Palau & Australia 2000: Around Palau

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Around Palau

After 4 days of travel and six flights we finally arrived in Palau. My first impression of Palau as we left the air for our hotel on the somewhat paved road was how much the island reminded me of Roatan. It was not over developed and it was hot and humid. I knew them the diving would be good.

As we arrived a couple days before the live-a-board was to start I made arrangements to stay at a small resort called Caroline Resort just outside of Koror, Palau. The resort turned out to be basically seven cottages on a hill overlooking lush greenery and the ocean. The rooms themselves were sparse but otherwise large and comfortable. The highlight of the room was a veranda that looked out over the countryside. Breakfast is brought to your room and placed on the veranda. They did have air conditioning but we hardly used it. Only in the middle of the afternoon did it get hot enough to require it.

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The Carolines front office.
To get from the office to the cottages you follow this path up the hill past the huge fig trees.
Here is our cottage #4.

Inside the room is simple but spacious and clean.
The ceiling is vaulted with a ceiling fan and an air conditioner.
The area around the cottages was landscaped with exotic plants.

Some sort of native bird.

Panoramic view from the veranda.
Panoramic view from the veranda.
Panoramic view from the veranda.

Click on thumbnail for a full-size picture
The Carolines front office.	To get from the office to the cottages you follow this path up the hill past the huge fig trees.	Here is our cottage #4.
Inside the room is simple but spacious and clean.	The ceiling is vaulted with a ceiling fan and an air conditioner.	The area around the cottages was landscaped with exotic plants.
Some sort of native bird.
Panoramic view from the veranda.	Panoramic view from the veranda.	Panoramic view from the veranda.

Not having any specific plans for our two days on the island we decided to just walk into town. The walk is a bit longer than we expected but still not too bad. The capital of Koror is the only modest sized town on the islands. Some of the larger nearby islands are so close that often just a short causeway connects them. While in town we found an Internet cafe and checked out the Etpison Museum. We also wanted to check out the Palau National Museum but it was only open weekdays.

Back at home we love watching the Travel Channel and one program we happened to catch was one about traveling in Micronesia. The hostess of that show mentioned that the specialty food of Palau is Fruit Bat. Lily of course had to try it! We asked the owner of the Internet Cafe about it and he said that a nearby hotel called the Penthouse Hotel serves it in their restaurant.

We walked to the hotel about two blocks from the Internet Cafe. The menu contained mostly Japanese foods but no sign of fruit bat so we asked for it. Sure enough they have it but you do have to ask for it. Lily asked the waitress if she could see the bat before they cooked it. She went to the kitchen to ask them called us over to the door. Just as they brought out a bowl with a frozen fruit bat in it one of the local women eating nearby said "you're going to eat that?" Lily started to have some second thoughts but decided to go through with it anyway.

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On the way to town we saw this cute monkey chained to a tree.
Signs like this were all over town. Chewing betel nut is a disgusting habit.
Downtown is basically the main street along which you find various shops..

Great museum, worth checking out.
Our guide in the musuem hung out while we waited for our bus back to our hotel.

The frozen fruit bat.
You're going to eat that?
Lily showing off the head with sharp teeth.

Tastes like pigeon?
C'mon Lily, you didn't finish the WHOLE thing!
I chose to just stick with some basic sashimi.

Notice the long fur on the head. If you're into real gory details, the following is the video I took of Lily eating the fruit bat. The commentary is pretty funny especially the part about it tasting like Pigeon, not chicken! There is a special treat at the end where Lily interviews the waitress. Warning: this video is only for people with a strong stomach.
QuickTime Movie - Approx 22.3M
RealVideo - 56K modem or faster stream (6 minutes 4 seconds)
Viewed: 852 times.

Click on thumbnail for a full-size picture
On the way to town we saw this cute monkey chained to a tree.	Signs like this were all over town. Chewing betel nut is a disgusting habit.	Downtown is basically the main street along which you find various shops..
Great museum, worth checking out.	Our guide in the musuem hung out while we waited for our bus back to our hotel.
The frozen fruit bat.	You're going to eat that?	Lily showing off the head with sharp teeth.
Tastes like pigeon?	C'mon Lily, you didn't finish the WHOLE thing!	I chose to just stick with some basic sashimi.
Notice the long fur on the head.	If you're into real gory details, the following is the video I took of Lily eating the fruit bat. The commentary is pretty funny especially the part about it tasting like Pigeon, not chicken! There is a special treat at the end where Lily interviews the waitress. Warning: this video is only for people with a strong stomach. QuickTime Movie - Approx 22.3M RealVideo - 56K modem or faster stream (6 minutes 4 seconds) Viewed: 852 times.

On the way back our flight made a stop on the island of Yap for only about 30 minutes. I wish we had time to stop and dive here as well since Yap is famous for Manta Ray diving.

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The Yap airport. What is the Mobil Oil sign doing there?	The other reason Yap is famous can be seen right from the plane.

Comments From People Like You! Around Palau : Palau & Australia 2000	add a comment
minoan 08-Apr-2005 03:35
`Hello there, I like your website especially about palau. Do you know that as scary and gory it may look, eating fruit bat is by far much healthier than eating at burger joint where you get ground beef ( beef tounges, tail, intestines, etc.), or you get beef that's been juiced up with growth hormon and other .... you know. Lily is not a whimp, but you are a whimp ( for not trying a taste of fruit bat) lol.`
Anonymous 11-Jan-2005 16:28
interesting site...i'm palauan american- my palaun roots are based in ngesar, airai babelthoup & koror...surfin' 2 this site waz my 1st experience eVr seeing the fruit bat on any dinner table in my life...y'all scare'd me to death...the bat iz one of my totem animalz...pleaze don't eat the stingray if u return 2 dive...thatz my clan totem & itz super-bad karma 2 do unmentionablez- like put it in your mouth...nVrtheless- y'all seriously entertained me...i waz wonderin' about the caroline resort myself and wanted 2 see what it look'd like from the inside, so i got a chance to see it here... http://geocities.yahoo.com/webcam/public/sabrinazodiac2004 plur/live in vegas sabrina

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