Honolulu

Friday 31st January 2014. After travelling south- west for four days from San Francisco if you are lucky you land up at the Islands of Hawaii. If you are not you end up in New Zealand. The Island we found was Honolulu, however as ever, a certain Captain Cook, on an earlier tour with P&O had been here before. However since his trip was here in 1778 much has changed. Although the island is still very, very pretty

with some picture perfect bays, mountains covered in mist, where the rainfall is measured in metres to surfing to beaches where the surf is measured in oohs and aahs!

Having said all of that above, I found modern Honolulu seemed to have acquired the position of an American millionaires playground in the Pacific. The shops were all top of the range Gucci, Louis Vitton, Chanel etc. with prices to match, one new hotel was owned by Donald Trump and our tour guide kept pointing out to us just how many millions of dollars each house cost and which film star lived there or where a TV series or film was shot. Which other golf course would turn away an ex American President from playing because no member would sponsor him? Money talks in modern Honolulu.

I am sorry to have to say, but for me, somewhere along the way, I feel that despite the colourful shirts, the friendly people, the wonderful weather, Honolulu has lost its south sea soul to the goddess of the tourist dollar.