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  1. #51
    Member Dick Farang's Avatar
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    Nice pics, mate.

  2. #52
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon
    What is the internet and communication tech like?
    At the moment its shite, but we're all waiting for this new cable running from US-Guam-PI-East Asia ... things will take off thereafter I'm sure.

  3. #53
    In Uranus
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    I love wayne's pics but am scared by the spinned face. What are you worried about mate?
    Last edited by bsnub; 26-08-2009 at 05:42 PM.

  4. #54
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    Appreciate you taking the time to post all of this...
    surprised that there are girlie bars in the midst of all this natural beauty...

  5. #55
    Hifaluten Member
    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub
    Scared by the spinned face. What are you worried about mate?
    Internet fruitloops ... guess you missed the Drivingforce saga and the many others over the years

  6. #56
    Thailand Expat
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    Just had a gander through this thread. What else can I say but simply breath taking!

  7. #57
    Hifaluten Member
    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    ^ Thanks HB.

    Palau | Obscure islands set to become luxury tourist hotspot

    Palau, a nation of sparsely populated Pacific islands surrounded by turquoise waters teeming with fish and giant clams, is so obscure most people must scour a map to find it. But with a crop of high-end resorts coming up, the islands may soon become a luxury tourist hotspot.

    Tropical Palau lies east of the Philippines and north of Indonesia, and there are only 21,000 inhabitants.

    It recently relaxed laws to allow new resorts to be set up, and Palau's legislature, based in a grandiose Roman-style building that is surrounded by nothing but rolling countryside and sea views, is also pushing a bill that would allow casinos and investment from some of the big names in Las Vegas.

    Once the scene of a bloody World War Two siege, and a US territory blocked from developing at its own pace, the nation is now aiming for 250,000 tourists per year and it needs 4000 hotel rooms, up from 1100 today, to get there, said Jackson Henry, Palau's ambassador to Taiwan.

    "The goal of tourism in Palau is quality, not quantity," Henry said. "Because of our fragile marine eco-system, Palau does not aim at mass tourism. Instead, Palau targets the selective high-end visitors."

    Only a nation since 1994, Palau already attracts about 84,000 tourist arrivals per year, largely from east Asian countries such as Japan and Taiwan, and often divers.

    They are drawn by vertical coral dropoffs patrolled by reef sharks, turtles and 2-meter Napoleon wrasse fish. Snorkellers can float past schools of dancing butterfly fish or menacing barracuda, while iridescent clams snap shut as shadows pass by.

    "After you've seen all the big stuff, you start looking at the little things," said a dive instructor who only gave his name as Matias, hunting for multicolored nudibranches and shrimps near the Carp Island Resort, which is trying to attract more European tourists.

    "This is Palau," he said, shaking his head in wonder, having left his diveshop in Spain to work there early this year.

    The resort is in the Rock Islands, described by guide Lonely Planet as the jewel of Micronesia, and where erosion has carved forested specks sprinkled across lagoon-like waters. Changing sea levels have left marine lakes, one filled with millions of harmless pulsating jellyfish -- unique swimming companions.

    For those looking "topside," or above land, there is a mysterious ancient ruin, old stone money the size of tables left behind by raiding Yap islanders, and traditional longhouses covered by paintings of fish and bats that tell village stories.

    About 300 new hotel rooms are already under construction.

    A 120-room Chinese-owned hotel will open next year, and a 185-room, $30 million five-star Korean-invested hotel will become Palau's largest resort when it opens in 2012. Another Korean investor is planning a golf course, Henry said.

    "After visiting cities such as Bangkok, often what tourists like is to see is something in its natural condition," said S.K. Kim, local agent for the future 185-room Palau Ocean Resort.

    Amanresorts, an international hotel chain mostly owned by DLF, India's largest listed real estate firm, said it was also planning a small-scale boutique resort in the islands.

    European investors have acquired 200,000 square metres for another resort, and a firm from the United States intends to buy 500,000 square metres for yet another, Henry said.

    Palau last year extended maximum land leases for foreigners from 50 to 99 years, while President Johnson Toribiong has moved to cut paperwork.

    "There's certainly significant interest in Palau and justifiably so," said Anthony Gill of the Asian Development Bank.




  8. #58
    Thailand Expat
    Stinky's Avatar
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    Some really good photos, reminds me of the Philippines. How we foreigners received by the girls ?

    Just looked back, Oooh nice.

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Kerr
    "The goal of tourism in Palau is quality, not quantity," Henry said. "Because of our fragile marine eco-system, Palau does not aim at mass tourism. Instead, Palau targets the selective high-end visitors."
    which is, in theory a good thing.

    I just hope they do it correctly.

  10. #60
    Thailand Expat

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    wery nice pics

  11. #61
    Dislocated Member

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    Excellent thread thanks for sharing. Wonderful pictures and a great travel guide.



    This ancient city was in Von Danikens Chariots Of The Gods which I read as a kid, although discredited now he was at least an early explorer of these kind of ancient ruins, and it gave me, and I'm sure many others, the wanderlust to explore for myself. An enviable occupation you have.

  12. #62
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    Awesome thread Wayne, thanks!

  13. #63
    Out there...
    StrontiumDog's Avatar
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    Yep, just amazing. Wonderful pictures. Thank you so much for posting this. Inspires me to go and have a look.

    You really do have an amazing job.

    Now all I need to know is how to get there...and how much it costs...

  14. #64
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    Crap, 2,000 Dollars minimum to fly from Bangkok to Koror, Palau. In January....

  15. #65
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    WK, where did you stay in Palau? Any recommendations for accommodation?

  16. #66
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    Firstly mate, I 'd day US$2,000 is way over the top from Bangkok! Recently flew 2 colleagues from Palau to Bangkok at around $700 return. Need to look at Koror-Manila and Manila-Bangkok. It really aint that far from PI.

    Filipinas flood (and are sought after by) the service industry, so avoid travelling around the times that the overseas flipper workers time their home visits, i.e., Christmas and Easter. December-January, March-April flights will be booked up well in advance.

    Accommodation, plenty ranging from backpaper digs to toipe resorts. I stayed in a nice place in town for around $50 a night. Nights out there no more expensive than Thailand.

  17. #67
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    Ok, thanks for the further info.

    I just have to go there. It looks amazing.

    Appreciate all your time and effort in getting these threads done. A great insight into places I've yet to visit...and hope to.

  18. #68
    Hifaluten Member
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    ^ I haven't spoken to anyone with a bad word to say about Palau, nice mix of the east Asian and Island ways of life ... did I mention the chinese and jap girls yet?

  19. #69
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    Ummm, nope, but I'm hopeful that you might...

  20. #70
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    Funny, none of those girls were from Palau. Nice to see some things have not changed that much. I used to work for a magazine on Guam and we had a wonderful collection medium format slides of the ruins.

  21. #71
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    Any James Coburn Sightings?

  22. #72
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    Wanker is loose in PacSW?

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