I've finally made it to the US - who would have thought it When I first started thinking abou this trip, Ameica was far from my mind as i had everywhere else to go first, but now I'm here and it means my trip of a lifetime is almost over..... I still have 3 weeks left though for anyone who is feelin any sympathy for me, although given all the photos I've shown you and blogs I've written about the amazing time I've been having I think my sympathy rating is currently very low!!!

Hawaii hasn't been as I imagined it so far. It was by far the location that most people got excited about when I told them I was coming here, and I'm hoping that it will live up to my expectations but so far I've been quite disappointed. Firstly, the people I have come into contact with such as hotel receptionists and shuttle bus drivers have been quite rude which has suprised me as I thought that the Americans were really hot on their customer service especially wihin the Service industry. Waikiki is also not as I thought it would be and is really like Surfers Paradise where there is a really lovely beach and then behind it there are hundreds of HIgh rise buildings. Its also packed with tourists and not very well set up for the independent traveller.

On the plus side the shopping is amazing!! I'm definitely going to have to buy another bag. I also met a girl in Fiji who I"m now sharing a room with and we are hiring a car for a couple of days. I think I will like Hawaii more when I get out of the urban areas. I'm also off to Pearl Harbour tomorrow and Honolulu which should e very interesting and quite sobering I would imagine.

I will definitely be indulging in some surfing while I'm here and I'm considering a trip to one of the other islands, although I'm not sure how that is going to fit into my budget!!

Hopefully my next update will be a bit more positive!! I have to keep reminding myself that I'm in Hawaii!! xxx