Palau (2 - 8 Feb 2019)

Background of Palau (Belau):

Source: https://www.radionz.co.nz/collections/nff-palau/about-palau

The Republic of Palau comprises the most western of the Caroline Islands in the north-west Pacific. Ancestors of the present Caroline Islanders are thought to have come from Southeast Asia between 3,000 and 4,500 years ago. Archaeological evidence confirms the existence of early specialised shell and stone technology and extensive agricultural terracing.

As with its neighbouring island states of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau’s first colonisers were Spanish, who called the islands Los Palos. One European ship visit attached much attention: the British ship Antelope was wrecked on an island in the group and the encounter led to the introduction of a chief’s son, Lee Bo, into fashionable London society. Spain maintained its sovereignty over the islands until Germany purchased them in 1899.

Then at the start of World War I in 1914, Japan took over the Carolines. As a Japanese colony, Palau gained a modern infrastructure and an expanded copra industry. By 1935 one of the most populous islands, Koror had more than four times as many Japanese in the population as locals.

Palau became a significant military base during World War II. Its proximity made it a convenient launching pad for Japanese attacks on the Philippines. Following US military rule at the end of the war, in 1947 Palau became part of the US-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). Independence, however, was still a long way off and was achieved many years later than it was for Palau’s Micronesian neighbours.

The Republic of Palau took some time to come to an agreement with the United States on a mutually acceptable Compact of Free Association. Eventually Washington’s concerns were met and this resulted in Palau achieving self-government in free association with the United States on 1 October 1994.

1 Feb 2019 (Fri)

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The SQ flight to Manila was comfortable but slightly delayed due to congestion in Manila airport. Watched Bohemian Rhapsody on the plane, good show. Had dinner at Chow King restaurant at the Arrival level at Terminal 3, then proceed to United check in counter for boarding pass. This UA flight that i am taking will go to Koror, followed by Guam so the security clearance checking was tighter, similar to security clearance to any cities in USA. The baggage check was done before check-in counter, at the usual security clearance lanes and we need to go through metal detector again at the boarding gate, with explosive swipe on hand carry luggage one more time.

Waiting for flight in Terminal 3 of Manila Airport can be chilly. The air cond is turned on full blast, and you will be sitting on metal chairs without cushion. I was shivering in a tropical country while waiting for my flight.

2 Feb 2019 (Sat)

The flight from Manila to Koror by United Airlines was expensive and very full. They served sandwiches on board, shows selection was limited. We took off near midnight and landed in Koror at 230am local time. Koror is one hour ahead of Manila/Singapore. The immigration in Koror was smooth. They will ask you sign the pledge stamped on your passport page. The representative from Palau Central Hotel was already waiting for me at the arrival hall. He was a Filipino. Palau has many Filipino workers but the population is decreasing due to the high medical tax (24%) and remittance tax imposed on the migrant workers in recent years.

The ride from the airport to the hotel was not far, 15-20 minutes. It was very quiet at night.

The driver told me that the chauffeur service by the hotel is complimentary within Koror, feel free to contact the front desk if I need a ride. I was checked into room 2305, my lucky number.

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Good morning Palau!:

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7. The only main road in Koror, Palau.

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I missed my breakfast time by the time i woke up. Washed up and called Sam Tours for pick up to their office for paper work. Once I reached the office, I handed over the payment and get a pretty good dive guide book on Palau from the shop. Mike who was at the office was very helpful, so are the ladies there. The rock permit that includes Jelly Fish Lake cost USD100 per person. I was hoping to do a check dive in the afternoon but the boats didn't come back in time, so went back to the hotel after setting up all my gear. Dinner was at Suriyothai, a thai restaurant.

Sam Tours' Office. They started off with one container office and 1 boat years ago. Now they have 12 boats.

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Dive map for Palau:

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3 Feb 2019 (Sun)

The next day, I was picked up from the hotel at 830am, rather late for a dive trip actually. The lady dive guide who drove me was a dive guide from Denmark. She was saying that since I came during new moon cycle, can try inquire at the office about the Bumphead Parrot fish Spawning Dive trip that goes out in the early morning. Sadly when i inquire at the office, they need a minimum number of divers to make it happen, and it has to be before the start of new lunar cycle. I hardly know anyone then, so there was no way I can form a boat with just myself. The traffic along the Koror main road was congested in the morning, since there is only one road and the car speeds there were slow.

Our boat for these few days is Silky (Silky Shark).

Nitrox diving for the first time!
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We first did our nitrox checking on the boat, sorted out our gear and showed the guide our Rock Island Permit (we have to bring the permit and show our dive guide daily). Sergi (from Barcelona) and Saoirse (from Luxembourg) were our dive guides for today and the next few days. Never did I know how good they were until a few days later. Boat captain is Belle, he is a very funny guy but good at what he is doing.

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The boat trip to the dive sites normally pass through many rock islands, and is an experience in itself.

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The first dive site we went to was Dexter's Wall, followed by Fairyland. These are easier dive sites for us to get familiar with our subsequent dives. Water alternated between freezing and warm, mostly cold. Surprisingly, we had our lunch between our first and second dives. In other countries, normally we do 2 morning dives before we have lunch. I didn't have appetite so early in the day so didn't eat much. On the boat, there were 3 Taiwanese and 2 divers from Nanjing, and the 6 of us soon get close. We spent a few days diving on the same boat together.

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I have no idea how the boat captains can remember the routes in and out of the rock islands.

V1: boat journey through the rock islands:

On our way back to the jetty, we saw some Palauans testing their yatch in their traditional costumes.

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V2: Palauan:

Third dive was at Chandelier Cave nearby the jetty. No cavern or cave certification required. There are 4 chambers inside the cave.

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After the dives, i was sent back to the hotel by Yohan, a Bangladeshi. Yohan told me that many Bangladeshi workers in Palau, and they flew from Manila by the same United Airlines that i took. He knew the Bangladeshi that fetch me in Palau Central Hotel last night.

Dinner was with the 3 Taiwanese at Carp Seafood Restaurant, a restaurant that serves local/Japanese dish. Another Bangladeshi driver from the hotel drove me from the hotel to the restaurant. Portion was huge, and the prices were reasonable. Even the locals patronise this restaurant. The friendly waitress even gave us free banana and sushi. We tried the Palau Sochu (rice wine) and it was quite good.

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One table next to us chose the dish bat soup. ZJ went to take photo when the dish was served. The teeth can still be seen!

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After dinner, we crossed the main road to buy groceries at the local mart. CK picked his ice cream to end the night.

4 Feb 2019 (Mon)

Today we went to Blue Hole and Blue Corner for our dives. On our way, we saw school of dolphins with us near the end of German Channel. We passed by German Channel many times these few days to get to the dive sites near the Ngemeris Islands and to Peleliu. German Channel itself is a famous dive site that we will dive a few days later.

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V3: Dolphins:

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V4: German Channel:

Background of German Channel:

Source: https://palaudiveadventures.com/german-channel-history/#

In 1905, Germany discovered that the southern island of Angaur was plentiful in guano which is a valuable source of phosphate. Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave-dwelling bats, and seals. Originally sourced from Peru in the 1840’s guano was sought after as a fertilizer and in some cases refined for gunpowder. It was so high in demand that in 1856 The US Government created the Guano Islands Act which allowed any US citizen to claim any unclaimed island rich in Guano and for that island to immediately become a US territory.

In 1907, the Germans set up two phosphate mining operations in southern island of Angaur, which is part of Palau and lies southwest of Peleliu. Angaur was estimated to have two million tons of guano. In 1911, the Germans blew up a section of the reef in front of the island and dredged a channel to provide a direct and safe passage from the island to Koror, where ships would pick up the cargo and take it to Europe.

Nowadays, boats transport tourist and divers through what is now know as German channel. Manta rays and other sea life have accepted the shortcut into the lagoon. Divers see a healthy growth of coral and abundant marine life, and its original purpose is fading into history. Whenever the boat captains are passing through German Channel, they have to lower the speed of their boats and watch the water surface closely in order not to knock into the reef or the divers who might be diving there.

Water was cold at the dive sites, with strong current at Blue Corner.

The first dive site, Blue Hole, was amazing. On the way to Blue Corner from Blue Hole, the current was quite strong but we managed to reach Blue Corner for a brief stay. Sergi sent me and a few others back to the boat and continued with the others as we were already low in air. In fact some divers only left 20 bar and some were already on air sharing.

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V5: Near Blue Corner:

Showers poured during lunch after our first dive at Blue Hole. We were not allowed to get onto the island and have our lunch, so we can only eat on the boat.

102B: A bit on Blue Corner, the famous dive site in Palau, which was our 2nd dive site for the day.

Source: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/palau/activities/blue-corner/a/poi-act/1048308/362819

After lunch, our boat went back to Blue Corner, and this is when the drama began. Firstly, CK couldn't fight the current and dive down, so he went back to the boat with Saoirse (which I didnt know, since there were 10 of us, and everyone looked similar in the water with dive gear on). So the remaining 9 of us followed Sergi to Blue Corner, this time we approached from the other direction. Before we went in, Sergi already checked the current with boat man's help, and he told us the current was from all directions. True enough, we had a hard time catching up with him, and even harder time to hook. One photographer from France (who had been to Palau 10 times) went to take photos of the fish near Blue Corner and got swept away by current (I didn't know this till later). Sergi ever told us, if one of us got swept away by current, the dive will be called off. I was busy finding a spot to hook myself near Blue Corner and didn't realise the heavy banging of tank by tong was a signal by Sergi to abort dive and leave immediately. Imagine my shock when I turned around and saw no divers on hook behind me. Not even one person. All I heard was some distant tank banging sounds using the tongs. I panicked. I was left alone at Blue Corner with no one around me, and current was sweeping me from all directions. I quickly abandon my reef hook, took my camera with me and launch my SMB. I can hear boats moving above me, so when i ascend, i had to ensure my SMB was visible otherwise the boats might cross the place where i surface. In a haste, i didn't do my safety decompression stops, a mistake. Once I surfaced, I held my SMB high to ensure my boat man saw me. CK who was already on the boat spotted my camera housing and asked the boatman to slowly approach me. I went up to the boat and so surprised to see CK and Saoirse already there before me. I quickly apologise to Saoirse for getting separated from the group and she consoled me. Shortly after, the boat picked up the remaining 7 divers （except that French photographer, still couldn't locate him) and Sergi who were on the surface. I was surprised they came up so quickly. I asked Sergi how come everyone left instead of hooking at Blue Corner. He explained to me what happened (French photographer got swept away). He said he was trying to get my attention to abort my dive, but i didn't turn my head and follow him. I couldn't really turn my head at that point cos the current was very strong, and I had to juggle reef hook and my camera. Luckily nothing serious happened. The French photographer was picked up by another boat nearby. The two captains slowly get their boats together and he could hop over.

Third dive was snorkeling at the famous Jelly Fish Lake. No scuba diving allowed. We had a good time snorkeling there. Jelly fish Lake was closed for 3 years and only reopened in October 2018. We were lucky to be able to snorkel there and come close to the harmless jelly fish.

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Background of Jellyfish Lake:

Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/travel/palau-jellyfish-lake-reopens-following-golden-jellyfish-rebound-11133578

At 400m long and 30m deep, Jellyfish Lake is part of the Koror State Rock Island Southern Lagoon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was once home to 10 to 20 million golden jellyfish, hitting 30 million at its peak in 2005. While Palau is home to over 50 different marine lakes, Jellyfish Lake is the only one that is currently open to visitors, with all other lakes preserved to ensure conservation. The jellyfish found in the lake are a rare subspecies known as Mastigias papua etpisoni, and exists only in this marine lake, according to the CRRF representatives.

While the common myth has been that the jellyfish lost their ability to sting over time due to their isolation, representatives from the CRRF state that the species has a sting that is mild and often undetectable. Though swimming is permitted, scuba diving is highly prohibited. Between 13m and 15m from the lake surface, a layer of bacteria seals the poisonous dissolved hydrogen sulphide gas in the bottom water layer and prevents it from mixing with the top layer, according to CNN Travel. Scuba diving, therefore, is not allowed and any item accidentally dropped in the lake is considered lost forever.

Visitors should avoid applying any sunscreen before entering the water as studies conducted in 2017 indicate that high levels of sunscreen concentration had built up in the lake and was harming the declining jellyfish.

The lake was officially shut in May 2017, though tour operators and local villagers took the initiative to close it in 2016. Experts blamed El Nino for causing the shrinking of the jellyfish population from 2006, as the rise in water temperature led to a decrease in algae growth, a major food source for jellyfish. It was reopened in late 2018 after the jellyfish population returned to normal.

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V6: Jellyfish Lake

Yohan was again the driver that drive me and that French Photographer back to our hotels. He wanted to go to the bank instead. In limited English, he told me he came to Palau 10 times. I still wonder how could he get carried away by current since he has been to Palau 10 times??? He did carry a better camera than mine so may be I should give him benefit of doubt.

Today was the Chinese New Year eve, so the 6 of us had our dinner at Carp Restaurant. it was good fun.

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5 Feb 2019 (Tue)

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First dive was at Ulong Channel. The current was pushing us gently, lifted us up and ushered us along the walls, a stark contrast compared to yesterday. We could do superman along the channel. So many creatures we saw today. Ulong Channel is not really a channel by the way.

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Second dive was at Sandbar, where we saw human cleaning station. The fish like to clean your hands and teeth for you. One dive guide joked that they can do teeth cleaning for you too, if you request nicely.

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V7:

On the boat i was chatting with a couple from Germany, the lady V worked in Fiji for a few months. I found out a bit about Fiji from V.

We didn't do the 3rd dive. Instead, we went to enquire about Peleliu Corner Special Dive Trip (suggested by ZJ). The 6 of us were all eager to do Peleliu but this trip is hard to form:

1. There must be at least 6 AOW divers to form one boat.

2. Divers must have minimum 50 dives logged.

3. Need to obtain Peleliu Permit and pay USD30 per person. This permit must be settled one day in advance.

4. The weather and current must permit for diving there. If the sea is too rough for the boat to approach, no trip.

5. There must be enough boats and dive guides for the trip to happen.

6. Pick up from hotel will be at 745am, instead of the usual 830am.

We have a choice of either doing 3 tank dives there or 2 tanks and a history walkabout on Peleliu Island. Fred suggested we chose the 3 tank dives. We were lucky, the trip finally took place. Sergi and Saoirse deferred their day off day so that they can go with us tomorrow. We met all the conditions above and gladly paid for the permit and 3rd tank top up fee.

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Dinner was at Kramers Restaurant today. The menu explained that this cafe has nothing to do with the TV series Kramer vs. Kramer, a 1979 American family legal drama film. It was more associated with Dr Kramer from Germany instead. More details on their menu. Food was good, nice view but portion was small. We waited quite awhile for the food since there were many guests that came before us.

We didn't feel full, so we went back to Carp for a supper after dinner. This time round we were really full.

6 Feb 2019 (Wed)

Background on Peleliu (Wikipedia):

Peleliu is an island Southwest of Koror. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. Peleliu has a total area of 13 square kilometres. Its population was about hundreds, making it the third most populous state of Palau.

Following its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Spain sold Palau (including Peleliu) to Germany in 1899. Control passed to Japan in 1914.

During World War II, the Battle of Peleliu was a major battle between units of the United States Marine Corps and United States Army against the Imperial Japanese Army. The battle for the island was particularly brutal because by this time the Japanese military had evolved island defense tactics with strong fortifications in the island's caves and rock formations, which enabled a defense in depth which maximized casualties on the attacking force. On both sides involved in the fighting there were high losses with more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese killed, but, remarkably, there were no casualties among the local civilians because they were evacuated from the fighting to other islands of Palau.

The ruins of many of the military installations of the era, such as the airstrip, are still intact, and shipwrecks from the battle remain visible underwater just off the coast. There are war memorials on the island to both the American and the Japanese dead. Peleliu and Angaur were the only islands in the Palau archipelago to be occupied by the Americans during the war. The capital of Koror remained in Japanese hands to the end of the war.

Peleliu passed formally to the United States under United Nations auspices in 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Peleliu Airfield, created by the Japanese in World War II, has the longest and widest runway in Palau (1,850 metres), but has been used only by small chartered aircraft after Palau's domestic flights were discontinued in late 2005. A regular boat service connects the island twice a week to Koror and Angaur. Travel time by boat from Koror is over an hour. The small harbor in the far north of the island is shallow and suitable only for yachts with shallow draft.

TODAY IS PELELIU DAY.

TODAY IS PELELIU DAY.

TODAY IS PELELIU DAY.

(important things must repeat 3 times, IN BOLD).

152. Our Peleliu trip is officially on the board now!

Only Sergi, Saoirse and the 6 of us, its like we chartered the boat to ourselves :) Boat captain was Siksa, he is good. Our boat today will be Tiger (Tiger Shark).

We were worried about the weather and current. Showers came at the jetty even before we sailed out. We delayed our departure on boatman's advice. Once the sun appeared (it is common in Palau to have alternate showers and bright sun frequently) we set off. We saw rainbow that is semicircle, and on our way we saw school of dolphins. All auspicious signs so far. After about 1 hour of boat ride, we reached the tip of Peleliu and we were the only boat there.

153A. Rainbow arc on top of the island:


Sergi went on to check Expressway (dive site) and saw only blue, so we did Peleliu Cut instead. CK's tank was having air leakage issue before the dive but Saoirse said she will fix it after our first dive. The boat was rocking due to the surf, and we read about the strong current in Peleliu from online before, so all added on to our worry. Sergi did brief us that this is the place where the current from the North meets the current from the Philippines and the current could be strong. So i didn't bring my camera down this time. Regret. The water was freezing no doubt. But within 1 minute we descended, we saw bull sharks!!!!!!!!! Sergi straight away recognised them and point to the 2 bull sharks immediately. We later learnt from him that out of the 33 times he visited Peleliu, he only saw bull sharks twice, and both times at 40m, and only saw one bull shark each time. This is the first time he saw two bull sharks, at mere 28m!! Thanks to the freezing water, sharks like them.

We continue to dive in freezing water to see more actions. So many sharks and fish, and turtles.

We ended our fantastic first dive and rested in Peleliu Island. There was a bangalow where the Japanese Emperor and his wife stayed in 2015. One lady came and asked for our Peleliu permits. We could see Angaur Island from where we rested, that island has about 100 residents. Peleliu still have many WWII relics like Japanese tanks, ammunition etc, one can engage a guide for historic walk. There were also some home stays, motels, dive shops operating on the island. Regular ferries link the island to Koror.

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161. The Emperor of Japan stayed here before.

162. Angaur Island at the far South has about 100 residents.

After some rest, we wanted to try Expressway but no fish there, so we dove Peleliu Corner again. The bull sharks were there again. We also saw dog-tooth tunas, really long ones.

163. Dive guide Sergi, who has very sharp eyes for creatures in the sea.


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170. Not a bull shark.

171: Not a bull shark still.

I was taking photos of other fish when Sergi and the lady from Nanjing gave me a violent jerk. BULL SHARK!! 2nd sighting today!!

I was descending to capture their picture, till Soirse came and asked me to ascend, as I was going a bit too deep.

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V8: Shark

V9: Turtle and shark:

After 2 dives, we had our lunch. (Finally we are back to a normal dive routine of 2 dives before lunch, instead of having lunch after the first dive.)

The boat captain Siksa let me try some crab biscuits that his friend brought for him, it was so delicious! Sadly this delicacy was not sold in Koror, one of Siksa's friend brought it for him. We each took a bite and saviour the taste.

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200. Our photo taken by the Japanese dive guide from another boat. From Left to ride, starting from the row behind: Saoise, Sergi, me, husband and wife from Nanjing. Front row from left to right: ZJ, Fred and CK.



201. We held up the sign of Bull Shark! Saw 2 bull sharks today, twice. What a day!



202. Crab biscuit beside the oranges. I couldn't find it anywhere in Koror. It was delicious!

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The two pictures below were taken to ZJ.

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Another dive boat came, Japanese. The friendly dive guide helped us took a group picture.

After lunch, we went to the Orange Beach (Dive site). No current and not as cold. Sergi showed us some WWII ammunition found on the sandy bottom while diving. During our decompression stop, he found a leopard shark just directly below us, camouflaged so well with the sandy bottom, it took me awhile to even figure out what was Sergi pointing. He is so good!

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V10:

At night we went to Palm Bay for dinner. Food was good, the guys like my root beer float.

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7 Feb 2019 (Thu)

Sergi and Saoirse were off today, Lulu was our dive guide. We went to the New Drop Off as our first dive site. We saw many sharks. The water was freezing. After that we went to the new dropoff for snorkeling. Second site was Blue Corner, which Damien brought me and two other Germans to Blue Corner to complete our Blue Corner Specialty Course. Almost all the boats from Sam Tours were here at that hour.

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V11:

V12:

We swam to towards Blue Corner cautiously. After seeing how clumsy i was with my camera, Damien helped me put my reef hook to the rock and inflated my BCD slightly. The current was so cold and so strong, my neck was under immense strain. I could only took video of the surrounding. I saw the divers beside me floated up like supermen.



After that we went to the shallow area and see more fish. Huge school of giant trevalies.

For lunch break, we went to the German Beach, a very scenic sandbar. Lulu asked me to help her take model shots.

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276. Our dive guide Lulu. Very friendly and helpful.

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V10: Bumphead Parrotfish

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V14:

For our third dive site, we finally got to see German Channel. There were mantas in close action. Visibility was not as good so i couldn't take good pictures of Mantas, a pity. Finally when we were doing decompression stop, we saw a manta swimming past below us, i captured its motion on video.

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V15: Manta

Dinner was at Hungry Marlin, they offered some naughty drinks named Blow Job etc. Food was good and not expensive.

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8 Feb 2019 (Fri)

Today is the last day I will spend in Palau, so I joined a snorkeling tour with a Japanese company. The sun was totally relentless today.

On the way to Milky Way we saw a dolphin or dugong flew out of the water.

We went to Milky Way to bathe ourselves with nourishing mud from lake bed. A baby reef shark swam past our boat. Slowly more boats came and many China Tourists started to share the space with us, about 10 boats there. My guide couldnt dig out the mud from the lake (probably too heavy) so the boat man helped her. Once the mud bucket was on the boat, we started apply them to the body.

296. Mission of digging mud:

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Then we went to do snorkeling at one site before proceed to an island for lunch.

298. Baby on the sea with his new chariot!

On the island, a boat chartered by PRCIC came over. We thought they were here to do some research, apparently the staff were on a recreation trip today. They just went to Blue Corner for diving.

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305. Boat captain for the PRCIC group brought his own coconut for drinking. So fun!

We took nice photos at a very long sandbar beach. No one was there at the time we docked there. Finally we did one more snorkel near German Channel.

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310. My snorkel guide found a reef hook while snorkeling.

311. Sailing through German Channel.

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After the tour, I walked over to Sam Tours to say hi to my Taiwanese dive friends, who did 2 tanks today. Sergi and Saoirse were back from their day off. The fish and chip was always good at the cafeteria at Sam Tours.

Palau was a memorable and fantastic place for diving, I will be back!



Thank you for reading, you can visit my other travel blogs at www.lamtravels.blogspot.sg

Things to note:

1. I booked the diving package with Sam Tours during ADEX, which included 5% ADEX discount. In this package, they have hotel stays, 2 Nitrox tank dives for 5 days, chandelier cave 3rd dive, jelly fish snorkel after 2 dives, rock island permit, hotel pickups, airport transfers, lunches, free equipment rental and Blue Corner Specialty all included.

2. Its good to have Nitrox certified before you come to Palau to take advantage of nitrox tanks, otherwise you can also do with them at a cost.

3. It is best to come to Palau with at least 50 dives logged minimum, the more the better, as current in Palau can be fierce and multi-dimensional.

4. Palau Central Hotel was recommended by a Singaporean who worked in Sam Tours (Lily, who left) and it was a good choice.

5. Besides flying from Manila/Guam with United Airlines, China Airlines offers 3 times weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday) from Taipei. Asiana offers flights from Seoul.

6. Cost of living in Palau is high. Everything is in USD, and preferably cash. Credit card might have commission levied.

7. Request for a beach towel from your hotel before you head out for dive/snorkel and make sure it is inside a plastic bag so that it wont get wet. Our boat captain Belle called his boat shower boat, that's how wet your stuff will be when seawater splashed in. Make sure all dry stuff are in dry box. You may want to wear a waterproof long leather jacket / rain coat to cover yourself as it could be very cold when the boat is moving due to wind chill. Occasionally it rains in between dives, so a rain coat definitely come in handy. Even our dive guides wore them to prevent getting sick. The boat rides between jetty to the dive sites can be around 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on surface conditions. On certain days the sun above can roast you.

8. The current and visibility at dive sites might be affected by the lunar cycle. Sam Tours have different specialty tours depending on whether it is full moon or before new moon. If your diving group has enough members, you can make a request, otherwise pray hard that you will have enough divers interested in the special dive you are eyeing to join your boat to form a tour.

9. You can charter a boat with dive guide for a two tank dive with Sam Tours at USD 1,240 (price might have changed by the time you read this), max 8 divers allowed. Depending on whether it is the popular months, they can assign one or two dive guides to your private charter. That way, you can dictate how early you want the dives to start, which dive sites, whether to eat your lunch after 1st dive or only after 2nd dive and whether to return to the jetty before 3rd dive or complete the 3rd dive outside before heading back. You will have much flexibility if you charter a boat on your own, provided you have enough divers.

10. Kayengel was recommended by one of my travel friends. It is the northernmost reef coral atoll of Palau and it is hard to get there. At least Peleliu has ferry, this atoll has no ferry. It is supposedly very pristine and have a village that offers home stay. Snorkeling day trips are available on certain dates, provided at least 2 persons sign up for it.

11. Tipping is something we discussed quite a bit during the trip. More information can be found in this blog: http://www.lilianpang.com/palau-10-things-to-know-before-you-go/

12. Car rental in Palau goes for USD 55 a day (prices might have changed by the time you read this). Petrol price was USD 4.xx per gallon. There is no public bus in Palau except taxi. If you dont have a car, call the cabs and they will come fetch you from place to place.

13. Not all hotels have complimentary wifi. Koror Airport does not have complimentary wifi.

14. Learn how to use reef hook and always bring a SMB (sausage) with you for diving.

15. The UNESCO sanctuary of 70 islands are out of bound to all divers.

16. Peleliu Corner is my favourite dive site, do go there whenever you have chance. Sergi led another boat of 8 divers to Peleliu a few days after our trip there, this time he saw no bull sharks.

17. Dive+ is a good app to edit underwater photos and videos. I was amazed by how easy it is to edit the pictures.

18. The RAW format by TG5 (Olympus underwater camera) is different from the usual RAW i got from my Canon DSLR. Not sure what to do with them. I can only use Olympus software to edit them instead of the usual Photoshop and Lightroom.

19. We were saddened that one world renowned free diver from China went missing while doing free diving in November 2018. His body was not found up till now.



20. The list of dive sites in Palau and the general conditions can be found in this guide book. Dive site conditions varies from day to day, month to month.



21. Dec, Jan, Feb and Mar saw the most divers in Palau. Some dive guide told me May was a good month with good conditions.

22. Thank you = Sulang, Hello = Alii.

23. For those taking United Airlines at Manila: If you have long hours of transit at Manila Airport (or midnight transit) and need a place to rest, Wings Transit Lounge in Terminal 3 have twin rooms, capsules and lounge chairs offered at very reasonable price (payment per every 7.5 hour block). You need to email and pay them as soon as reservation is opened one - two months in advance. The rooms and capsules are limited (especially midnight from 0000-0730) so do book way in advance. I was lucky to be able to secure a twin room for myself (after being put on wait list) as United Airline reach Manila from Koror at 1150pm. I have witnessed travelers being denied entry as there were simply no availability. There might be construction noise or babies crying but at least all your belongings are with you, properly locked in the room. Finger food, drinks, and shower facilities are available, probably inadequate for picky travelers, but certainly suffice for me.

Thank you for reading, you can visit my other travel blogs at www.lamtravels.blogspot.sg