Yes, the Honolulu posting was hard to take !! a single, 26 yr old, being paid to live there, a change of cabin crew every 3 days, with side trips to San Francisco and Tokyo in the middle of the Japanese economic, photographic, and electronic revolution ! The Ginza was exciting, too ! Narita hadn't been invented.
In those days the only hotels on Waikiki Beach were the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the pink Royal Hawaiian in the middle, and the Princess Moana at the other end. It is now wall to wall concrete high-rise.
The BOAC Base Captains' office was on the first floor of the BOAC 'shop', which was a 2-storey building on the corner of an intersection in the middle of Waikiki, and unbelievably that little shop is still there, all by itself - albeit a bit smarter now - totally overshadowed by all the high rise, the Real Estate must be worth zillions, it is currently the local Gucci store.
Now 75 I still managed to climb to the top of Diamond Head in June - I have the T-Shirt ! - the view is just as breathtaking nearly 50 years later - can't complain !
I can trace it all back to compulsory National Service of course, I deferred it as long as possible but was eventually dragged off kicking and screaming, I guess it gives real meaning to the phrase ' Don't Get Mad, Get Even ' ! I think I won.
Last edited by ExSp33db1rd; 27th Aug 2009 at 00:42.