Hawai'i - A Paradise with a Secret Behind

I wonder if I will ever make it back to Hawai'i. I hope so. If already the main island made me speechless, what can I then expect from the other ones which are much wilder and less touristy. They don't call this place Paradise for nothing. After traveling around southeast Asia, it was so nice to see a clean place with no plastic lying around. The water was so clear and turquoise. I could just stare and lose myself in the ocean colours.

But you know, there is also an ugly truth behind this magical place which is hard to accept because you don't want to ruin your positive impression about the island. I thought of Hawai'i being super safe place with happy island people. But after wandering around I kind of realize Hawai'i is not only about Aloha spirit. There are quite a lot of crazy people around, even at daytime. Honolulu's Chinatown is packed with homeless, drugged or mentally ill people. The most shocking fact behind this is that a lot of homeless are sent to Hawai'i from the mainland because it's easier for them to survive in a sunny and warm weather. That's how the country is "helping" them to survive. Horrible, isn't it? So that is why there are so many in Hawai'i. They are usually on very bad drugs such as crack or meth. Both of them can really mess with your mind and make you not just addicted but also mentally unstable. So yeah, even during the day it is recommended to stay away from certain parts of Honolulu.

I had quite an interesting experience with one of these crackheads. I was walking down the most touristy street at 11 pm with two friends. There were still a lot of people around and it felt completely safe. Suddenly I got face slapped with a paper bag. When I turned around I saw this crazy and angry ladyboy with huge boobs walking back and forth, talking to somebody who existed just in his mind. As soon as I saw his face, I knew the slap was not personal. It just happened to be me, standing there, where he felt like hitting somebody with a bag. CRAZY. I lived in Berlin for 3 years and I've never seen something like that. Neither has anything similar happened to me. I guess people in Berlin are on better drugs?!? After this happened, I didn't want to have any further problems, so we just left the place.

There is no doubt, America is dealing with a big problem of homelessness. Their social system is so bad. If you become an alcoholic or drug addict there is basically no light in the end of a tunnel for you. The health insurance is so expensive that you just hope you won't need any health services.

I met one girl from Florida in Hawai'i and spend some time with her. She was telling me how normal it is for teenagers or young people in college to take all these pills for studying, sleeping, etc. People want to sleep longer for the weekend and they take a pill for that. Just to make sure they won't wake up too early. Or when they have the study period, they take pills to stay concentrated and can study. For me, that's super strange. I felt already a bit guilty when I drank too much coffee or had a Red Bull to keep me awake longer. Not to mention they also take pills if they are sad. I'm not saying everybody does that but these things are definitely happening. And the pills are stronger than we think. It's probably easier to get addicted to them as to smoking weed.

It's sad that our society keeps on trying to sell us all these substitutes to make our life perfect. It is ok to be sad, alone or unhappy sometimes. The more you accept this being part of your life, the easiest you find the way to make yourself happy!

Anyway, I still highly recommend Hawai'i. The islands are for sure worth a visit! And I promise you, you will enjoy the Aloha vibe. :)