Very early this morning, I boarded another plane to continue my journey. Leaving Palau was bittersweet and I hope I get the opportunity to return sometime. Currently I’m somewhere over the South China Sea on my second flight of the day from Incheon, Korea to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam reminiscing about my time in Palau and contemplating what lies ahead. Up to now I’ve had a pretty good idea of what to expect in my adventures and good friends to keep me company. The next leg of my journey is quite different; I will be on my own in a country very different from anywhere else I’ve been and I have no set plans. I’m a little nervous but mostly excited and exhilarated for what lies ahead. Check back to see how it all unfolds!
As for the last couple days on Palau, they were some of the most unique experiences I had on the islands. Wednesday I went on a kayak and snorkeling tour around some of Palau’s many rock islands. I was joined by Ann and Tony, friends I made on the liveaboard boat the week before. Our local guides from Sam’s Tours took us to some places we never would have gone for diving. After spending days zooming by the mushroom edged islands on dive boats, it was fun to finally get close and explore the Palauan shoreline. First we visited a black tip reef shark nursery; a shallow, protected bay you would only be able to access in a kayak or similar small boat. The bay wound back into several connected “holes” in the limestone islands. Along the way we spotted some jellyfish endemic to Palau, birds, and were able to spot one baby black tip reef shark in the nursery. The sharks were easily spooked and very fast swimmers so they were hard to track down and spot.
After we left the nursery, we came across a rather tragic sight that changed the tone of the trip. Palau is very conscious about the precarious state of our oceans and strives to protect their unique slice of Micronesia. They make it very clear when you enter that you are not to disturb the aquatic life let alone take anything from the ocean without permission. When you enter the country, you sign the Palau pledge:
Children of Palau,
I take this pledge,
as your guest,
to preserve and protect
your beautiful and unique
island home.I vow to tread lightly,
act kindly and
explore mindfully.I shall not take
what is not given.I shall not harm
what does not harm me.The only footprints
I shall leave are those
that will wash away.
What we found was the antithesis of the pledge; three discarded shells of poached hawksbill turtles, a critically endangered and protected species in Palau. We were all disturbed, disgusted, and angered by the find. We had spent a lot of time observing, admiring, and bonding with the turtles in their environment; our Palauan guide considers them family. To find such a careless, selfish act exposed the reason and need for the conservation of Palau’s waters and the animals that live there. I hope the poachers are eventually caught; if they are their boat will be burnt and sunk, they will face 25 years in prison, and a lifetime ban from Palau. Palauans make it very clear poaching will not be tolerated.
We continued on with our tour; snorkeling around some small World War II wrecks before getting back in the kayaks to paddle to Mandarinfish Bay; a shallow cove where we hopped back in the water for some pretty incredible snorkeling. There I got to see a couple fish I hadn’t been able to find on my dives; first some pajama fish and then the tiny, elusive, and intricate mandarinfish. The mandarin fish was certainly the highlight of that snorkel trip since I had tried to find it before on a dive to no avail.
Before returning to shore, we did one final snorkel excursion, this time a drift snorkel. It was a quick trip on which we saw more turtles and reef sharks; a nice way to end the day.
Thursday, I began to pack my bags but was not quite done touring. I rented a car and met up with Ann and Tony again to drive around Babeldaob, the biggest island in Palau and home to some interesting tour stops. First, we visited the Airai Bai, one of the oldest remaining tribal meeting house in Palau with parts of the structure dating back 200-300 years. There we had the fortune of getting a tour from the number eight chief of the village who was kind enough to invite us into the bai (you must be invited in; it is not open for just anyone). It was fascinating to hear him talk about Palauan history and all the changes the native Palauans had gone through over the past couple hundred years.
After visiting the bai, we pressed on to tour the capital of Palau, Melekeok. It was very different from the tribal bai however the tribal influence on the capital building was unmistakable. May of the glyphs and figures painted on the bai could be seen decorating the modern capital building. The building itself came out of nowhere in the middle of the jungle, rising up on a hill overlooking the ocean. The tour was pretty quick as much of the building we could not tour.
We had lunch at a small cafe in a town by the water just below the capital building then we continued to an eco tour theme park that promised a zip line ride to Ngardmau Waterfalls. When we got there we were disappointed to find the zip line had been closed along with an old monorail cog cart that at one time carried people from the waterfall back up to the parking lot. Instead of taking the zip line, we hiked 20 minutes through the jungle down to the waterfall. It quickly became obvious why the zip line and cog cart had closed; both were in a state of disrepair and looked pretty unsafe. The falls were pretty though and the hike through the jungle was spectacular.
After that we returned to Koror, enjoying the vistas along the road back home and stopping to take a look at the Japan, Palau friendship bridge that connects Babeldaob to Koror. The bridge had been constructed with help from Japan after the old bridge collapsed.
That evening, I finished up my packing and enjoyed a final dinner with my friend Shawn who unfortunately had to miss out on the kayak and road trips due to a cold he caught. Late that night we packed up the rental car and drove to the airport to depart Palau.
My journey today has been long but certainly not as long as my flight out to Palau. I’ve been enjoying good service and on-time planes with Korean Air. I even had a flight attendant, Mike, take interest in my coding/blogging. Thanks Mike! I hope you continue to enjoy programming.
Addendum
I landed in Ho Chi Minh City and have made it safe to my hotel. It almost wasn’t the case and I learned a valuable lesson at the airport. Under the impression that I could get a visa for Vietnam in the airport, I made my way to immigration. Turns out, to enter you need to be pre-approved for a visa and have a letter from the Vietnamese government so when I got to the immigration desk I was informed I would have to return to Korea! After talking with the officials, they let me know I could work with a travel agency to get an emergency tourist visa for $160 which was certainly worth it since a plane ticket was going to be much more. After waiting a while all the paperwork seemed to be in order and I was issued a visa and able to move through immigration and finally make my way to the hotel. Lesson learned! Always make sure you know exactly what the visa requirements are.
I haven’t explored the city much yet but I’ve enjoyed taking it easy in my hotel room and get the rest of my ducks in a row after such a long and eventful day.