I just returned from getting my ship wreck diving certification on Maui. Thank you Gabe Scotti and Kaimana Divers About Us :: Kaimana Divers: SCUBA Diving in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Gabe was fantastic meeting all of my diving needs.
I had limited time in Honolulu and I wanted to complete my ship wreck penetrations. I surveyed 8 different dive shops on Maui and I had ranges from nearly $300 for two dives to $100 plus lots of extra hidden expenses.
First I was shocked by the big range.
Secondly I was amazed that all dive shops had the same agenda. -- A early morning wreck dive then a shallow water reef dive. So no special service were offered for the dive agenda. The wreck dive was pretty neet, I need to work on my reel work some more. Although I saw some fish that I had not seen before the coral was pretty non exisistant. When I saw on google earth that the south coast of Maui was a dead zone, it explained a lot.
I am extremely disappointed in Hawaii.
1st the Airport is old and it is extremely difficult getting through security. I am in the military so I want our country to be safe as any one, but the security is inefficient and duplicitous. Build smoking rooms at the airport for the Japanese tourist. Smoking rooms are common through out Japan and have big scrubber fans that clean the air.
2nd Maui is run down and the infrastructure is failing. Streets are ill repair, and roads lead to no where and traffic is horrible especially for the tourist. Drivers are rude, and often instead of showing the tourist the Aloha spirit they flip them the bird.
3rd There is no parking and the parking that exist is metered and heavily fined, which is not conducive for attracting tourist.
4th There are many homeless people living right on Waikiki, again a sight that the tourist do not want to see. Does Hawaii have shelters like any other US city have? Can you have at least the homeless move during the day? Offer them some meals from all the food that the hotels through away.
I don't want to be all negative. So I will offer some solutions. Create ten fold more parking by making parking lots out out some of the parks. Decrease the amount of metered parking. Build city parking garages that are convenient and metered for over flow.
Fix infrastructure to include road networks. Build mass transit systems (trams subways) to move people. Guam has a free tourist trolley that services all the hotels and beaches. The hotels pay a small fee for this service. Pave and fix roads in the middle of the night to avoid impact to the city.
Fix the airport. The airport is not only the gate way to Hawaii but for Asian tourist coming to America. Federal funds may be in order since Obama used to go to school in Hawaii. Combine security together e.g. customs, agriculture, immigrations, and booking so passengers don't have to keep pulling out their documents at each point. Build the airport with the Aloha spirit welcoming tourist to Hawaii. Make the airport efficient currently it is difficult to get around and passengers tend to walk long distances to get to there gates. Look to Asia especially Japan for efficient airports.
Fix the H1. For Locals develop certain lanes that if they have a pass they are allowed into those lanes exclusively. Build toll roads to pay for road construction. Look to how Germany monitors the Automon via video for accidents and slow downs.
Build a solid EMS, Police and Fire response system Roads and services are products of you tax dollars hard at work.
Build ports and harbors, protect the reef and the beaches this is why tourist come to Hawaii. A good example of this is Okinawa, Japan where they have converted mud flats into artificial beaches that now attract thousands of main Japanese. Have the Coast Guard check boats to make sure they are not emitting oil and fuel into the ocean.
I am an American I have lived in Japan since 1997. Currently I would not even take a free trip back to Maui or Honolulu.
Good Luck
I had limited time in Honolulu and I wanted to complete my ship wreck penetrations. I surveyed 8 different dive shops on Maui and I had ranges from nearly $300 for two dives to $100 plus lots of extra hidden expenses.
First I was shocked by the big range.
Secondly I was amazed that all dive shops had the same agenda. -- A early morning wreck dive then a shallow water reef dive. So no special service were offered for the dive agenda. The wreck dive was pretty neet, I need to work on my reel work some more. Although I saw some fish that I had not seen before the coral was pretty non exisistant. When I saw on google earth that the south coast of Maui was a dead zone, it explained a lot.
I am extremely disappointed in Hawaii.
1st the Airport is old and it is extremely difficult getting through security. I am in the military so I want our country to be safe as any one, but the security is inefficient and duplicitous. Build smoking rooms at the airport for the Japanese tourist. Smoking rooms are common through out Japan and have big scrubber fans that clean the air.
2nd Maui is run down and the infrastructure is failing. Streets are ill repair, and roads lead to no where and traffic is horrible especially for the tourist. Drivers are rude, and often instead of showing the tourist the Aloha spirit they flip them the bird.
3rd There is no parking and the parking that exist is metered and heavily fined, which is not conducive for attracting tourist.
4th There are many homeless people living right on Waikiki, again a sight that the tourist do not want to see. Does Hawaii have shelters like any other US city have? Can you have at least the homeless move during the day? Offer them some meals from all the food that the hotels through away.
I don't want to be all negative. So I will offer some solutions. Create ten fold more parking by making parking lots out out some of the parks. Decrease the amount of metered parking. Build city parking garages that are convenient and metered for over flow.
Fix infrastructure to include road networks. Build mass transit systems (trams subways) to move people. Guam has a free tourist trolley that services all the hotels and beaches. The hotels pay a small fee for this service. Pave and fix roads in the middle of the night to avoid impact to the city.
Fix the airport. The airport is not only the gate way to Hawaii but for Asian tourist coming to America. Federal funds may be in order since Obama used to go to school in Hawaii. Combine security together e.g. customs, agriculture, immigrations, and booking so passengers don't have to keep pulling out their documents at each point. Build the airport with the Aloha spirit welcoming tourist to Hawaii. Make the airport efficient currently it is difficult to get around and passengers tend to walk long distances to get to there gates. Look to Asia especially Japan for efficient airports.
Fix the H1. For Locals develop certain lanes that if they have a pass they are allowed into those lanes exclusively. Build toll roads to pay for road construction. Look to how Germany monitors the Automon via video for accidents and slow downs.
Build a solid EMS, Police and Fire response system Roads and services are products of you tax dollars hard at work.
Build ports and harbors, protect the reef and the beaches this is why tourist come to Hawaii. A good example of this is Okinawa, Japan where they have converted mud flats into artificial beaches that now attract thousands of main Japanese. Have the Coast Guard check boats to make sure they are not emitting oil and fuel into the ocean.
I am an American I have lived in Japan since 1997. Currently I would not even take a free trip back to Maui or Honolulu.
Good Luck
There are still places you can go where you can get the feeling of old Hawaii, but if you are from the mainland most people look at you funny (they can tell).
