hawaii trip - part big island

okay, it's probably been more than a month since i visited hawaii... and i've probaby forgotten some of the things that i loved there, but i feel weird that i've blogged about maui & o'ahu, but nothing about the big island. so... just a quick blog note to wrap up my hawaii trip-

things i loved:

1. mauna kea summit! spectacular place. i guess no words can describe it other than this picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donjiva/2904291940/ it's a picture that don took btw =p
2. volcanoes national park! although i didn't get to see any real explosions, i did manage to see steam vents, an active caldera (although it's really far away, and all you can see is some orange glow at the corner of the sky). well, i couldn't get close to the active sites due to the high sulfur dioxide levels, but they're still visible at night. oh, and i also watched lava flowing into the ocean, and then exploding into pieces like fireworks in the sky! 素敵ねえ！
3. snorkeling@ captain cook monument! the best snorkel site in all of hawaii in my opinion. it's not easy to accesss as you have to either trek down some really steep trails, or kayak your way there for 20 minutes (across an open ocean with water so deep you can't see what's beneath you =s). but it's all worth it cos the water's deep enough so you can actually float above everything, and not worry on stepping on the coral or stuff like that. i also heard that dolphins usually swim around here, but at least when i was there i didn't see any...
4. desert rose cafe! this little restaurant located along the road to the volcanoes nat'l park probably has the best hawaiian food i've ever tasted! love, love their honey stung chicken, korean chicken, tuna & macaroni salad.... best of all, it's cheap!
5. the painted church! a small, old catholic church along the road heading to the south side of the island. the whole church is decorated with beautiful paintings of Jesus and some of the stories you can find in the Bible on its walls. a lil creepy with the huge graveyard at the back of the church, but it's the best one i've seen in hawaii.

things i regretted/hated:

1. lua'u at king kamehameha hotel. how could anybody in their right minds, serve buffet food in the open when it was raining?! all the chicken, salad, cake etc. were so sogged that they don't even look appetizing anymore. and to think i paid $80+ for this?! i should've spent that evening at mauna kea. at least stargazing is much better than the @#*($ food i got. oh, and to top it all, the usher at the event was kinda racist. he actually placed all the asians at one table that was the last in line to grab the food. i felt like i should've written a complaint letter after all these.