Portmanteau Suitcase

Back in college, I was awarded funding for a three-week travel fellowship to Andalucía to study the art of the Moorish Empire. I went to Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada. It was an incredible opportunity for me since I wouldn’t have been able to afford a Summer trip to Europe otherwise. Also, it turned out that I vastly overestimated how much lodging would cost. My budget request was $50/day and I ended up spending ~$20, which allowed me to take a side trip to Barcelona with the “bonus money.” I know, I know, that’s a pretty loose definition of “side trip,” but it was awesome! Moorish art and architecture with a big side helping of Gaudi!

That Summer overall was pretty amazing because on my return, I spent 8 (10?) weeks in a lab on-campus earning enough money for my last year of college spending money, which was necessary! Anyway, reflections for another day but definitely an idyllic Summer in Northwest Massachusetts.

All this to say, I have loved Islamic Art for a really long time. Even as a kid, I remember being pretty wowed by Granada, although I am more appreciative as an adult. I first heard about the Shangri-la several years ago during a trip to Oahu. I’ve wanted to go since then, but it takes some planning. It is only open certain days and tickets have to be purchased in advance. Since I was extending my trip for a mini-vacation, one of my top priorities was to finally see it.

I bought my tickets online for a morning tour back in December. The tickets are released quarterly on the first Thursday of September, December, March, and June at 10am HST. They do sell out! How quickly, I do not know since I had set an alarm and logged in shortly after release.

That morning, I went to the Museum, which I walked through before and after the tour. The group loaded onto the mini-bus and drove out to Shangri-la, which is in a beautiful neighborhood east of Diamond Head. The bus ride was quiet and lasted about 15 minutes with minimal traffic.

The Shangri-la foundation is now separate from the HoMA, but they still coordinate closely. The bus let us off in the Courtyard. There was a short-ish, 10 minute intro to the place in the main foyer. The remainder of the time was self-guided.

It’s hard to pick a favorite part, so let me tell you some highlights. I loved the main bedroom wing, because it seemed very clear that the area was a separate sanctuary that would have been closed off during any larger social events hosted by Doris Duke. Also, the marble window insets were made by craftsmen in Agra, India and were the inspiration/focal point for designing the place.

The view from the back lawn was spectacular. I loved the balcony where tables and chairs were set up for foundation workers’ lunch breaks- lucky! There were different rooms decorated exquisitely, both with art and furnishings.

After 80 minutes or so, we made our way back to the courtyard. They offer box water and a small ice cream sandwich. I had the lilikoi one and it was delicious. I fully realize that the snack is to lure visitors out so that we leave!

I wish I could have stayed longer, swanning around as if I were the current owner. It would be very easy to do! The tour group is quite small in number, so it really is a quiet experience where I didn’t feel crowded or jostled walking through the house. There is a small cove beach below that I think can be accessed publicly, but that’s an adventure for another day.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was that the art was a broader Islamic Art collection like the Sackler (boo on that family legacy!) Gallery in DC rather than a strictly Moorish, Alhambra-replica that I thought I would see. There’s no great reason why I thought this, I just did. But it didn’t matter! It was really an exquisite house with incredible art. I loved it and strongly recommend a visit!

I have been to Oahu several times since 2005 when I was there for six weeks for a medical school rotation (go USUHS!). Even though Oahu, and Waikiki in particular, can be seen as too crowded and touristy, I love it! I have also done new-to-me things on most visits. This time was no exception.

First up, the Honolulu Museum of Art is amazing. It’s where you check-in and board the shuttle to the Shangri-La, but it is a worthwhile destination itself.

The highlights were two temporary exhibits (sorry). The first was a two-gallery immersive, walk-through exhibit by Rebecca Lewis Law. It consisted of thousands of copper-wire strands of botanical specimens hung from the ceiling of two adjacent galleries that were at right angles to each other. It was spectacular and special. The write-up talks about the fragility of nature.For example, there are some found plastics incorporated into the beach-y part. But I kept thinking about Annie Dillard’s writings on the fecundity of nature. It was just so overwhelmingly immersive and awe-inspiring. I really loved it. I went through three times, although not backwards (which is not SMS’ favorite habit of mine!).

Pictures were only allowed at the very end of the tunnel at the artist’s request to amplify the viewer’s experience. If you get a chance to see it (through 9/10/23), I strongly recommend it!

The second exhibit was Noah Harders‘ mask sculptures which were incredible! The masks and photographs of him wearing them were on display. The work is so creative and beautiful- I loved it!

The permanent collections are also pretty cool. I enjoyed the Polynesian Art and Pacific Rim art galleries. I also lucked out and saw a Deborah Butterfield horse. I really like her work. There are two horses near my house- one near the old Sunset magazine headquarters and the other right by Stanford hospital.

There was also a ceiling mounted “Aquarium” by Dale Chihuly.

Overall, I loved this museum. I think the exhibits are thoughtfully presented and the quality of the collection is high. Five stars!

Not that the first part of the trip was a hardship, but I definitely had a lot of fun during my last three days in Hawaii.

I went to the airport and picked up the Turo car rental. It was a little old car and I took a ton of pictures in case there were any issues with “damages” at the end of the rental (there were not!). Then, I went to Mitch’s Sushi for lunch which was amazing. There were a few foodies at the conference who recommended the place and they were not lying! The fish was so fresh. I know for the true sushi connoisseur, it’s all about the rice. I don’t know a lot about rice but it was also good! Mitch’s was not cheap, but it was delicious.

Then, I went to check in at the cabanas of Kaneohe Bay. It ended up being a bare bones unit that looked like it was 1/4 of an elongated shed. There was noisy AC and shared bathrooms. Basically, think of it as glamping and it’s amazing. Think of it as a hotel and you’ll be disappointed. I thought of it as the former and it was great! The room was about 20 feet from the beach on Kaneohe Bay. It was beautiful. One of the activities I really wanted to do was kayak out to the sandbar but during my visit, it was too windy to allow rentals so I was out of luck.

That evening, I met up with a med school classmate for dinner with her wife at Senia. They specialize in “regional cuisine focusing on Hawaii’s abundance.” We started with fun cocktails. I had The Freddie (wild turkey bourbon, chestnut, vanilla, blood orange, smoke). We ordered a bottle of wine recommended by the sommelier as a lesser known but excellent French wine (Faury, Saint-Joseph).

The dishes were absolutely amazing. We shared several, which was such a good plan. We had a bone marrow dish that was excellent, although St Germain in Norfolk (RIP) still has the best I’ve had. We had smoked ahi “cigars” (bric pastry, yuzu kosho aioli, chive) that were innovative. Senia, in general, is a big fan of the smoke. The hamachi tataki (cucumber, tomatillo, poha berry) was super refreshing. We shared two larger dishes: the triple smoked salmon (lemon & chive waffles, maple butter glaze) and duck three ways (breast, crispy leg confit, foie gras, orange, port wine gel).

For dessert, we split two. One was a panna cotta and the other was amazing. Hahaha, I can’t remember the name and it doesn’t seem to be on the website menu. One looked like a uni-don, which was very clever and cute.

The bill was pretty crazy and, even crazier, my friend picked it up. WHAT?!?! That was unexpected and overly generous. I am definitely taking them out to someplace great in the Bay Area when they come to visit. My friend works a few per diem days at a nearby university so I definitely want to return the treat!

The next morning, I went to Cafe Kalawe where I had a delicious pancake. Next, I picked up a malasada from Leonard’s mobile stand before heading over to Bellows Beach. The weather was sun-rain-sun accompanied by a lot of wind, but it is so beautiful there. I read my Kindle, so I didn’t have to worry about the wind turning the pages. Over the vacation, I read The Love Letters of W.E.B DuBois, which isn’t exactly a beach read but it is a good book. I recommend it, but it’s pretty heavy. The rest of the day was pretty mellow and I was very excited for my next day’s plans.

I had been wanting to go to the Shangri-La for the longest time. It’s Doris Duke’s former home in Honolulu that was inspired by her honeymoon tour that included tours of the Taj Mahal and other Islamic Art exemplars. I didn’t know about it during my medical student rotation, but I think I knew about it by the late 2000s. But on my various trips, I was never able to make it on a day that it was open as the schedule is pretty limited. This time, I had booked tickets two months in advance and I was ready!

First, I went to Guieb Cafe for breakfast where I had a delicious bao bun egg benedict and fried rice. At this point, if you are wondering if I lost weight on this vacation, I would have to say no. No, I did not. But, you know, vacation!!!

After breakfast, I toured the Honolulu Museum of Art while waiting for the shuttle. The museum is amazing! There are incredible permanent collections of Polynesian art, as well as two temporary exhibits that were breath-taking.

I’m starting to realize this post is getting a little long, so I’ll write about the Honolulu Museum of Art and Shangri-La separately. After the museum and house tour, I went back to Waikiki and had a shave ice at the Island Vintage kiosk. Then I went to the beach for a few hours that included a lot of time in the water. I never went surfing, but I was glad to get in the ocean for an extended swim. After the swim, I decided to have a final shave ice at Ululani’s. I meant to go to Wailoa, but Ululani’s was excellent.

Then I headed back to Kailua, where Brandi and I met up for another, more low-key dinner at Buzz’s. I’m so glad I got to see a friend while in Hawaii. Although she and I weren’t in the same close friend groups at USUHS, we always liked each other so it’s great to still be in touch.

The next day, it was time to go. I had a longer-than-expected-to-pour-over pour-over at Tradition coffee, dropped off the Turo in the airport, went to my gate, and left. I was a little sad but excited to see SMS. I had a wonderful week in Hawaii and I know I’ll be back! Aloha!

I had so many plans to blog the trip, but here we are, more than month later so I’ll divide it into two parts: work and fun.

I arrived on Friday evening. I travel light with my roll aboard and tote. It was a little tough to manage a work wardrobe and fun clothes, but since it was warm weather attire, it worked. Not sure if I would have been as successful with Winter clothes. After deplaning, I walked to Big Kahuna pizza right outside the airport. I first went here during my medical school rotation so that was awhile ago. I got the garlic cheese balls- they were a little less delicious than I remembered but I’m glad I got to go. Then, I took the $3 bus to Waikiki. I guess I was reliving my student days! I checked into the Moana Surfrider and went to bed.

The next day was the conference start. We had a half-day agenda that started early. Overall, I really enjoyed hearing my colleagues lectures. I learn best from lectures, so it was a great refresh. I went to Murakame Udon for lunch, which was delicious. SMS and I found it during our honeymoon so it has good memories for me!

That evening, I went to the Halekulani for a drink and dinner. I sat at the bar and had a mai tai and poke appetizers. It was really lovely. I walked through the lobby to look at their main floral arrangement, which is always spectacular.

The next day was another morning meeting, adjourning at lunch. I had previously made a brunch reservation for the Orchids at the Halekulani. My chairman and his wife took me up on my invite and we had the best time. The conversation was great, but the food was the star of the show. Oh my gosh, so many mini-stations offering a variety of food: mini-ramen bar; carving stations with turkey, prime rib, and whole suckling pig; sushi, traditional breakfast items; omelet bar; raw bar; and dessert table. At the table, we could order fresh juices and we ordered fresh guava juice, which is so good. It’s not as sweet as canned guava juice, but it tastes so much richer. New favorite, must go back! I also ordered a half-order of Egg Benedict, which had delicious Hollandaise sauce.

Although I was full, I had been pretty good about taking small amounts so it was more of a tasting menu experience rather than “I’m so full I want to die” experience, which is much more pleasant.

That evening, the chairman hosted an evening cocktail party in his suite. The views from his balcony were amazing. I also had a really nice conversation with some of the guest lecturers. It was nice to talk to them outside of the conference.

The next day, I had two of my talks. I had practiced and felt pretty good about both the content and delivery. Like I said in the overview blog post, I hope I get invited back! That evening, there was an evening reception where there was more socializing and I saw a physical therapist I knew when I was a resident! It was so great to see her and her husband.

Finally, we got to the last day of the conference. I delivered my last two talks and then, by noon, that was it! I really enjoyed the conference. It was a pretty laidback introduction to lecturing as a University faculty, which I appreciated. After a late checkout, I headed to the airport. But not to hop on a plane! Instead, I was going to pick up my Turo car rental to have the second half of my Hawaii trip: (more) fun!