I realize it was 3 weeks ago, but I haven't blogged since then, so I just wanted to make sure I mentioned how great it was to see everyone back in the US of A. It was a bit of a crazy trip (I spent over 40 hours on a plane when all was said and done), but definitely well-worth it. Jill and I both got to see a lot of friends and family, got to eat BBQ (that's the one type of food you can't get in Hong Kong), and I got to play a lot of golf. Not too shabby.
We were both a little jet-lagged when we got back, but other than that we were able to pick right back up where we left off. Last week Jill was in Guam for a work conference, and so we planned to meet in Palau for the weekend. Palau is located
here, and it was a bit a pain to get there, but it was a really cool experience.
Palau is pretty underdeveloped, and our accommodations were certainly not luxurious, but the snorkeling and kayaking we did was amazing. The first stop on our snorkel trip was to a place called jellyfish lake. This was probably one of, if not the coolest things, Jill or I have ever done. It's a lake filled with jellyfish, but they don't have stingers, so you swim out and snorkel among literally thousands and thousands of jellyfish. It was like something out of Fantasia. Unfortunately, Jill and I forgot our waterproof camera back in Chicago (it's packed away in our storage unit somewhere, how we forgot to bring it I have no idea, but it's Jill's fault), but a guy on our boat was nice enough to take some underwater pictures of us. Now it's just a matter of whether or not he actually sends them to me...if he does I will definitely post them, but for now, just use
this as a visual for what we did.
The jellyfish were in an enclosed lake, but the snorkeling out in the ocean was awesome too. It rivaled what we saw at the Great Barrier Reef in our opinion mainly for the fact that a lot of the coral we saw was still alive. There were tons of fish, and we saw a couple of sea turtles, but the coolest thing we saw (at least in my opinion, Jill not so much) was sharks. On the stop after jellyfish lake, the first thing we saw after jumping in was 3
black tip reef sharks about 20 feet down. Literally jumped in, looked down, and saw 3 sharks. I have been wanting to see sharks in the wild for a long time, so I thought it was incredible. They didn't stick around very long, but it was pretty awesome for those to be the first things we saw. Again, don't have any pictures from the snorkeling, but you'll have to take our word for it. Aside from the boat ride out to the different dive-spots (oh and I forgot to mention that Palau is famous for its scuba diving. Jill and I were totally the odd-people out on our boat since we were the only ones not scuba diving...but whatever) the weather was pretty crappy. It was raining pretty much the whole day, but the visibility in the water was still pretty good considering the conditions.
The second day we went kayaking amongst the little islands near the big island where the hotel was located. This was cool because it was just the two of us and a guide that knew all about the local wildlife and plants found in the area. The weather was crappy again, but it didn't bother us. At one point, it just started pouring, but it was actually really cool being out on the water in a downpour...it made us feel rugged. You'll see just how rugged in the pictures below. The other really cool thing was that there was absolutely no one else around. No boats, no beaches filled with chain smoking Russians, no tourists besides ourselves. It was great. Here's some pics:
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| This was actually from the first day of snorkeling. We stopped on a little beach and had lunch, and Jill and I took the opportunity to make another painfully romantic little message in the sand. We didn't even have to wipe out another couple's name this time. |
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| Our guide, Robby. He was a chain-chewing (all day he was gnawing on a combination of Red Man tobacco and bitter nut...whatever that is. His spit was bright orange), self-proclaimed medicine man who told us all about the natural healing powers of the native plants. Most of them cured skin conditions or ear infections. |
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| Yes-I am wearing a poncho over a rash guard and a t-shirt over my head to keep my neck from getting sunburned. And, yes, even in the rain. Screw you. And I am honestly much happier than I appear in this picture. I really don't know why I'm flashing the peace sign and look like I want to kill someone. This was taken in one of what seemed like hundreds of little lagoons that we got to kayak into. Robby was doing his best to find us some saltwater crocodiles to see, but they were nowhere to be found |
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| Poncho's gone...tshirt remains |
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| The Japanese occupied Palau during WWII, and we stopped for lunch at an area that was, at one point during the war, being used to build a dock. It was never finished. This is the remains of a car engine from that time. The Japanese thought all the little islands of Palau would offer their ships enough cover from the American bombers, but based on all the ship wrecks littered around the islands it didn't work out for them. |
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| This is at the same area where the car engine was. There was a clam farm nearby, and the farmers come to this spot to barbecue. These shells were huge. |
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| One of a few different shipwrecks we were able to see. The water is crystal clear, and not too deep near the islands so you could see the whole ship. Pretty awesome. We also got to see a downed B52 bomber...no pic though |
Let me say that these pictures do not do the place justice. The scenery was amazing, the water was an amazing turquoise color...these pictures are an insult to Palau. However, Jill got me photography lessons for my birthday, so hopefully my skills will improve.
Here's what Palau really looks like.
So, we would definitely recommend going to Palau, but understand that it is a pain in the ass to get there. And also understand that it's not the place to go if you're looking for luxurious accommodations and a plethora of fine dining options. But what made it cool was that it was not overrun with tourists. Granted, it was not their peak season. But given the lack of huge resort hotels and the fact that almost no one's ever even heard of it (even most of the people I work with here in Hong Kong hadn't heard of it), it's pretty low-key compared to a place like Phuket. Which was nice.
On the way back to Hong Kong we had to connect in Guam. We landed there around 5 AM, and our flight to Hong Kong didn't leave til 6:40 PM. So while I worked, Jill relaxed by the pool at the Hyatt Regency Guam. Here was the view from our room. Probably the best layover you can ask for.
Jill didn't get to do/see enough in Guam while she was there for her conference, so we'll have to try and get back there again sometime soon.
That's all for now. Hope all is well!
Til Next Time,
Luke & Jill
