will we do without the U.S. Postal? 

School Excursion

Click here to see 9/30/11 outtake photos at Honolulu Photo of the Day on Facebook

As a chaperon for my toddler's school's outing, I had an enjoyable experience riding in a school bus today. It reminded me of past excursions as a child and the excitement of adventure for the day. The open air windows, the bluish-gray vinyl bench seats, the high steps leading to the interior, the metal mini-fans, and the coin collector next to the bus driver, are a few nostalgic details in this prehistoric dinosaur. What is amazing is that the buses are still in operation and they are transporting another generation of kids to a variety of outings. These youngsters are building memories marked by the same details of the same buses that are from my youth.

The day trip was to the Children's Discovery Center  in Kakaako  where there were dozens of stations to explore and role play in such as mechanic, bus driver, fireman, sailor, newscaster, dentist, scientist, etc... Since I had a retro mindset, I photographed things that were from a different time period. See them at the above link as outtake photos on facebook.

Taco Tuesdays

Click here to see 9/27/11 outtakes at Honolulu Photo of the Day on Facebook

Every Tuesday there is a line up of a new generation of lunch wagons in the downtown Kakaako district. It is Taco Tuesday, which is a spin off of a mainland trend. There were a variety of tacos to choose from at several wagons. I ordered the Japanese style taco from Shogun Tacos. It had pork, sprouts, an oriental sauce, and cabbage, wrapped in an 8" tortilla.  Although it had it's own unique flavor I had hoped for something that tasted more interesting and exciting. I did notice that the Korean tacos were sold out, thus it would lead me to believe that the Korean tacos could be their specialty. Also in the line up were a local plate lunch wagon, burger wagons, other taco trucks, and an ice cream wagon. The customers ranged from business people to students from the nearby medical school. It's a must try if you haven't been there already.