When sticker shock and reverse culture shock kicks in
Maui and I didn’t get off to a good start. I didn’t know what was wrong at first, but after chatting online to anyone who would listen, I was diagnosed with reverse culture shock. I didn’t think this would happen to me, as I had just come from two weeks in Melbourne and a week in Oahu. While I experienced sticker shock in Australia, I was too busy with catching up with friends to stop and think about it. Same in Oahu, where the welcome mat was rolled out by a friend of a friend and a wonderful hotel.
My first day in Maui I finally had time to myself, and sticker shock and reverse culture shock finally set in. The thing with Maui is the towns are spread out and the public transport is limited to an infrequent bus system, so to really get around and see the highlights of the island you need to hire a car or buy an expensive minibus tour. It’s a rich mans paradise, and not very backpacker friendly. There are only a few hostels on the whole island, and I was staying in a place with not a whole lot to do and very few eating options. I had a terrible “Chinese” dinner on my first night, and I couldn’t help but think I’m over this. Where’s the sticky rice?
Enter Jim
I got to the point where was looking online to see if I could move my flight early a few days to Vancouver. Then a random meeting with a local got me out of my funk. I got chatting with this stranger, and after about 5 minutes he asked what I was up to tomorrow, and next thing you know he had volunteered to tour guide me around the island.
