This year's annual meeting of the Academy of Management was held in Hawaii. Just behold this view-- it's no wonder so many PhD's submitted several papers to the conference so that at least one paper would be accepted and result in a few wonderful days on America's very own dream paradise. After many hours of flying, our plane finally reached the islands...

I booked a cheap hotel close to Waikiki beach. Once a high-end destination for movie stars and politicians, Honolulu is now flooded by average tourists.

Nice views at the beach; notice the extinct volcano "Diamond Head" in the background. If you want to see quiet beaches or untouched forests, you have to drive to the other side of the island or "hop" onto one of the less crowded islands of Hawaii. [See my 2001 travelogue.]

I only had a few days at the conference, so I could only explore the touristy island of Oahu, home of the capital city, Honolulu.

Map of Oahu

The Eastern end of Waikiki beach turns into Kapiolani Park, a nice green Oasis from the busy beach. It is far from quiet, however, since all sorts of people use it for different purposes - from Hula lessons...

... to photo shoots.

Sunsets in Hawaii are very dramatic and romantic.

Tourists seem to lose valuable items in the sea - otherwise, why would there always be several people with metal detectors patrolling the beaches? Hidden underwater cameras perhaps?-)

Pink mini-islands right off the beach...

Although the big waves come only in Winter, surfing is popular year-round. And surfboards are a favorite object of all the photographers populating Waikiki.

And sometimes, people actually surf (rather than just posing with the boards).

A closer look at Waikiki's hotel scene - almost all hotels look alike, which might become a problem for the college kids after a long night out drinking in one of the many bars or clubs...

I took one day off from the conference and hopped onboard "The Bus". Oahu has a surprisingly efficient public transport system, and one of the lines circles almost the whole island in 4 hours. I met some random people from a local youth hostel and we stopped at the North Shore with its famous Sunset Beach. It wasn't evening yet, but the beach is still wonderful. Most importantly, it has no ugly hotels and much fewer people than Waikiki.

What a feeling to have your feet sink deeply into warm and soft Hawaiian sand...

While we walked along the beach for a while, others rested in the shade of some tropical plants and enjoyed people watching.

I made another stop on my island tour - this time at the Mormon temple. This impressive building seems to be misplaced in a small coastal town, but it has been there for many years. I went inside the visitor center and listened for an hour to one of the guides before reentering reality...

Oahu's East coast has retained much of its original beauty.

As I walked along the muddy beach, I discovered these interesting green "things".

One of the many bays with beautifully lush green mountains.

Much bigger than at home in the pot...

Windward Baptist Church - "Where lives change"

This old man's life hasn't changed much... I met him at the Bus stop and we exchanged a few words. Japanese have played many important roles in Hawaii. From early plantation workers to war enemies to providing the primary source of tourist dollars. Well, things do change it seems.

"The Bus" also goes to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Pineapples are still an important crop of the island. However, Dole now seems to make more money putting tourists on an overpriced tour of pineapple fields and then selling the heat-stricken crowd their "world famous" Pineapple ice cream.

Fish in the plantation's pond, fighting over food pallets thrown at them by tourists.

Ok, I also made it to the conference center. A pretty interesting building.

Many tourists never set foot into Honolulu proper - they stay at Waikiki beach. Honolulu downtown has a few interesting sights, but most of it are lifeless grey buildings.

Thank God some of that grey tristesse is forgotten over the beautiful colors of the plants in the various city parks.

Another not so infrequent sight in the city parks.

Waikiki consists of hotels and shops. To entertain the tourists after an exhausting day, the city has hired artists that perform traditional Hawaiian music and dances on stages in shopping centers. Of course, one wonders how "authentic" this really is.

A particularly interesting store with nothing but bathing suits in all shapes and colors. I've never seen so many of them - and they are important since being topless at the beaches is a no-no.

No, these are not the stars, but rather, they are the lights of Waikiki. Still, starry nights on Waikiki beach are wonderful, especially if a nearby hotel has artists performing old-style Hawaiian music in one of the beach bars.

It's always hard to say goodbye - a last look from the plane on the Kapiolani Park (front), Waikiki beach (middle) and Honolulu city (back). Alooooooooha!