Before going to the luau at Laihana we window-shopped along the main road. Blow me if I did not get caught by one of those make-up salesmen who never give up! He used exactly the same spiel as the chap who waylaid me in Bond Street, London. And I reacted in exaclty the same way, allowing myself to be enticed into his shop to have my hands coated in an exfoliating salt rub. I rinsed my hands off and he gave me a teeny bit of Shea butter to rub in. How smooth my hands felt! Next came the hard sell. . . I extricated myself by explaining that my friend had my credit card and I had no cash on me.

With time to spare still before the Luau we decided to have  a ‘shaved ice’. Finely shaved ice is flavoured with syrup in a range of flavours. I chose ‘mango and papaya’ on a base of ice-cream. Cooling and dee-licious.

Time for the Old Laihana Luau. (Click here) As we entered we were garlanded with real flower leis then tempted with Mai Tai cocktails. Before food was served we had ample time to wander the grounds taking photographs  or watching the various sideshows. After watching a coconut being opened we walked over to the pit where a hog had been buried to cook slowly from heat and steam generated by hot stones and banana leaves. I guess that the meat from this roast would be used the following evening – there would not be time to carve it up for our dinner. The buffet was generous: green salad, pasta salad, sweet potatoes, fried rice, raw salmon chunks, crab meat and pulled pork to name a few. After food came the entertainment. Hula dancers with a narrator telling the potted history of the islands. Not only was there eye-candy for men but there were gorgeous hunks providing eye-candy for the ladies. All the dancers had the most energetic hip wiggles – no wonder hula dancing was banned by the prudish Victorians. Eating al fresco with the Hawaian sunset as a back-drop and a floor show from brightly dressed hula dancers made a perfect evening.

Follow