Hawaii: International Market Place

The International Market Place was started in 1957 when street artists and street vendors started to congregate at this small square. It had grown into a major market place in Honolulu particularly for the tourists at Waikiki Beach. Tourists used to pick up some wacky souvenirs and a few Hawaiian shirts from here. It is sad to hear that it had been closed for good at the end of the very same year of my visit, 2013. Well, at least we can still walk through the memory lane via photographs.

Hawaii: Kawaiaha'o Church

Kawaiaha'o Church in downtown of Honolulu is considered the Westminster Abbey of the Pacific due to its status as the national church of the Hawaiian Kingdom and chapel of the royal family. The history of Kawaiaha'o Church dated back to 1820 when the first missionaries constructed the first church in Oahu in the form of a grass thatch.

The existing 1842 Gothic-style church took six years to build out of 14,000 coral slabs. Each block of coral slab was chiselled out from offshore reef by divers at three to six metres deep of water on the southern coast of Oahu. It was a rigorous task for the divers which took them four years to complete.

During my visit on 18^th June 2013, there was a wedding ceremony going on. Therefore, moving around the inside of the church was quite restricted. Nevertheless, I sat down and witnessed the church wedding ceremony of the Japanese couple.

It was a nice experience to visit the oldest church in Oahu and witnessed a wedding ceremony at the same time. It was moment like this that brings back the good memory of travelling.