I don’t think I was prepared for Saipan. Most of the places I’ve been in the Pacific have been….well, Pacific. There has been a common thread to them. They are all sort of laid back and underdeveloped to various degrees. They take pride in local customs and languages, even if they are only used to …
After having gone ga-ga over Pohnpei, I wouldn’t think I would have been as impressed with Kosrae, but I was. My stay on Kosrae was at the Kosrae Village which was very similar, at least in construction, to the Village in Pohnpei. All of the structures were built by locals out of local materials in …
Where to begin about the Marshalls??? For starters, I didn’t explore Majuro as much as I did other cities I’ve visited. I put 20% of the blame myself spending too much time catching up on photos and blog posts and 80% of the blame on Majuro for being an uninteresting place with nothing to see. …
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. …
I’m leaving Hawaii soon, so I figure I better get back into the habit of writing. Many people have a very romantic view of island life. They can think of nothing better than sitting on a beach with palm trees. That is their version of paradise. You go to the mall and in some kiosk …
I know you are all probably following along at home, but in case you didn’t know, the 2007 Pacific Games have started in Apia, Samoa. This has actually been a big deal everywhere I’ve been this summer. In Samoa, all the streets in Apia had banners for the games and every day in the paper …
Tonight I’m going back to Samoa to pick up my Chinese visa. It will be my fourth trip across the date line in a month. I’ll have to make a 5th trip across in a few days going back to Fiji. I might have to make a 6th and a 7th crossing, but I’ll know …
I noticed this bit in my RSS feed today: Easter Island Fights Prosperity. Having been there just two months ago, and because its never in the news, I thought I’d chime in on the subject. Go read the article first… For a place so dependent on tourism, Easter Island does a very poor job of …
Tomorrow morning I leave Samoa for Fiji. That should begin several intensive weeks of travel. I will cross the date line for the 5th time from the 14th to the 15th of July. I will then rent a car and drive to Suva, Fiji where I will try to get my visa for Kiribati on …