Molokai Day 4

Today was one of those unexpected surprises. You know the ones you get when you think it's all over and then the most beautiful surprise happens to you. Our flight was two hours later than Misti and James' so after sending them to the airport, we decided to just drive around to the closest beach on the map - Mo'omomi beach. We were also eager to get there because it was on the northwest side of the island  - the only part of the island we hadn't explored. There wasn't even a paved road there so we went off-roading. Something we'd wanted to do since we rented our Jeep Cherokee. So off we went. Yee-ha!  We discovered that the most beautiful places on this island are only accessible by off-roading. 


The journey there was rough. Our Jeep was put to the ultimate off roading test as we drove to a max of 5m/hr along this deeply rutted red dirt road. At times, we held out breath as we were bumped and thrown around our chairs, hoping that we wouldn't get stuck in the next deep rut. It was scary yet exciting. We never got to the beach because we ran out of time and totally underestimated the amount of time it would take us to get to it on a dirt road. 


The completely untouched barren coastline left us speechless. It was like seeing a place that had not been touched or changed in 10,000 years.It's jagged rock coast jutting out into the rough seas; the raw massive lava rocks strewn all over the place, the dry stony double lined drive path; the only sign of life being patches of unkept succulents mushrooming here and there; absolutely no sign of human existence; a place in complete abandonment of luxury; beauty in its most ancient raw form. Its hard to describe. I've never been in a place that looked so uninhabitable and yet it mesmerized. I left Molokai having a huge appreciation for a simpler lifestyle. In spite of the imminent development constantly taking over all the most pristine sites around the rest of the world, perhaps Molokai can be the refuge for those who long for the days of old where the beauty of the ancient rugged natural terrains are allowed to to thrive in silence, away from destructive human existence. 

our Jeep was covered in red dirt from hood to tire from the off roading

We passed a bunch of tell-tale signs of the anti-development sentiment of the landowners as we passed the ranches leading to the beach.

No 400ft Vacant Hotels with a red X on windmills

Dead birds + Fish = Broken Culture

Windmill = Scam

Moomomi NOT for Sale...Priceless

Most of us in my generation are never satisfied with what we have. We are engulfed by our society's consumerism. More is always better. Usually, disregarding the older way of life as a lower standard of living. In my life, I’ve always been searching for more – more achievement, more places to go, more things to see, more money. I'm glad we made this trip out here. It made me slow down; to stop and look back; to be thankful for the simple life; for the way life used to be. And perhaps it wasn't so bad. It was good.  

Molokai Day 3

Fishing was the name of the game today. Basically Elton and Misty did a lot of the catching. I did a lot of the watching. It was fun seeing them reeling in fish. We had to return from back to the ocean as they were below the regulated size for fishing or were the types you don't want to eat or are just too beautiful to eat like those bright yellow butterfly fishes often seen in aquariums. I had no idea fishes were so beautiful in color when they're alive and amazing to see how the colors fade as they die. When they're on the plate, their stunning color completely fades to plain grey and white that we so often see on our plates. Here are some videos of the catches we ate later tonight. They were absolutely delicious. Fresh from the ocean!

I tried something new today which was delicious - red cream soda. It's like strawberry flavored cream soda. 

Molokai Day 2

Most of our day today was dedicated to hiking out to explore Kalaupapa. Kalaupapa is a leprous settlement on the north side of the island. In 1866, the Hawaiians who used it as a fishing and taro planting site for the royalty were evacuated to make it the natural prison for those who were suspected of or contracted leprosy in Hawaii. The Pacific ocean and range of 1600ft (488m) sea cliffs which separated this peninsula from the rest of Molokai was the perfect setting to isolate lepers. It was the Hawaiian government's desperate effort to control this feared and largely misunderstood disease in the 1880s. Separated from their families and banished from the rest of civilization as cursed beings, they were forced to live in isolation here until their slow painful deaths. There's only one land route which leads in to this area - a steep hike down a 3 mile trail used by the ancient Hawaiians descending 1,600ft down the cliff along canyons and ravines. Once there, it is only accessible by joining a tour through the town for $60 and no one below the age of 16 is allowed. Instead of paying $200 for a roundtrip mule ride up and down the trail, we decided to hike it and get some exercise. 

Despite how steep the trail was as we passed 26 switchbacks, we were surprised that it only took us 1 hour to get down to the bottom. It was a little tough on the knees but otherwise quite doable. The view of the bluest ocean on the horizon and this remote land was breathtaking. There are spectacular northshore sea cliffs which are the highest in all of the United States, narrow lush valleys and vital watersheds, a volcanic crater and untouched shores.


Until an amazing priest called Father Damien took it upon himself to care for the lepers who were left here in 1873, this harsh windside locale was void of any amenities, buildings, shelters, or drinkable water. The people lived in rock enclosures, caves and shacks made of leaves and sticks. Until he himself succumbed to his death 16 years later to leprosy himself, he singlehandedly gave his life not only to being their priest but a carpenter, doctor, farmer, music teacher, engineer and even built a piping system all along the coastline through cement a pipeline to draw drinkable spring water from the cliffs down to the peninsula for the parishioners. Today it is largely occupied by the last remaining former patients who wish to live out the rest of their lives in peace and quiet. Coming here, the deadening silence all around is a tribute to the people who in the face of adversity and stigmatization by a misunderstood disease had the courage and will to survive, make the most of what little they had and go on living. When we came home, we rented the movie Molokai to see the story being told on film. It was heartwarming story of a rare glimpse of selfless love in the midst of adversity and beautiful to see the star-studded cast who brought it to life.

Kalaupapa trail

our glimpse of Kalaupapa from the trail and the pristine oceans here

View of where the first lepers were brought on ships at Kalawao

the isolated beach we finally arrived at at the end of the trail

At Kalaupapa looking west towards the seacliffs we came down from 

the seacliff showing the trail path we came down on

homes of Kalaupapa's inhabitants

A sign at a local Kalaupapa night bar epitomizes the laid back mentality of Molokai inhabitants

such an old school gas station at Kalaupapa

Father Damien's church, the only remnant of the buildings he built here

untouched coastline of Kalaupapa with the tallest sea cliffs in the US in the background

the sunset at Maunaloa on the western tip of Molokai 

Molokai Day 1

Elton had packed snorkels, fishing poles and all the equipment to go fishing and dive for octopuses. We were excited as this was the first time to Molokai for the both of us. The adventure started with us going on a Cessna plane for our first time. We were actually made to stand on a scale when we checked in. It was weird getting on the plane with only four other people and the pilot turned around and started giving us the seat belt and emergency exit spiel that I’ve only heard air stewardesses make. Elton turned to me and said, “I think we need to go outside and push it now.” The 30 minute flight from Oahu to Molokai was amazingly smooth for a tiny mosquito in the air and the landing was not too shabby.

It was interesting being on an island with only one paved road which ran from east to west hugging the south edge of the island. It's only 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16km) and no traffic lights on the entire island. The roads were so windy than we only drove on an average of 30m/hr. There’s no chain restaurants or supermarkets of any kind other than Subway, not even a McDonalds. Didn’t take us long to realize people here supported local businesses over big business with the number of “Save La’au” signs we passed. It's a movement to stop high-end development and support prevailing Hawaiian culture and values. With a population of less than 8,000 people, it is said that 70% of the population on Molokai live on unemployment with the vicious cycle of children of people who live by those principles when they’re adults. 


For Day 1, we just explored the southeastern side of the island driving on the only highway it has. It was interesting driving around a place without any cars on the road. In three hours, we probably drove passed less than five cars.

Flying out to Molokai on a 8 seater Cessna

my first time on a Cessna taking off

view of Molokai and the only highway on the island

Opihi picking on a beach near our condo on the southeast side of the island

view of Halawa on the southeast side of Molokai from the road

View of Halawa valley (southeast edge of Molokai) from the sea level

Misti and James looking for opihis at Halawa

picking Opihi for the first time

the one lane road which hugs the southeast side of Molokai

BBQ by the pool for dinner with fresh juicy Molokai shrimp 

Apparently the hottest night spot in Molokai is this Bread bakery downtown which bakes fresh bread loafs at 9:30pm. Yup, and there's no nightclub on the island. That IS it. So when the clock struck 9:30pm, we headed out to make a run to discover the spot. It was literally a hole in the wall behind a non-descript alley without so much as a sign. But we found it. The bread was fluffy and sweet, nothing too special but at least we can say we did it. I had so much bread, I'm all breaded out for the next month or so.

Molokai Bread shop in the alley - hottest night spot on the island

funny sign by the bread house that I had to capture

the cinnamon butter bread to the right and strawberry creamcheese to the left

Love is Hard

Elton and I re-dedicated our love to each other again today. We had a big blow up yesterday. For about 15 minutes, we said a lot of mean things to each other which were hurtful, damaging and cruel things to each other.  In the course of us being hurt and upset, we quickly forget what the issue is really about. Daggers come out and all we want to do is be right and hurt the other more and more so we get our way. I think each time couples argue, a little love is lost. I was at this low point where I could not see what we were working towards anymore. I felt like we were heading in a different direction where there was more and more lack of respect for each other, less regard for things that made us loving partners who edified each other, protected one another, is unselfish, giving, forgiving. 


I felt so broken hearted, I did not know what to do. Elton suggested focusing on the biggest I love I have in me - my relationship with God. He suggested we pray together every morning when we wake up and every night before we go to bed. The last couple days have been the most wonderful days we've spent together. Our consciousness seem to have open up.  As we've allowed God to be the center of our lives, He has drawn us closer to each other in ways I've never imagined. When we pray together, we become in tuned with what is at the crux of our concerns for the day, week or the day before as we listen to each other's prayer. We're more sensitive to each other's feelings. During the day, unconsciously we love each other through selection of words, expressions and tone of voice. Loving someone is hard. It's a continuous learning process. We've got so much to learn. But I think with the right person, it's going to be worth it all.

Liliha Bakery

Since Liliha Bakery is a local favorite bakery here in Honolulu, I decided I had to walk in to have a look when I accidentally came past it today. It totally reminded me of a typical old school All-American diner where the locals like to hang out at except that the patrons were older Asian-Americans! Besides freshly baked local pastries, the eat-in menu was a long list of typical local plates ranged from appetizers, breakfast to dinner meals like grilled mahi mahi, pancakes, beef stew and french toast. I'll be back!

long line of customers waiting to be seated for breakfast

If I had a grandmother who baked, this freshly baked custard puff would have brought me right back into her kitchen. It was perfectly old fashioned goodness packed.

Pond remodelling

The pond at our new place was really bad shape - the grass was dying, the trees were overgrown creating too much sun shade, the pond hadn't been cleaned in years. It needed a little uplifting so I undertook the endeavor of creating my first ever Japanese pond. It took me two weeks with a lot of help from Jesse and Elton trimming trees back, pulling out grass, weeds, all the plants and removing fencing. In went low lying plants like durantas, schefflera gold finger, nishi juniper, fern asparagus, lavender boutin and false heather. We even have a new pot of winter spinach (kangkung) growing in the pond! Finally, I rearranged the rocks so we could put in a pump to revive the waterfall. The patchy grass was replaced with white marble chips but I replanted certain areas with new grass to create some flow. Now, not only can the koi in the pond breathe better, I have a patio with a view to enjoy my morning tea! Here's the before and after.

Before

Before

Before

After

After

After

Waterfall

Waterlily flowering