Would you believe it? Maui has a population of about 200,000 but every year 2 million visitors from all over the world visit this little island for a holiday. Below, you can see Castle Camaole Sands, a big resort apartment which comes with a bedroom, kitchen and a big living & dining area.
We also signed up for a helicopter tour which took us to the east and west of Maui. We saw the world's largest dormant volcano, Haleakala crater, the fabulous cascading waterfalls of the Hana rainforest & the mountains in West Maui. The valley was beautiful but the pilot didnt go down the valley which I thought was a waste. Anyway the ride was nice but not thrilling. It moved at a very slow pace. I wouldnt want to do this again, Disneyland is more fun!
We went snorkling at Molokini - I saw beautiful corals with sea creatures & colourful fishes though not many. We were brought to the one of Lanai's famous reefs for our next snorkel site. I didnt think it was fantastic. Dont go snorkling in the U.S., the better places are in Pulau Langkawi and Rendang in Trengganu in Malaysia! Moreover, snorkling is a lot cheaper & fishes are plentiful, & they swim all around you. Did you remember I saw a baby shark swimming past me in P Langkawi?
Anyway, as the deluxe boat travels on the Pacific Ocean, we saw many playful dolphins swimming in front of the boat and beside it. That was the first time I ever saw a school of flying fish out of the water. They looked like little helicopters with transparent wings and pink bodies.The panoramic ocean, the mountain scenery and the line dividing the sea from the sky in the distance reminds me of Genesis 1 when God created the earth.
Genesis 1:9 "And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." And it was so. GOd called the dry ground 'land' & the gathered waters he called 'seas'.
Vs 20 "Let the water teem with living creatures... vs 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living & moving thing with which the water teems.."
Some scientists say the nbr of stars in creation is equal to all the grains of all the sands on all the beaches of the world. The vast galaxy we live in is spinning at an incredible speed of 490,000 miles an hr. But even at this breakneck speed, our galaxy still needs 200 mil years to make 1 rotation. And there are over 1 billion other galaxies just like ours in the universe. To say the universe 'just happened' or 'evolved' requires more faith than to believe that God is behind this wonderful creation. This earth functions with such remarkable order and efficiency!
Truly, Hawaii is blessed with beautiful beaches wherever you go. Oahu is also blessed with an abundance of botanical gardens.
The Hilton Resort is really a beautiful place with the world famous Waikiki beach just next to the hotel. The hotel is really HUGE and it's filled with ponds, gardens, open cafes & quaint shops; even the Registration Counter is open ie they have no doors.. it leads to the open courtyard with sofas with plants & trees all around. The room of course is luxurious. By the way, the bathroom is stocked with Crabtree & Evelyn's soap, shampoo & conditioner!
Now in Oahu, we were treated to Polynesian dance during our dinners for 2 nights. It was entertaining and tonight, all the guests were taught some basic dance steps and we all danced to it. Even Ps Khong danced, he sat at our table.
The conference is very good and I shall share some of the 'gems' I've learned the next time I blog. But it requires a paradigm shift if you want to do business in the marketplace. The principles are good to adopt.
Tomorrow, we will be visiting a church and we'll come back in the evening for another session after dinner. Afternoon will be free, so I think I'll go to the Waikiki beach. This time, I will take off my shoes, and wiggle my toes in the warm golden sand. This beach is a 2-mile stretch of shoreline. The Hawaiians will tell u not to leave Oahu until you've walked the length of this strand.
Next week, we will be going to downtown Honolulu for our conference. Conference will end on Wed 12noon after which the ladies will go to the outlets to shop. We'll leave Honolulu on THur and arrive Spore on Fri around 6pm.
We should come back to Hawaii and take you two to the crater to watch sunrise. But you have to wake up at 3am to set off. Only 5 out of 14 of us went up the crater. Your dad was not well so we didnt make the trip. He was just too exhausted with not enough sleep. I cannot abandon him can I? Sigh!
Take Care n Love Ya!
Mum