Yes, friends and readers, you read it right! Joepi went ahead and kicked off her summer with a fantastic holiday in Palau with a fantastic dive group! (Insert sunshine and turquoise blue waters here!)
Ever since I posted the photos on Flickr and FB, fellow divers have been inquiring about the trip and friends were in awe. So here's a blog to give you more information about the trip in case you're planning to head on to Eden or if you just want to know more about the awesome, awesome trip our group had.
Start off with some bullet points (which I'm sure you'd appreciate rather than lengthy paragraphs) on little details/FAQ's I encountered on Facebook
Destination: PALAU!
Airport Code: MNL to ROR
Date: March 12 10 pm Departure from MNL – Back to MNL March 17 9PM
Airline: Continental
Accomodation: Sea Passion
Dive Shop: Sam's Tours
Travel Buddies: Jean Leslie Tricia Jessa Dave Bicbic Dino Ninna and Hope
Dive Guides: Shirley, Joedyn, Dan Boatmen: Box and Flavin
Restaurants/Good Eats: Rock Island Cafe Pizzas, Bottom Time Bar/Grill at Sam's Tours Poke Sashimi, Bem Ermii burgers
Now let's go through a few more details for those who plan to go…
PART ONE: Getting There and Back (If you're coming back!)
1. Go by Travel Agency or Not?There are some folks who prefer to do it on their own and there are some who like to leave all the booking and planning to someone else. My tip is, if you're going as a group, best get a travel agent who can possibly get you a group discount. Our travel agent was a contact of our Dive Instructor: Space Travel Enterprises.
2. Airport Stuff: Manila and Koror Airport Tips
a. Travel Tax was included in our package – so be sure to ask about that before you go so you have enough money if you need to pay that.
b. Terminal Fee of Php 750 needs to be paid after checking in
c. Check-in Luggage: ONLY ONE BAG is allowed at 50lbs. Dive gear usually sits anywhere between 40-50lbs. What about your clothes? What clothes? all you need is a bikini and a towel! ;-p Extra check-in luggage I think was $35 – not too sure about the price.
d. Carry-on Luggage: You can get away with two as long as one of them is either a purse or a laptop bag or a camera bag.
e. Liquids in Carry-on: Bring only small bottles of less than 50ml that can all fit in one medium sized ZIP LOCK bag. If you don't want to miss your favorite cologne/shampoo/sunscreen – check them in with your dive gear! Going there I had extra zip locks and gave them away to those who didn't have them… only to find myself needing one more! Thank you Jean for coming to the rescue! Going back to MNL, I had to leave 3 of my favorite travel containers behind (the Martha Stewart in me was very upset) as I forgot I had put everything in my carry on suitcase (too much Nitrox in my head at this point I guess!)
f. $35 needed going home… I wasn't aware of this, actually we all weren't, and good thing the lovely Filipina Ladies, Adela and Russell at Sam's told us about it! It was for a conservation fee/environment fee of sorts for Palau (You can actually see proof of it!)
g. Get there with at least 2 hours before because there is a security check which will drive you nuts – I guarantee you that! We were lucky enough to have gotten there slightly early on the way to Palau, but going home, we were pretty much the last bunch and they were seriously doing last calls and our group still hadn't completely gone through customs and the security check! Also in the Koror airport, there is only one line going in the Check in counter, 2 lines for Customs and one line for the last security check. It took us an hour and a half to go through it all. My eyeballs turned white, seriously. To think, a local girl even said that was a light day!
3. Getting to the Hotel
The great thing about booking with Sam's is that they can pick you up and do this for you every day! I loved it! But if you're planning to take a cab, I think it's around $5 to get to town. We never tried it as we were never too far from the hotel nor from Sam's.
4. What to Pack
a. Clothes This is more for the ladies as I know we tend to overpack and boys all you need are your board shorts and shirts! Now, ladies, you seriously do not need much but here's what I recommend. Bring your bikini (white is a must as it looks oh so fab in photos :-p) Have one or two Kaftans (google it if you don't know it) to cover up. Have a maxi dress/sundress that you can wear for the evenings for dinner that you can also wear for the next day. Dresses are just easier to roll up and pack and not worry about wrinkles. Bring one pair of traveling pants (R.O.X. at the Fort carries loads of them) one pair of shorts and 2-3 shirts. Bring clothes that are easy to dry and easy to roll. No room for picky-prissy-princesses here! Again, you are on an ISLAND for crying out loud.
b. Some things to bring for sure for both men and women: Windbreaker/Raincoat – it can get cold if it rains and you're on the boat zipping through wind and water. Rain actually hurts when you're speeding :-p Bring a cap to protect your scalp and to avoid the dandruff looking sunburnt scalp peel situation. If you're going to the Jellyfish lake, bring a thicker pair of booties. I survived with my dive booties, but I think I would have enjoyed it more without worrying about those rocks tearing them apart as I huffed and puffed up that trail. Shades are a must too as it can get very bright out there – but please do remove them if you're out sunbathing to avoid the raccoon look! :-p Oh and you can also buy some really cool dive shades at Sam's…what are dive shades? Hah! Go to Palau and find out!)
c. Scuba Gear Bring the basics. You can bring some extras (rashguard, reefhook, flashlight, gloves, mask) but don't even think of bringing an extra set of fins or wetsuit or regulator. Sam's can take care of you if something goes wrong with your gear. Reef hook is a must (bring it with you because it's expensive to buy it there.)
d. Toiletries: bring sachets for shampoo, a bar of soap that you can leave behind, and whatever else in smaller bottles as I advised above. No need to bring too much. Seriously. You're on an island. What more do you need? And there are convenience stores around the area should you need anymore. If you're checking in at Sea Passion, they have all your basic needs for you in the bathroom.
e. Do I Bring Booze? Food? No need. Again, you can buy it there. If you're thinking it will be cheaper, think again. You're running the risk of going over your baggage allowance and baggage space, you are running the risk of breaking the bottle, you're going to spend on more drinks anyway because you'll be too lazy to make your own drink after a full day of diving!
I think this is it for the Travel Tips! More on the diving and the daily Palau experiences in the next blogs!
Please visit my roomie's site as well for her version of the adventure:
http://www.triportreats.blogspot.com/
Posted via email from joepster.com | posterous
Kats’ handiwork. This was what he looked like when we picked him up from the floor. This is clearly an example of abuse in the work place. Poor Mr. Potato Head…
iPhart.Mobi
