Category Archives: Culture

Hawaii Travel Guide Review

August 5, 2015 Genevive Bjorn

Andrew Doughty has written a series of highly controversial guidebooks to each major island under the title “Hawaii Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook. The series is a #1 Best Seller on Amazon. His most recent update to the series was 2013.

The Books

Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebookdetails sites around Hawaii island (aka The Big Island), including the major cities of Kona and Hilo, Mauna Kea and Volcano National Park. He includes many off-the-beaten path sites that are highly controversial with local people.

The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed
details sites around Kauai island, including the cities of Lihue and Hanalei, Waimea Canyon State Park and the Na Pali Coast Trail. He includes many off-the-beaten path sites that are highly controversial with local people.

Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook
details sites around Maui island, including the cities of Kihei, Ka’anapali and Hana and Haleakala National Park. He includes many off-the-beaten path sites that are highly controversial with local people.

Oahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide to Honolulu, Waikiki & Beyond (Oahu Revisited)
details sites around O’ahu island, including the cities of Honolulu, Kailua and Haleiwa and the Pearl Harbor Memorial and Punchbowl Cemetery. He covers O’ahu’s many hiking trails and vibrant culinary scene, and his app has the most up-to-date restaurant information.

The Controversy

What makes these guidebooks controversial is Doughty’s revelation to outsiders of places cherished by locals. Many of these places, such as Blue Pool on Maui, are highly fragile ecosystems not maintained by the state or the county, and thus, locals are not equipped to deal with the environmental damage that crowds of visitors unwittingly bring. Many of the places named in Doughty’s original set of guidebooks have been formally closed or fenced off because of severe harm to native plants and animals caused by trampling from visitor’s shoes and contamination from body products.

At least one community near Hana on Maui has become so outraged by the visitor traffic that they banned him from ever again visiting the area.

Culture, Dining, Family, food, Lifestyle, maui, Travel

Maui Dining and Art: 3 Top Meal Deals in Kihei

April 28, 2015 Genevive Bjorn 1 Comment

http://www.mauiartonline.comBy Stephanie Sachs

Maui can certainly be expensive. Plus you can easily end up in a tourist trap and spend good money for bad food. Being an artist I always look for clean food on a budget. Here are some of my favs.

1. Maui Thai Bistro – Great flavors, fresh herbs and friendly service. Portions are large enough to eat family style. Meal for two $20. If you’re local, ask for the kama’aina discount.

Address: 2439 S. Kihei Rd. #103B, Kihei, HI 96753 Phone: (808) 874-5605 Cuisine: Thai Hours: 11:30 am to 9 pm Daily

2.Jawz – Tried and true. Clean Mexican with a wonderful array of fixings at their salsa bar. I am not crazy about their fish but I do enjoy their enchilada pie and soft corn tacos with steak. Located at the back of Azeka’s II 1279 South Kihei Road. Air conditioned, which is a plus in Kihei. Most items under $10.

Address: 1279 S Kihei Rd Kihei, HI 96753-5228 Phone: (808) 874-8226 Cuisine: Grill Hours: 11 am to 9 pm daily; Happy Hour 3 pm to 6 pm Monday through Saturday

3. Sansei – Yes, sushi can be expensive but you have to know when the locals go to get the dakine deal. On Sunday and Monday, sushi appetizers and entrees are 50% off from 5 to 6pm and 25% off on Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 6pm. Be sure to get there no later than 4:30, or even earlier during season. Bring a beach chair and a book or enjoy meeting local people all waiting on line and happy about eating a great meal at a killer price. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday after 10pm, sushi and appetizers are 50% off plus they offer drink specials. Free Karaoke at night which can be a mixed blessing.

Address: 1881 S Kihei Rd Kihei, HI 96753 Phone: (808) 879-0004 Cuisine: Seafood and Sushi Hours: Dinner nightly

Please feel free to comment on these and add your own suggestions.

Warmest Aloha, Stephanie

About the Contributor:

Stephanie displays and sells her art work Tuesday mornings at the Four Seasons Wailea. You can meet her in the lower lobby. Enjoy videos hosted by the artist at www.mauiartscene.com . Feel free to see her artwork at www.mauiartonline.com.

Career, Culture, Family, Lifestyle, maui, Random

Therapy animals bring joy and comfort to Maui’s elderly and disabled

December 28, 2010 Genevive Bjorn 5 Comments

Shannon Dominguez works at least 70 hours per week at Upcountry Maui’s Haku Baldwin Center.She directs a popular community program called Animal-Assisted Therapy. Several times per week, she loads up her truck with a menagerie of well-trained animals–including dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks & chickens–and visits people who are elderly, infirmed or disabled. Her therapy animals bring comfort to about 400 people per month on Maui.

I tagged along with Dominguez and her crew, and in about three hours we visited nearly 65 elderly and disabled people. Here’s how a typical animal-assisted therapy visit works. Residents of a skilled nursing facility gather in the activities’ room. Some have just come from physical therapy, dialysis or a visit with their doctor; others have gotten out of bed for the first time that day. Most sit in wheelchairs. I walked with a certified therapy dog around to each resident and asked if he or she would like to meet a nice dog. Some people don’t like dogs, and we moved on. But many love animals and did their best to pet the dog with knotted hands. Faces light up, and for a few moments, pain melts away. Some residents remained focused on the animal for the entire visit, while others after a minute or two started chatting with me. One elderly woman patted the dogs head and then showed me the newspaper she was holding. She was reading her eldest son’s obituary.

There is more demand on Maui for animal-assisted therapy than she can meet, explained Dominguez. For example, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) might benefit from animal-assisted therapy, but in order to serve them, Dominguez would have to double the size of her operation. It’s a problem that many small non-profit organizations face: a larger operation would mean a much greater administrative paperwork burden and less time doing the work. That’s not likely to happen any time soon, given Dominguez’s dedication to the programs she runs matched by existing funding for the Haku Baldwin Center and the AAT program comes from a private endowment. But Dominguez added that private donations are always welcome.