"Honolulu - The Gathering Place" Honolulu by triplehelix

Los Angeles has Rodeo Drive.

New York has Fifth Avenue.

Honolulu has Kuhio Ave. and Kalakaua St.

Never in my life have I seen such exess! Now I know there are much bigger and badder cities out there but to think this is so close to my home! Honolulu is the capital of the state of Hawaii and translated means, "Sheltered Bay" but most give it another title, "The Gathering Place". The population of the State is approximately 1.5 million, the island of Oahu (where Honolulu is) holds 80% of the population. Oahu is three times as small as the Big Island, yet the B.I. holds about 10% of the population with most residing in my hometown, Hilo.

Kuhio Ave./Kalakaua St. is much like the Las Vegas strip. There isn't a store that's not here. We have Tiffany, Bvlagari, Niketown, Gucci, Dior, Guess, ect... the list goes on. This is a shoppers paradise, especially the Japanese. You can really get lost here as I did. I kept walking and soon found that I was nearly two miles away from my hotel! Besides shopping, there seems to be endless choices of where to eat. Many places are open 24 hours.

Diamond Head is probably the most recognizable image when you think of Hawaii. The crater sits at the south of the island providing a nice backdrop to Waikiki. This picture was taken from the road leading from the airport.

Diamond Head was formed ages ago from a massive explosion. The island itself is no longer volcanically active. The pressure built up over the years and its top blew off, leaving a hollowed out crater.

I cannot stress enough what an awesome feeling it is to waltz down the street and see all these stores. Keep in mind I come from a place where everything closes up at around 10pm... except for a places. Prices are not what I would call bargin. This is an expensive district to be in and many people are either wealthy or extremely trendy. The only thing that really annoyed me was seeing little 11 year old kids decked out in the latest fashions their parents probably sold their blood for... Kids... BAH!

• Pros:EVERYTHING from shopping, sight seeing, food, culture
• Cons:EXPENSIVE!!!!
• In a nutshell:The price of paradise is well worth the life here.