Why go
At Navigating, ridges with lots of twists and turns It can be confusing for people used to straight grid systems However at the same time it is not that difficult to navigate in as long as you are familiar with the major arterials Because it is difficult to differentiate north and south on an island directions are normally given in terms of.
The full story
Unlike many cities on the U S mainland Honolulu is not laid out in a strict compass-point grid Its street system conforms in large part to the shorelines valleys and ridges with lots of twists and turns It can be confusing for people used to straight grid systems However at the same time it is not that difficult to navigate in as long as you are familiar with the major arterials Because it is difficult to differentiate north and south on an island directions are normally given in terms of local landmarks The most common terms that you will run into are mauka MOW-kah meaning toward the mountain and makai mah-KAI meaning toward the sea In the case of Honolulu which is on Oahu's south shore mauka is a rough north and makai roughly south You will also hear Ewa Ee-vah and Diamond Head used a lot in relation to.