I visited the rock islands of Palau back in 2007. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in July of 2012. There are few places that were more deserving of World Heritage status than the rock islands of Palau. Despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, the rock islands feature …
I want to post this before I leave Micronesia and forget about it. While walking through the Guam airport I was struck by a large sign that listed the Micronesian servicemen and women who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. I knew that Guam and CNMI had soldiers in the US military. While I was in …
Palau Rocks. Pun intended. I’m not sure why Palau works, but it does. If you look at other Pacific nations with similar populations, they are pretty much basket cases politically and economically. Palau has managed to create a country with a standard of living higher than its neighbors (save for Guam) and a stable government. …
The internet here is like the opposite of the Majuro. In Majuro, the infrastructure on the island was horrible, but the actual connection to the net was OK assuming you could get one. On Palau, there are internet cafes all over, but it feels as if the whole country is on the same dial-up connection. …
I’m off to the airport in 30 minutes to spend most of today on an airplane to Palau. Seeing that Palau is the last place I will be in the world with any sort of link to the US Postal System, I’m going to make a special offer to the readers of this website. To …
I’m not going to say too much because I want to save it for a much longer post with photos and video. I got to go diving in the rock islands of Palau today as well as snorkeling in the jellyfish lake. Swimming with jellyfish is a surreal experience. Especially thousands of them. It is …
I am featured on this week’s Amateur Traveler Podcast where I talk about my trip to Micronesia. (Hence, the photo of Palau for today’s Daily Photo.) The Amateur Traveler Podcast is one of my favorite travel podcasts along with the Indie Travel Podcast. Both podcasts focus on talking to real people, not just having tour …
This is probably one of the nicest places in the Pacific. Save for Guam, easily the most developed country in Micronesia. Night and day compared to Majuro. People here have houses, not shanties. There is furniture in the houses. I could tell because they had electricity, which also says something There are businesses and shops …