One week in the Aloha State 🌴

1 December 2025

Somehow, I ended up in Hawaiyaiyai this October. Long story short, my paper was accepted at a workshop at ICCV, and as an author, I was required to attend in person. After my visa was approved, flights and accommodations were booked, and there I was, in the Aloha State.

In total, I spent about six days on Oahu, the most populated island in the Hawaiian Islands. During this time, I tried to do as many things as possible while also attending the conference. In hindsight, I believe I covered most of what the island has to offer, except for snorkeling and surfing, since I can't swim 🥀.

D1. After I landed in Hawaii, I went straight my accomodation in Honolulu to check in. Then, I met up with Dr. Wong to hike Diamond Head, a dead volcano with stunning views of Waikiki. After that, we roamed around the area for a bit and we managed to catch the sunset, along with some Hawaiian mat rempits. After that, I went back to my place to rest for a while before dinner. During dinner, I met up again with Dr. Wong and her friend from Sony in Switzerland and we had Chinese food. The dishes cost over 120 bucks, which was a ridiculous amount, and they weren't even that good (you can tell I really missed food back home).

D2. First day of the conference, which mainly consisted of workshops and tutorials. Thanks to a nice guy at the stay, I had a wonderful pancake for breakfast. Then, I took the bus to convention center for the conference. I spent a few hours in attending the workshops and going through the posters. I didn't stay until the end because I wanted to use this time to visit other places too. So, I hopped on a bus to Pearl Harbor, which wasn't in my original plan because it was quite far, but I am glad I went. I explored the museums, learned about the tragedies that happened during the second world war, picked up a fridge magnet, and then returned to my stay by bus. By the time I got back, the sun was already setting over the beach, and the view was beautiful. For dinner, I had a peperoni pizza and an açaí bowl, and that wrapped up my day. On my way back, I also spotted some Halloween decorations, which were pretty funny.

D3. There were more workshops on day two of the conference (really cool ones!) and I left about an hour early because I wanted to check out the beach. The beach was within walking distance of my stay, which made it very convenient to get there. As usual, the beach was crowded. I strolled along the shoreline and sat there for a while to enjoy the view and take some time to think and clear up my mind. Life had been a bit chaotic at that point, and I hadn't really had time to slow down and reflect. I still had about an hour before the sun fully set, so I did something I'd been wanting to do for a while -- I laced up and went for a 5 km run along the beach. Gotta stay healthy even on a trip, and on top of that, I got to enjoy the city views too! But, I had McDonald afterward :P, and gained back the calories I burned just a few hours earlier 🥀.

D4. Third day for the conference (and the first day of the main conference), and I had a really nice breakfast provided by the organizers (the Greek yogurt was so good!). The first keynote was about taking pictures and making movies of black holes, it was fascinating to learn how they captured the first-ever photo of a black hole! After that, I checked out the industrial partners' booth. Almost every major company was there (Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, etc.), and I scored a lot of merchandise (I live for merch). After lunch, I grabbed a bag of popcorn and visited the poster sessions, where I had the chance to talk to people from all around the work and learn about their projects. After the conference, I went to a nearby food court to get enchiladas (which I didn't like it) and a cup of Jamba Juice (I forgot what flavor) before heading back.

D5. I had the same breakfast at the conference venue (with my beloved Greek Yogurt). The second keynote was just as interesting as the first, the speaker explained about how CV techniques were used to virtually unwrap ancient scrolls that couldn't be opened physically (as doing so would destroy them). During lunch, I walked to a nearby mall and managed to catch a Hawaiian dance performance. Back at the conference, the oral sessions were also quite exciting, and once again, I grabbed some popcorn from the organizers while exploring out the poster sessions. This day was extra special because there was a reception dinner in the evening. At the reception, I had the chance to meet and chat with some very cool people (again), including a few from DeepMind. For those of you aiming to join DeepMind, here's an insight for you -- everyone on the team has a PhD, so yeah, you know what you need to do. I headed home after the reception.

D6. Okay guess what, I had the same breakfast again. This was the final day of the conference, and I attended as many sessions as I could, but there weren't many highlights, so I'll skip to what happened afterward. After the conference, I moved to a capsule hotel that I had booked for my final night in the state. I checked in and went out to explore the area. That's when I met an old gentleman promoting a nearby shooting range. And yea, I followed him, and ended up shooting real guns! It was an amazing experience, and now I can tell people I went to the state! Afterward, I treated myself another local cuisine, a poke bowl. Absolutely loved it. Finally, I returned to the hotel to get some rest before my 20-hour flight.

And that wrapped up my time in Hawaiyaiyai, the Aloha State! It's such a shame I couldn't take this chance to visit the Mainland (there are so many places I want to see), but I was doing my internship and was quite broke, maybe next time! Overall, it was a pretty eventful trip with its ups and downs, but I'm happy with how everything worked out in the end.