Today was my first full day in Palau. I’ve only had a small taste of what’s to come and even that has been stunning. I arrived at my hotel, Palau Royal Resort, around 5 am and took a little nap before forcing myself awake to start adjusting to the new timezone. I took it very easy today and mostly wandered around the hotel area which had plenty of good sights to offer. They have a pool and a private beach where you can go swimming and snorkeling to get a taste of what the reefs are like here.
The hotel also has a small “pond” full of beautiful tropical fish, giant clams, and a resident sea turtle that took me by surprise the first time it cruised by.
Later in the evening I ventured outside the hotel and had a tasty dinner at The Drop Off Bar & Grill before wandering some of the nearby streets trying to find a good spot to watch the sunset. Never found a west-facing beach but the clouds certainly lit up nicely.
Everyone here is very friendly. Out on my walk, locals would constantly wave and say hi as I passed. Palau also has an interesting blend of cultures. Palau uses US currency and English is an official language so many things feel at home however there are also a lot of Asian influences. Most things are translated in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. I think the oddest and best example of this mix of cultures are the cars and roads here. Vehicles drive on the right side of the road but because most vehicles are imported from Japan, the steering wheel is also commonly on the right side. Nobody drives very fast and traffic is pretty minimal so this doesn’t seem to cause any issues but it did intrigue me.
Tomorrow is another day for relaxing and adjusting to the new timezone then on Sunday I’ll board the live aboard dive boat for a week. As seeing that internet service is spotty and I don’t get cell service here, I likely won’t be able to publish any posts while I’m on the boat. I’ll keep writing though and have some posts ready to publish once I’m back at an internet connection. Looking forward to seeing what all Palau has to offer!