Happy and Historic Hawaii

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

I’m a fortunate guy

I have been to Hawaii;

Think of it as a Burman

It was a god-send!

(Hawaii Dance)

I have been wearing Hawaii shirts

Since I was in sixth standard

My father wanted me to be smart

He often dressed me in Western garbs.

(Honolulu, Oahu Island, Hawaii)

I watched the Blue Hawaii

And listened to Elvis’s melody;

Rock n Roll was his style

It was the topic of the time.

(Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii)

We flew from San Francisco to Honolulu

On our way back from USA to Burma booth;

After a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship Program

It was a memorable and profitable plan;

Burma and America relations were renewed

We learned a lot and visited various schools.

(Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach, Honolulu)

Honolulu was all lighted at night

It was like Burma’s pagoda festival lights

Shining dancing, they were so bright

I thought I was in heaven height.

(Diamond Head Light House)

A Burmese friend picked up at the airport

He was a chemist acting as our transport;

His late sister was treated by our colleague

He was repaying his gratitude forth with;

So we did not need to worry for any thing

Food, lodging, transport and sight seeing!

(Polynesian King with His Queen and Retinue)

We were served Chinese Dim Sun in the morning

All Asian foods were available in Honolulu within

In fact, Asian made up more than half of its population

Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Burmese all enjoying

Indigenous Polynesians amounted to a minority

White were also in that category!

(Statue of Polynesian King Kamehameha I in Honolulu))

Polynesians were the original owners of Hawaii

I have read their history and Kon-Ti-Ki

They came from South East Asia territory

Probably of the Malaya ancestry

They hopped islands with primitive crafts

Now they have settled in Pacific islands in mass.

(Hawaii Islands, part of Polynesia)

Polynesians populate from Hawaii to Fiji

It includes Marshal Islands, Tonga and Tahiti

They have robust body, curly hair and swarthy skin

Probably they are related to Australian Aborigines

Who had migrated 6000 years ago in similar fashion

And they were cut off from civilization and their origin

They have traces left in Andaman Islands and PNG

There is evidence in DNA makeup and anthropology.

(Matahari Sport Wear Shop)

Weather was hot and humid

It was typical of the subtropics

It was sunny when we started the trip

But, it rained when we were in the midst.

Of visiting the city and its landmarks

It had beaches, hotels, malls and marts.

(Eternity Cove From Here to Eternity Movie)

Visit to the Waikiki Beach was wonderful

It was inundated with innumerable people

Walking, talking, frolicking and swimming

We window-shopped and photographed all actions

As most hotels and shops were situated in the vicinity

I remembered love scenes of From Here o Eternity.

(Burt Lancaster and Deborah Carr in From Here to Eternity)

We were taken to the country side

It was like driving in Shan State wide

Green trees, grass and mountains in sight

Sugar cane fields filled it on both sides

Our friend worked in the sugar factory

We also saw pine apple and canning facilities.

(Misty Mountain Tops in Hawaii; The Tallest Mountain in the World

is not Mount Everest, it's in Hawaii if Measured from the Base in the Sea)

We saw the posh home of General Nguyen Van Thieu

He was the puppet president of South Vietnam too

He was reputed to have taken tons of gold when he fled

Communist Vietcong triumphed with blood and sweat;

President Thieu left Saigon for Taiwan and England

He died in Boston un-mourned by all Vietnam.

(The Late President of South Vietnam Thieu, He Had a House in Honolulu)

But, the Diamond Head was unguarded and free

We could watch, talk about and photograph peacefully,

We could even go to the top to see calcite crystals

That impregnated the larval mass to make it special

First Europeans thought they were diamond sparkles

Hence it was named the Diamond Head, a spectacle.

(Aerial View of The Diamond Head where Calcite Crystals were

Mistaken for Diamonds)

At night we visited a Polynesian Show or Carnival

We were greeted with “Aloha” in loud vocal

All the people were dressed in indigenous natural

Women in leaves skirt and men in loin cloth total

Only garlands of flowers covered the chest of damsels

They danced, they sang and they played Hula Hoops circle.

(The Polynesian Cultural Center, Honolulu)

We were served with fresh coconut water

They asked us to dance with their dancers

Some tourists took their offer

We just watched, drank, sang and sauntered.

(Polynesian Dance of Oahu, Hawaii)

We knew Hawaii is composed of many islands

Honolulu lies on Oahu island county land

A lady doctor from Molokai Island called me

To visit her as old friend and leper colony

She was a Burmese doctor caring the unsightly

I said, “Sadu, Sadu, Sadu” to her admirable duty

It’s noble and noteworthy indeed as a specialty

Leprosy is a world wide problem and calamity.

(Largest Hawaii Shirt, Shirt Shop, Honolulu, Hawaii)

Honolulu had the biggest open mall

We went there to see and stroll

Hawaii shirts, Kimono dresses and shawls;

We’re shown and offered to sell at half price

We could not control our appetite right

We bought Hawaii shirt each and Kimono for wife.

(Pearl Harbor, Day of Infamy, December 7,1941)

We went to the Hawaii University

Its East-West center was known to me

I have read its South East Asian History

Rice was first cultivated in SEA territory

Chicken was domesticated in South East Asia

Ancestor of Man first evolved in Pontaung-Ponnya

Java Man and Peking Man were Homo erectus category

Hawaii scientists say SEA has much to offer in human history.

(Hawaii Greeting Card, Aloha!)

I first saw Hawaii in the movie

It was “From Here to Eternity”

Burt Lancaster and Deborah Carr frolicked

I could not forget their love scene so vivid.

The movie was about US soldiers

They were wayward in their behaviors

Adultery, treachery and cowardice occurred

It was just before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

(Pearl Harbor Memorial, Honolulu)

I watched Pearl Harbor movie recently

It is full of action and military activities;

Strafing, gunning and dog fighting all exciting

Sound and special effects are most stimulating;

The theme is the day of infamy for USA

The whole Pacific Fleet was wiped out in a day

The story of triangular love may be boring

But, the film as a whole is most entertaining.

(Pearl Harbor Movie DVD Cover)

I also remember Elvis Blue Hawaii film/movie

It was about his handsome features and singing

Rock and Roll has just started to be in fashion

It was very popular with our 1960 generation.

Hawaii was different from mainland USA

People were friendly and warmer in a way

It looked like more Asian than European

I found it in more congenial and cordial trend.

(Volcanic Eruption and Lava, Hawaii)

Hawaii Islands were formed by volcanic eruptions

Hundreds of islands were formed by lava accumulation

It’s still occurring with volcanoes in action;

Two active volcanoes are showing its activities

Sometime the red molten lava flows into the sea

It thereby enlarges the land mass area of Hawaii;

It’s still occurring,

It’s really amazing!

(President-Elect Barack Obam, VP-Elect Joe Biden and Their Wives)

Now the State of Hawaii is proud of its history

A son of its territory has been elected to be

Forty Fourth President of the USA

He would be sworn in on 20^th January

President-Elect Obama has made history

He would be the first African-American POTUS for centuries!

(The White House, Washington D.C.,USA)

Acknowledgment to U Kyaw Myint and Dr Htin Aung Ph.D.

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

04.01.2009