When I traveled to Honolulu this summer, my main worry was that I'd be unable to escape a "tourist" version of the city, characterized by hula girls and overpriced mai tai drinks. My quest for discovering a more layered experience of the city led me to Honolulu's unique neighborhoods beyond Waikiki, Honolulu's most bustling area. By choosing less traveled routes, I found beautiful old buildings, rare flora and cultural richness.
In short, I found the Hawaii I'd been searching for: an urban city that thrived in paradise, where artists and creative types found interesting ways to liven things up, day and night. Here are five of my favorite haunts that I discovered while exploring the real Honolulu beat in the heart of Hawaii's capital.
Chinatown Artist Lofts
Honolulu's Chinatown may have gone through a period of neglect, but the neighborhood has recently seen a resurgence. In many ways, it owes its cool vibe to artists who've made the area their canvas. You can feel the energy at the Chinatown Artist Lofts (chinatown artistslofts.com), which, on a monthly basis, opens its studios to visitors for a fun evening filled with art, entertainment and unique drinks and eats.
The architecture of the Lofts' 1901 building, built in an Italianate style with open windows that mark its stucco exterior, adds to the ambience. The building's courtyard, filled with sweeping trees, provides a private, tropical backdrop. I hobnobbed with artists while voices from the Hawaii Opera Theatre rose up between the brick walls to the second-floor balcony, which had a perfect view of the singers below.
I also took some time to meander around the studios. One of my favorites, the Fishmarket Studio, exhibited artist Sergio Garzon's "underwater drawings" and large-scale prints filled with dense imagery — a face here, a big pineapple there and a surfer emerge from the abstract, intricate lines. Garzon, a native of Colombia, described his labor-intensive process: It required 50 people and a steamroller to create one giant print.
He's found a receptive audience in Honolulu. "I wouldn't want to move, that's for sure," Garzon said. "It would be professional suicide."
Iolani Palace
This majestic structure sits at the edge of Hotel Street downtown, surrounded by twisting banyan trees. Iolani Palace is the only royal palace in the United States, as Hawaii is the only state that was once a monarchy.
The palace once housed an imprisoned Queen Liliuokalani, the last ruler and only queen regnant of the 19th-century Kingdom of Hawaii.