BBQ Keyword
Chinese Cemetery
Sometimes my one travel rule of “Never Refuse an Invitation” produces some great experiences. An invitation to a BBQ from Rob, one of the people I have met at the hostel, was one of these.
Rocking up to the Chinese Cemetery caretakers house in Manoa I had no idea what to expect. I did not know anyone except Rob and his friend Alessa, and Rob didn’t know anyone except some guy John. We had no idea of the occasion and with great trepidation we moved into the party. Taking a look around, and deciding I really needed a drink to deal with the situation we setup shop and went about making a rum and fruit punch, underneath a projector running family photos. In short time we found out it was a childs 1st birthday party, which made things even more awkward but it wasn’t long before we had fit comfortably into the party and became famous for our punch.
It was strange having such a lively party against the backdrop of the cemetery. The Chinese Cemetery in Manoa is the largest and oldest of its kind in Hawaii. It’s position in the valley is amazing with mountains rising up on three sides and a view right out past Waikiki and out to the ocean.
The Party was rocking, with around 100 people milling around and more food than I care to mention. We stayed for a few hours, but unfortunately left before the firetwirlers and musicians were due to arrive. All in all a fantastic day out of nowhere.
Manly
With everyone recovering from the huge night that was my Birthday, we decided to head to Manly yesterday. Getting around 10 people together and moving as one is a big enough ask at the best of times, but stick a bunch of wayward, hungover backpackers together, most of whom speak broken English and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
Our aim was to hit Manly around 11am. We didn’t leave the hostel till about 12 lunchtime, and then took close to an hour to walk from Central to Circular Quay. All this was in good fun, and we did finally make it. I spent a while on the beach, then headed to the pub for a couple of quiet brews while the others sunbaked.
We capped off the night with an impromptu barbeque on Shelly Beach with some great entertainment provided by Jamie’s massive cooking effort. Later I watched the stars and contemplated the infinite of space alone on the lookout at the Heads. At least I got the last ferry back to town, which cannot be said for the rest of the crew.