It’s true what they say, you do need to get up early to climb Diamond Head. It’s not so much the heat, though it is a warm climb. It’s the crowds. As we stood at the top of the spiral staircase at the very top of the peak, dozens of Japanese girls stumbled out into the daylight. When the lookout was chock full of them, we squeezed our way down and dozens more followed. They’re a funny bunch of travelers, in their knee socks, funny hats, carrying shiny handbags. The girls were followed by dozens of boys with perfect rock star hair. And all of them, the boys, the girls, the tour guides, the bus drivers, were shouting the sunniest, funniest ALOHAs at us as we made our way back down.
We saw another troop – a school, I think – later at the Pali lookout, the girls in gray skirts, white blouses, and floppy ties, the boys in pale blue shirts and long pants. They seemed as happy to see us as we were amused by them. They crowded the lookout for a group photo, snapped loads of pictures of each other and the view, shouted more ALOHAs at us, practiced the hang loose sign (c’mon, you know what I mean, right) and then, whoosh, they were gone.
When we ascended Diamond Head last June (I hesitate to use the word “climb” when one walks up a paved path with a metal guardrail on the downhill side), the Japanese students were singing American football fight songs — and yes, they looked exactly as you described.
Claire @ http://travel-babel.blogspot.com
Ahhh, what’s life without cute Japanese tourists. Glad you made it up and down safely.
You know, whenever I give anyone the “hang loose” sign here they look at me funny. 🙂