can you believe there was a fire at ala moana shopping center? freaking scary!!! thankfully nobody died.

want to thank Ieki-san for the sake and snacks from japan. sake and senbei! love it!

japan has the coolest packaging when it comes to their products. so cool that i don’t even want to open this sake up and drink it. thank you Ieki-san!

and want to thank Nomura-san and Kimiko-san for the Kabuki Face Pack and sweets. can’t wait to paint my face!!!

itadakimasu!
had a wonderful surf this afternoon. waves came up to head high and super nice. tomorrow should be perfect again! going early morning. good night.

always happy to see my brother and the kids of cambodia. thanks for keeping me updated Davis. and please give all the kids a big hug from me.

kind of a cool feeling walking through the temple in kyoto. the art, history, and culture draws millions of people here each year. now i know why. it was amazing! a must go place to visit for sure.
ok, Dr. Beach just came out with his top 10 list of beaches in the united stated for 2015. i was super surprised to see waimanalo beach park on there. here is the article. make sure you scroll to the bottom for my comment.

With miles of white sand and turquoise waters perfect for swimming, body boarding and sailing, Hawaii’s Waimanalo Bay Beach Park topped Dr. Beach’s 25th annual top 10 list of U.S. beaches
1. Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
2. Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park, Bonita Springs, Florida
3. St. George Island State Park, Florida
4. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
5. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, North Carolina
6. Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Florida
7. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
8. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
9. Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Naples, Florida
10. East Beach, Santa Barbara, California
**my comment: yes, Dr. Beach got it right for the top 10 looking beach in america. remember i said “looking.” i absolutely love it there and am kind of bummed he revealed a hidden treasure on our island. nobody goes there, but now, the whole world will. would i have put it on my top 10 beaches in america? nope. why? because waimanalo beach is on the east side of oahu. strong onshore winds blow there 95% of the year. and with those winds come the jellyfish. the portuguese man-of-war to be exact. they will wrap their invisible tentacles around your face, arm, and legs. it hurts, it stings, and it even kills. and if you ever got stung by one, you wouldn’t swim there either. and if you’re lucky enough not to get stung, there is a high probability your car would be broken into or stolen. and no, i’m not joking about that too. just ask any local on the island and they will tell you the same thing.

backpackers are fun, adventurous, and crazy. in this case, you can say they are crazy! 10 tourists climbed to the top of Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. they were so happy to make it to the top that they took off their clothes and took a photo in the nude. not too long after, Mount Kinabalu had an earthquake and eruption that killed 18 people, including kids. anyway, they posted their nude photo on the web and when local Malaysians seen it, they got very offended. and are now blaming them for pissing off the gods of Mount Kinabalu making her erupt.

now 4 got arrested, fined, jailed, and deported. and they are looking for the others. i’ve traveled all over malaysia and found it to be a very beautiful and spiritual country. the people are so reserved and you won’t find nudity anywhere. every country has its own culture and beliefs. we should all be smart travelers and respect it. pretty simple. and if you can’t, you shouldn’t go. and yes, i felt like taking off my clothes too when i reached the top of Mt. Fuji, but i didn’t. and if did, i’d be sitting in a japanese jail right now. got it?

i just planted a new gardenia in my yard and here is her first sweet smelling flower! love it! many more to come.

what would you do? ok, i found this drivers license floating in the ocean at ala moana. i bring it home and think, umm, what should i do with it? send it to the guy? give it to the police? or throw it away? then i thought to myself, “if i lost my license, how would i want to get it back?” simple, so i just sent it to his address. hope you get it Robert! and now i’m wondering how it got into the ocean? ummmm..