Day 4: Road to Hana

Road to Hana is another place that we had studied quite a bit and decided to go. It's famous for (1) the narrow and curvy roads and (2) breathtaking views along the road. Most guide books say it's a must-see. Some people recommend going with a tour rather than driving ourselves because of the poor road condition. Some even say that the car rental company would not allow normal cars to be driven there unless your rental is a 4 wheel drive. It seems to only be the case in the past before the road was improved. In fact, the road from Haiku to Kipahula which we planned to drive was fairly safe. Still, we expected a long drive and started from the hotel at Wailea around 7:30 and planned to be back before 4pm. It turned out we did get back by 4 but not according to the plan though (more on that later) The key to travel this road is to pay attention to the mile marker. Highway 360 begins after Haiku (MM resets to 0. Our plan is to drive to MM 42 or beyond) The first "major" (or well-known/well-publicized) attraction was Twin Falls at MM 2. There was a big sign on the truck that sold fruits mentioned Twin Falls. We thought it would be a short walk behind the sign to the falls. Wrong! We spent ~ an hour round trip! Rain came suddenly and stopped quickly. My daughter's dress got mud all over. We were not prepared to walk that far anyway. Our conclusion was that it was not worthwhile to hike that much to see the falls (and you'll know why soon) but if you insist to go, turn left at the intersection (there was no sign. We might have been able to reach the falls from the right side too but there were too many obstacles so we didn't find out)

On the other hand, it was a piece of cake to walk (less than 3 min) and see the next waterfall, Lower Puohokamoa Falls:

And we saw this waterfall, Three Bears Falls, right by the side of the road:

At this point my son complained about stomach ache a few times and fell asleep on and off (Maybe due to motion sickness. He didn't enjoy the scenery for sure) At MM 29 there were 2 road-side restaurant (or food stand if you will) and we went with Island Taco (for shrimp taco, pulled pork rice and hot dog) for lunch. The other restaurant had coconut shrimp but it was ~ $15. It also had similarly (over)priced Chinese dishes so we passed. We decided we were better off turning around there instead of going further because of my son. Both kids were really looking forward to be back to the hotel and swim anyway.

And I have been looking forward to have dinner at the hotel's featured restaurant, Ko. The hotel actually has 3 restaurants in total. Ko is the high-end one and it was part of the renovation so another restaurant in the hotel acted as Ko's "temporary replacement" every night and serving Ko's menu. Because of the renovation, the hotel has a discount on Ko's three course set dinner. It was $39 during 5:30 to 6:30. And our young kid ate free there. I chose Hawaiian steak for my entree:

Good deal!

Day 1: Paia, Kihei, Wailea

Ever since we visited Oahu in 2002, Maui has been among the top of my list of place to visit next. Our first "taste" of Hawaii at Oahu was a great experience even though we found it a bit too commercial. I was looking forward to a trip to Maui for its natural beauty and it was finally materialized today. My first impression of Maui was not that great though: the wind was blowing really hard at the airport. And the lady at the Alamo's car rental counter was nothing close to being friendly. (She kept preaching us that if the agent (referring to herself) couldn't find our reservation using my last name, always provide the last name of the other person in the couple, as if this was a rule that we should have followed) After a long wait for Alamo's shuttle, we finally began our Maui journey around noon. First stop was the popular Paia fish market (we followed a Top Maui Restaurant guide that was thoroughly studied by my wife) Paia is a small old-style hip town, which I would visit 4 more times later on during this trip. I had a Obama burger (with Cajun style ono fish fillet and wasabi on top)

The dessert after lunch were shave ice (the lady was rather unfriendly as well) and gelato (from the Maui-only Ono Gelato company)
Next we stocked up some groceries from Kihei's Safeway supermarket. We shopped mainly for breakfast and snacks (Can't eat out all the time because cost of living is high in Maui) Then we checked into the luxurious Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. A lot of reviews say this hotel looks old but that's why we could afford it. In fact, it was being renovated so it gave out a few discounts and freebies for the inconvenience.

After walking a bit of the trail connecting a few resorts along the Wailea area beaches, we headed back to Kihei for dinner at Cafe O'Lei, a restaurant known for good Hawaiian food without hefty price tags.