(NAPSA)—Longbefore Hawaii becameone of the world’s top vacation destinations, it was the world’s number-one sugar producer. As noted by Pleasant Holidays, the number-one travel com- pany serving Hawaii, the sugar industry’s demise points out how quickly things change in today’s inter linked world economy. For over a century, Hawaii was the world’s top sugar producer. Today, travelers can have a sweettime seeing how. Thefirst sugarcane plantation in Hawaii appeared on Kauai in 1835; and by the end of World WarII, Hawaii's largest industry was turning out a million tons of sugarcane a year for worldwide distribution. In between those years, the industry profoundly changed Hawaii’s culture: over 385,000 con- tract workers from China, Japan, the Philippines and Portugal arrived to work the fields, adding their contributions to the cultural stew. Words like “pau,” for “finished”; “puka,” for “hole”; and “kaukau,”for “food,” came from the common language these workers invented so they could communicate with one another. Today, they are a central part of Hawaiian “pidgin”(local speak). High operating costs, Hawaii’s geographical isolation and competition from other sugar producing countries finally did in the once robust industry, and today only a sliver of it remains. Visitors to Oahuinterested in its fascinating history should visit Hawaii Plantation Village, in the Honolulu suburb of Waipahu. Or Waimea Plantation Cottages, in Waimea, Kauai. For affordable travel packages to Hawaii, call your travel agent or Pleasant Holidays at 800-448-3333. You can also visit www.PleasantHolidays.com.
