Anyone here been to Yap

[warbird]

or any of the islands in Micronesia?

 

[Mojito]

I have, Warbird. Back in 1997. Spent a few days in Yap diving, then travelled on to Palau for some more diving - spent a week on the Sundancer II liveaboard boat. A wonderful experience. I'd particularly like to return to Yap and spend some more time there.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Yap? Nope.


I went to high school with some guys from Truk, though.

 

[warbird]

There's a possibility I move there for 2 years. I'm trying to find out all I can first.

 

[Tango Yankee]

I've not been to Yap (and kicking myself for that!) but I spent over 2 years on Guam and a week on Peleliu (part of Palau.) As Mojito mentioned, you'll be in an area of some of the best scuba diving around!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Mojito]

It'd be an interesting experience, Warbird! You don't like chewing betelnuts by any chance, do you? The tiny airport had concrete floors painted red in order to hide the stains where betelnut juice had been spat out, and apparently it was a problem deterring people from chewing them on the inter-island flights (I knew betelnut from my old Singapore days - never did get the 'buzz' it's reputed to impart).

The Yapese people are great. A fairly conservative and traditional culture, they seem largely indifferent to tourism - they're not reliant on it and they don't really feel the need to pander to westerners. On the other hand, I found them infallibly polite, rather chivalrous and very interesting to speak with. As always, researching local cultural mores is important - women, for example, often choose to go bare breasted and that's fine, but to bear one's thighs is considered shockingly immodest. The dances and giant stone money are legendary and every bit as fascinating as reputed. But it's the mantas that I dream of - those beautiful, beautiful mantas. I did some other great diving there, but it's the mantas that keep calling me back (I understand I missed some other great underwater sights there because I was so preoccupied with manta diving).

I stayed at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel which I thoroughly enjoyed - mind you, I was very dive-centric, so I don't know if it would suit the resort minded. I enjoyed the food and the bar built over the water! I understand that there is more in the way of bars and hotels than there were when I visited.

It is a very small nation, which might feel very confining - however, Guam isn't far away for a dose of American and Japanese food and culture, and there are all the other remarkable islands of Micronesia to visit! Australia is fairly nearby, for direct flights from Guam. For a diver it's paradise, but even if you don't dive there's all that WWII material scattered throughout the islands (and under the seas around) - I particularly remember the remains of Japanese aircraft still sitting on long-overgrown WWII era airfields on Yap.