Maroubra SUP said...
Sorry to hear "there seems to be lots of negative vibes, not really the aloha I remember from years ago."
I'm going over to Oahu and Maui next May-June
The GFC has hit the US pretty hard and life doesn't seem as easy as it once was here. As a tourist here I feel like a commodity. Much more than I would almost anywhere in Australia. Crime, so I've been told, is a problem, and from my limited experience, there are definitely places you want to avoid.
On the surfing side of things, the hire board I got was expensive and sub standard. I'm sure if I did my research better, I could have got something much better. Ive been only paddling out directly in front of our apartment - it's a tourist precinct, and by no means a premium break, and have copped stink eye. Ive also found some of the US mainland tourists here are pretty arrogant, which may explain the lack of Aloha.
If I was to compare Maui with somewhere in Australia, I don't think Byron Bay would be too far off the mark - similar vibe, similar cost of living, similar weather, scenery, beaches, maybe similar crime, but i recon Byron is genuinely more friendly. Not what I expected.
The American culture is interesting, but if I was to plan an overseas holiday to a pacific island again I'd probably choose an island in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, NZ, maybe Kaui is more what I was expecting.
