Palau
Where can I see your posts on Palau?
Click the see articles button on the right sidebar, or scroll to the bottom of the page for mobile.
When did you travel to Palau?
Fletch and I lived there for one year in 2015.
Which areas of Palau did you visit?
The vast majority of them! Haha. We lived in the biggest city, Koror, not wanting to be any more isolated than we already were, being on a tiny cluster of rocks in the middle of the otherwise desolate ocean. We drove around the big island of Babeldaob many times, took several tours around the Rock Islands, and even visited Peleliu for a weekend. The only place we never made it to was the tiny island of Angaur.
Why did you go to Palau?
For the scuba diving! Palau is hands down, the best diving I have ever experienced anywhere in the world. Of course we only knew it by reputation going in. If you want the long story, we were living in Thailand with our roommates and had grand plans of all traveling together as one big, happy family. We were trying to decide where to go and live for a while next, and so pulled out a big white board and started writing down a huge list of options. Then we started crossing them off based on things like water temperature, visa requirements, job opportunities, etc… Palau would allow us to stay for a year as Americans without question, and so it was eventually the last place left on the board.
How did you get to your final destination from the US?
We flew United Airlines from Denver (DEN) to Honolulu (HNL) (7h), From Honolulu (HNL) to Guam (GUM) (8h), and from Guam (GUM) to Palau (ROR) (2h).
Understanding Palau…
There are really only two kinds of people who go to Palau: lawyers (they hire a few from the US every year to work for their government), and scuba divers. If you are not one of those two things, then you are going to get bored fairly quickly. That said, the diving is the 10/10 against which all other diving is ranked now in my book. I often tell people that you could descend on a 10 minute dive and check everything off of your bucket list: sharks, mantas, napoleon wrasse, you name it, it’s there. Rumors were even going around at the time that the diving in Palau was James Cameron’s inspiration for the world of Pandora in the movie Avatar. I get goosebumps just thinking about the diving.
For a nation so tiny, Palau sure is progressive when it comes to protecting their natural resources. In 2009 they became the world’s very first shark sanctuary, leading the way in shark conservation. When we were there in 2015, they were having problems with illegal fishing boats from South East Asia, the ones you hear about with modern-day slaves working aboard. Well Palau dragged all the boats out to sea and burned them, and sent all the slaves home. Also while we were there in 2015, they went ahead and made 80% of their waters marine sanctuary, with all fishing strictly prohibited. 20% of their waters remained open to local fishermen only. When the invasion of Chinese tourists arrived with no respect for nature, Palau instituted a tour guide license that had to be obtained for all tour operators, dive guides included, and the test was only available in English or Palauan. And a couple years after our departure, they changed their passport stamp to an eco-pledge, that all visitors would have to sign upon arrival.
I have nothing but respect for Palau’s ecological stance.
It’s not all sunshine and bubbles though; Palau is one of the most obese nations in the world, and finding fresh produce there is an incredible chore. If it weren’t for the food, Palau would be pretty near perfect. Guess you can’t have everything.
What advice do you have for someone visiting Palau?
→ There’s really not much reason to go unless you are a hard-core, scuba diving fanatic. The kind of divers who show up to Palau are the ones with hundreds (or even thousands) of dives. They leave their gear at home and rent, because their massive camera rigs take up their entire suitcase. That said, the diving is world class, so if you think your dive skills are ready to keep up with steep drop offs and ripping currents, your efforts will be greatly rewarded.
→ Wifi is new to Palau since we were there. What we had to deal with might as well have been dial-up. The world there is probably pretty different now that they are connected to the rest of the globe. Keep that in mind when reading my blog posts.
→ The food in Palau leaves a lot to be desired. Rice and spam are staples. If you are addicted to fresh produce, like I am, then you will have to make the rounds to all three grocery stores (WCTC, Payless, and Surangels) every day to beat the other expats to any new shipments.
→ Restaurants are usually way overpriced, but the serving sizes are often enough to feed a family. Some of our favorite places to eat were:
→ Bem Ermii – This is just a little hamburger stand, but they do a surprisingly yummy veggie burger.
→ Rock Island Cafe – For those mornings when you’re in the mood for a diner-style breakfast.
→ Umi – Reasonably priced Korean and Japanese food.
→ Kramer’s – Probably the overall best food on the island. This was our go-to towards the end of our year.
→ Elilai – For special occasions. This is the closest thing you’ll find to fine-dining in Palau. Try the mangrove clam spaghetti.
→ On a non-diving day, don’t miss the Rock Island and Jellyfish Lake tour. Weaving through the Rock Islands on a boat is the epitome of what you expect the tropics should look like. Their beauty is overwhelming at times. And then you get to stop on one such island that has a marine lake, and is home to hundreds of thousands of jellyfish that have evolved over the years to lose their sting. Snorkeling with them is an otherworldly experience.
Basic Information:
→ Capital: Ngerulmud
→ Population: 21,503
→ Area: 177 square miles (459 square kilometers)
→ Currency: United States dollar
→ Time Zone: UTC +9
→ Official Languages: English, Palauan, Japanese, Sonsorolese, Tobian
→ Religions: Roman Catholic (45.3%), Seventh-day Adventist (6.9%), other Protestant (34.9%), Modekngei (5.7%), Muslim (3%)
