Monday, June 18
Our nonstop(!) flight from Guam to
Palau arrived late on the night of June 18. Palau was formerly part of the set of islands that became the Federated States of Micronesia, but Palau decided to become an independent nation when the Federated States formed their own country. The country is spread over 340 islands and has a population of 21,000.
We went immediately to the Palasia Hotel in
Koror, the former capital and largest city in Palau.
 |
| Palau International Airport |
 |
| Palasia Hotel |
 |
| Interior of the hotel |
 |
| View from my hotel room |
We began the day with a tour of some sites around Koror, which has about 15,000 people. First stop was the National Museum of Palau.
 |
| In Palau, they spell Palau "Belau" |
 |
| Exhibit honoring famous athletes of Palau |
 |
| Inside the National Museum |
 |
| A roadside store in Koror |
From Koror, we went to the island of Babeldaob, which is connected by bridge to Koror, and is the largest island in Palau. Here's what the tour itinerary had to say about Babeldaob:
Today we will spend today exploring the island of Babeldaob, Palau's largest island, and
often called the "Big Island". This is a truly mysterious place that appears physically
impenetrable for the most part and shields enigmatic monoliths whose origin and purpose
is unknown. The east coast has beautiful stretches of sandy beach, while the west coast
has a largely mangrove-studded shoreline. Ancient stone footpaths connect many villages,
there are no traffic lights, and resort hotels are a world away. Archaeological highlights
include the Stone Faces (Badrulchau) of Ngerchelong, the ancient Stone Monoliths, and
the mysterious terraced hillsides found in various locations around Babeldaob. We will also
visit a traditional Bai (Men's meeting house).
This is the one of the largest islands in Micronesia. In the past each village had a men's
'meeting house' built on top of a raised stone platform. These houses were constructed
from giant timbers reinforced with coconut fiber ropes, and assembled without nails in a
timber frame design. The roofs are made by weaving together mangrove palm fronds. Bais
were elaborately painted and decorated with carvings of traditional legends. There were
two types of bais. The first is the Bai ra Rubak (or old men's bai) where traditionally no
women were allowed. These were used exclusively for the meetings and customs of the
older men of the village. The Bai ra Cheldebechel (or clubhouse bai) was used for younger
men and was the place where the older men would teach the younger generation the
legends of the village and fishing lore. Women were only allowed to visit the Bai ra
Cheldebechel. Today we see one of the few remaining bais in Palau, which offers us a
unique look at authentic Palau'an culture.
Our first stop on Babeldaob one of the
bais.
Still on Babeldaob, we headed for the Stone Faces and monoliths.
 |
| Picnic lunch at the monolith site |
 |
| Some of the monoliths |
 |
| The monolith in the foreground is actually a carved stone face |
At the monolith site, we encountered some strange carnivorous plants that attract insects into their hanging "bags" and then close.
Our final stop on Babeldoab was Palau's new capital
Ngerulmud, which was carved out of the forest about 12 miles from Koror in 2006. There is absolutely nothing in Ngerulmud except the capital buildings.
 |
| Capital buildings from a distance |
 |
| Judiciary buildings |
 |
| Capitol building |
Inside the capitol building, our group had free run of the place--we could have wandered the halls to our hearts' content.
 |
| Interior of the capitol dome |
 |
| Inside the capitol building |
 |
| Decoration on the capitol building, which illustrates a bird eating and shitting money |
Next we returned to the town of Koror, and I took a stroll down the main street.
 |
| Sort of like "United States High School" |
Tuesday, June 19
Today was devoted to a tour of Peleliu Island. According to the itinerary:
Today we will enjoy a scenic boat trip and excursion to the historic island of Peleliu. Ourboat journey will take us past the Rock Island Lagoon, recently added to the UNESCOWorld Heritage list. This is one of the crown jewels of Micronesia, and a true vista ofserene and surreal beauty. Here one finds over 400 uninhabited limestone islands ofvolcanic origin. Many of them display unique 'mushroom-like' shapes in turquoise lagoons surrounded by coral reefs.
Our destination is Peleliu Island, located where the tide of the Philippine Sea meets thecurrent of the Pacific Ocean, each flowing in the opposite direction. With the Japanese controlling Palau by World War II, Peleliu became an important military target for the United States. The Japanese had built a series of underground tunnels and fortifications, and they had tens of thousands of men stationed here. By the time the war was over, nearly 11,000 Japanese and 1,000 American soldiers had lost their lives in this area. Our tour of Peleliu Island will cover many important natural and historic sites, including several WWII remnants and the local War Memorial Museum.
 |
| Departing the dock in Koror |
 |
| A few rotting hulks in the harbor |
 |
| One of the many "mushroom" islands |
 |
| A cave on one of the islands, used by the Japanese |
 |
| Note the arch in the middle |
Eventually we arrived on Peleliu, which was the original capital of Palau, before Koror. The main town on the island still serves as the capital of Peleliu state.
 |
| Peleliu state legislative building |
 |
| Peleliu state capitol, which had been damaged by a typhoon |
 |
| Housing on Peleliu |
 |
| What the museum building looked like when the war ended |
 |
| Inside the museum |
From the museum we went to a building that served as
Japanese headquarters on Peleliu. The building is pretty much as it was left at the end of the war. Pretty creepy.
 |
| A bullet embedded in a wall |
 |
| Stairs to an underground shelter |
 |
| In the shelter |
 |
| Door to the shelter |
At various points on the island, we encountered vehicles and weapons from World War II
 |
| The abandoned airstrip |
 |
| A memorial to American Marines |
 |
| A beach where Americans came ashore during the war |
 |
| Our local guide showing a photograph of the Americans coming ashore |
For lunch we stopped at a picnic area, where we encountered the Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, who was touring the island for some reason.
 |
| Our picnic area |
Our lunch was pretty normal (grilled chicken, I think), but one of the local guides brought a local delicacy--fruit bat. Tastes like chicken.
 |
| Steaming pot of fruit bat |
After lunch, we resumed touring, first to a Japanese memorial on the island, then another site where there was another U.S. Marine memorial and another Japanese memorial
 |
| Japanese memorial |
 |
| US Marine memorial |
 |
| Another Japanese memorial |
Mixed among the memorials were abandoned vehicles and guns.
Our last stop on Peleliu was the
Thousand Man Cave, a series of caves and tunnels used by the Japanese. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the interior because I smashed my head on the cave ceiling at the entrance. This drew enough blood that one of the local guides said I should go to the emergency room (although I and the other guide disagreed). It was a moot point since there are no hospitals, let alone emergency rooms, on Peleliu. I managed to survive, but never did make it into the cave.
 |
| Ouch! |
After visiting (or not visiting) the cave, we returned to Koror on our rat-free vessel.
After arriving back in Koror, we headed to the airport to board an evening flight to Manila.
Wednesday, June 20
We checked into the Manila Hotel at about midnight. The
Manila Hotel is a historic 5-star hotel that was General MacArthur's headquarters at the beginning of World War II. My room (we only stayed one night) wasn't all that impressive, but the public areas were spectacular.
 |
| The Manila Hotel |
 |
| Manila Hotel Lobby |
 |
| Another public area in the Manila Hotel |
I was told that the breakfast buffet at the hotel was amazing, and it met my expectations.
 |
| I don't even know what this stuff is |
 |
| More stuff I can't identify |
After breakfast we started on our one-day tour of Manila. We began by visiting the
Rizal Monument, which memorializes Jose Rizal, a Philippine writer and hero. There is a military guard at the monument, which, fortunately for us, was changing when we arrived.
 |
| New guards arriving |
 |
| Rizal Monument |
We then drove around Manila, a (miserably) hot, humid, vibrant city. Here are few more shots.
 |
| The flower shop district |
We encountered lots of Jeepneys--busses originally made from old Jeeps.
Eventually we arrived at what I will call the Lechon district--lots of places roasting suckling pigs.
In addition to whole pigs, the restaurants served chicharrones, or fried pork rinds.
 |
| Heart attack in a bag |
 |
| A cock fighting venue in the Lechon district |
Next was a visit to the
Chinese Cemetery, which is a combination of traditional graves and a virtual city of mausoleums.
 |
| The "regular" part of the cemetery |
 |
| A mausoleum |
 |
| A street of mausoleums |
 |
| Another mausoleum |
 |
| Inside a mausoleum |
 |
| In another mausoleum |
 |
| A gate in the cemetery |
Next, we headed for Manila's Chinatown, passing through other parts of the city.
 |
| A bank guard |
 |
| A fine communications infrastructure |
Eventually we reached Chinatown and took a stroll around it.
We then headed to
Intramuros ("Inside the Walls") which is the old colonial part of Manila. It was bombed pretty heavily during World War II, so there aren't very many pre-war buildings left. In Intramuros, we visited a restored 18th century house that has been converted to a museum.
 |
| Courtyard of the house |
 |
| Inside the house |
 |
| In the house kitchen |
We then went to
St. Augustin Church, completed in 1607 and one of the few pre-World War II buildings left in Intramuros. As luck would have it, a wedding was taking place when we arrive, but we still got in.
 |
| In the church museum |
 |
| Church courtyard |
 |
| In the crypt |
While we were in the church, a storm was approaching, which made for some interesting photos.
Fortunately we made it to the tour bus before the rain hit, and headed to the airport for our flight.
