Travels - Guam (Dec 2007/Jan 2008)
"All I Want For Christmas is a Real Good Tan" - Kenny Chesney
Well, the Dickinsons had to get out of Seoul. No Doubt about it. We had just about had our fill of traffic jams, kimchi and "different". Don't get me wrong. We love living in Seoul. But at some point you do hit the cultural saturation point and we had reached that point and probably gone a little beyond.
So after several tries at booking flights and hotels for Thailand (waited to long) and after ruling out skiing in Japan (wayyyyy to expensive) the travel agent (er...me) came up with a great plan: Guam.
Guam met all the primary criteria:
Skiing or a beach: Beach - Check
Affordable: About as good as you can get from Korea - Check
They had openings: Check
They accept our American credit cards for the reservation (harder than you might think) - Check
So Guam was the plan. Just a short mental health break. The 26th to the 31st. Perfect.
In short...we love Guam. Weather in the mid 80's (F), moderate humidity, nice sea breezes, gorgeous beaches, American shopping (including the world's largest K-Mart), American food, American prices, and very few bugs. Guam was just what the Dickinsons needed to get away from the big city and relax. In fact, since Guam is a US protectorate in many ways it was like a little escape back home. They even have the US dollar for currency.
We spent the first day just relaxing by the pool and checking out the area which was very nice. Our hotel, the Marriott, was right on Tumon Bay with a superb beach just steps away from the lobby and a great pool. So while the kids splashed about, Mom and Dad just rested on our chaise lounges watching the ocean waves roll over the reefs.
The next day we went on a dolphin watching boat ride to see spinner dolphins. We found a ton of them but unfortunately they didn't feel up to spinning for us apparently due to the baby dolphin in their midst. Still it was a nice boat ride and the kids got a kick out of spotting dolphins and shouting for the boat driver to rush over to the latest sighting spot.
Next up we went shopping a bit. This may seen a bit droll but it's so much easier to shop where you don't have to bargain for things, where you can read the packaging and when you know they will have your sizes. The Micronesia Mall and the previously mentioned world's largest K-Mart (they have extra parking on the roof) were wonderfully "US" in serving our needs. A very welcome sidebar to our trip.
On our final day we did a bit of snorkeling and took a drive around the entire island (only about 80 miles all the way around) including a drive alongside Mount Lam Lam which is technically the highest mountain on earth. While only about 1300 feet above sea level, Mount Lam Lam is about 37000 feet from it's tip to it's base at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean.
The island sites were very interesting with many World War II monuments. Guam was invaded by Japan shortly after Pearl Harbor and was the only US territory captured during the war. In 1944 it was the site of a three week battle to reclaim the island after 3 years of brutal Japanese occupation and became the Headquarters for the US Pacific war operations from that time forward. There are several gun emplacements from the battle still in place and many reinforced bunkers on the beach. In addition, there are many downed airplanes and ships off the coast of Guam which are now popular dive sights.
Our tour of the island took us to Talofofo falls which is the biggest waterfall on Guam and also home to the site of a Japanese soldier who stayed hidden in a cave there from 1944 from 1972 (28 years) before finally being captured by a group of Chamorro natives checking shrimp traps in the area. The site of this cave is very popular with Japanese visitors who have set up shrines near it since the soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, is considered a hero of the war for having never surrendered. Yokoi is the SECOND to last Japanese soldier to surrender (Hiroo Onada was the last in 1974 in the Philippines - one of you will be on Jeopardy some day and thank me for this trivia).
And that was the end of our originally planned activities for Guam. So, sadly that night (the 30th) we packed and readied ourselves for the red-eye flight back home to Seoul. Fate, it turned out, had other plans. Earlier in the week Nancy had come down with what we thought at the time was a case of food poisoning. Terrible as it was, Nancy was a trooper and after battling it all night, was able to recover and we went on with our trip.activities the next day. However, just as we gathered up our suitcases at 1am on the 31st and prepared to head out to the airport Nancy began to have a relapse.
Then, just as it seemed Nancy might be coming around again and feeling better, to make matters worse, Josh suddenly reported that he had "coconuts rattling in his belly" and shortly afterward was demonstrating a technique I do not recommend for vacating "coconuts" from one's stomach.
After an hour or so it became apparent Josh's coconuts were going to take a while to go away - much longer than it was going to take for Korean Air to expect us to be on the airplane. So for the next several hours I heroically, ok - desperately, began talking to airlines and hotel people about how we could change our flights and make arrangements to extend our stay in with airlines and hotels sold out for the New Years celebrations. Sarah, amazingly - slept blissfully through almost everything.
Finally, after a drive out to the airport to talk to the Korean Air people in person, and after working with the hotel for about 15 hours (including 2 room changes), we had extended our trip to January 3rd. We were spending New Year on Guam.
So on New Year's Eve, with Nancy recovered and Josh finally on the mend and eating solid food again, we sat down on our now Suite class balcony overlooking Tumon Bay and watched a great fireworks show as the clock struck midnight and a rollicking 2007 rolled to an end in typical Dickinson chaotic fashion.
For the next couple of days, we just mostly hung out at the pool and beach. We did manage to get everyone recovered enough to go on a clear kayak ride which was a highlight of our trip. And the extra days were all very welcome for getting some more sun and rest. Especially since the only coconut issues from that point on came in the form of Pina Coladas.
And on January 3rd at 3am, we finally took off and returned home to Seoul. Another adventure behind us and 2008 off and running.
Hafa Adai! ("Hello" or "What's up" in Chumorro).
Happy Holiday's from the Beach. Ho Ho Ho.
Tumon Bay from the beach at the Marriott.
Spinner dolphins on our dolphin watching tour. Unfortunately they were all spun out on this day.
Sarah and Josh with a Latte stone. These stones are from the 9th century and were used as stilts or pillars of a Chamorro home's raised foundation.
Japanese pill-box bunker on the beach near the Marriott. Many of these remain from WWII.
Mt. Lam Lam, Guam's original volcano which formed the island and the world's tallest mountain. When measured from the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the ocean just off of Guam's coast it is 37,000 ft high.
Sarah the Snorkeler.
Josh the Snorkeler.
Yokoi's cave. Home to the 2nd longest Japanese hold-out from WWII. This small hole (you are looking down) leads to about a 4 foot round "cave" where Yokoi lived for 28 years. He is considered to be a war hero by the Japanese.
A Carabao. Not be confused for a "Caribou" of the western US variety. This in other parts of the world is called a water buffalo but was once an important part of Chamorro islander life.
These guys know how to enjoy a stay at the beach.
Fireworks on New Year's Eve.
Nancy and crew at Talofofo Falls. About 300 yards from Yokoi's cave. Hey, if your going to live in a cave for 28 years, might as well have some good scenery. Remember the 3 L's of Real Estate....Location, Location, Location.
Nancy and crew in the clear kayak with Josh demonstrating his "wet paddling" technique. While there is a powerful stroke there you can see that some of those being propelled are less than enthused with his style.
Sunset from our balcony the day after the night of the coconut stomach. Others would call this New Year's Day.
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