[Music Plays]
What's special to me about Honolulu
It has to be just the way of life
Things that we do to pass our time Don't cost money
You know we
go on hikes We surf or we paddle board
and it's just about enjoying what's here
The beaches are beautiful The swaying palmtrees are wonderful
However there's a deep rich history here
We are a place with a very vibrant indigenous culture
I find that to be a hugely enriching aspect of life
It's special, it's Hawaii There's a fragrance to it
You smell everybody's leis plumeria and tube of roses in the air
You don't worry about too much here It's too pretty to work
[Waves crashing]
We're very fortunate with the location of the shop
We're nestled in the coconut grove of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
We carry the finest Panama Hats in the world
They come out of the town of Montecristi in Ecuador
And they've been woven there
By the artisans
For literally hundreds of years
You're seeing predominantly fedoras
But because they're all hand woven, They're all slightly different
Years ago gentlemen used to go To haberdashery
His job was to fit the gentlemen With a proper hat
And we carry on that kind of a tradition
This space was created because
I had an overflow collection of vintage
I've been collecting whenever it speaks to me
whether it fits me or not
so that's why I'm sharing
otherwise if they fit me all, they wouldn't be yours
i like it to make you feel beautiful, which you are
so you walk in here and you get your dress and you're the princess or the prince
and you grab a glass of champagne, try on some beautiful dresses,
and enjoy being in paradise, really
[Music]
When you walk into Nohea, you are surrounded by
the art from hundreds of people from all over the island
all their different media and that is a really joyful experience
Local people come here for special gifts
but they aren't necessarily only valuable things sometimes things are $18 or $20
but they want that Nohea gallery sticker on it that shows that
it is handcrafted that it's made in Hawaii and that it's, you know,
something extraordinary
[Music]
The culinary scene in Honolulu is very exciting
I think it is experiencing a new Renaissance, a new surge of young energy
We have Vietnamese roots, so we take their traditions, appreciate it,
but also take that ball and run with it and make a lot of creative different stuff
The primal offerings is something that we have a lot of fun with,
we have like a focal protein, with a bunch of different condiments and sides,
you're just kind of meant to forget your manners, just have fun, use your hands,
drink alot
[Music}
When our guests come here, we want them to taste Hawaii
whether it's things that are grown in land fish from our waters,
as well as incorporating a lot of local methodology
Alan Wong is the institution, he's one of the four fathers of Hawaiian
cusine
Just like Hawaii is a melting pot of different ethnic diversities,
that's what's gonna show up on your plate in our resturaunts, is that diversity
Our place has been here almost 37 years, since 1978
some of our customers are like third generation
The food is always very good, and it's the tradition, by now
Late night sushi at Unagi's is one of the best places to go,
It's a little loud, you know
We're open until 2am, so after 10:30, we call that the midnight special
[Music]
Kaiwi is one of our showcase parks, it's called the Kaiwi state scenic shoreline
The trail itself is an old paved road that goes to a historic coastguard lighthouse
The view is breathtaking shots of windward Oahu, sweeping cliffs, glimpses of the
outer islands
During the winter months, it's very frequent that you see whales breeching
in the ocean below
What people are missing, when they don't get down to the natural resources
is just stunning, natural beauty
Iolani Palace is the only official royal residence in the United States
It was built in 1882 by King Kalakaua, who was the last king of Hawaii
Was later occupied by Queen Liliʻuokalani, his sister and heir, until the overthrow
of Hawaii in 1893
Honolulu was not only the center of the kingdom, but Hawaii was the center of the
Pacific
We'd like people to understand that this was an actual kingdom that had treaties
with other countries, and from that I would hope that people would also become
curious about Hawaiian people today
Shangri La was originally built as the private home for the heiress and
philanthropist Doris Duke, between 1936 and early 1939
She adapted architectural elements from all over the Islamic world and filled
it with her collections of Islamic art
It's surprising, it's not what people expect
I can't tell how often we hear "Wow"
To me, real Aloha means treating people with respect, I think that Hawaii would be
not the place that it is today if we didn't hold it dear and live it
[Music]