Our fearless traveler Chris is often again, wending his way through the last four independent island nations in the north Pacific Ocean. He visited Chuuk, Micronesia, then Palau, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands. Here’s what he had to say about his adventure.
Q: Once again, you ventured off without your wife (me). Why did you travel solo this time?
Deah recently went back to work, and it’s hard to get enough time off to get all the way out to the Pacific islands and back. We talked about going together in the summer months, when she has more time off, but there were other places higher on her bucket list. Plus, visiting these island nations involves a LOT of flight time, which isn’t her favorite thing. So it worked out better for me to go by myself. I promised to be home for her Spring Break so we could go somewhere on her list.
Q: I know you enjoy scuba diving. Where all did you scuba dive on this trip, and what did you see?
I went diving in Chuuk, Palau, and East Timor, and snorkeled in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. This time I brought a Go-Pro with me, because I’d been wanting to shoot some underwater videos. I did a lot of wreck diving, to see some Japanese ships from World War 2. My favorite diving excursion was to see the manta rays in Palau, with Blue Marlin Diving Company.
Q: I know it takes a lot of flights to get to these islands. How many flights did you have to take for this trip?
13 flights in total. We had accrued points with both American and United, so we were able to use those points rather than dollars for several flights. From Texas to Hawaii, then I hopped on the United Island Hopper to get to Chuuk and to Palau. I also had to overnight in Manila, Bali, and Darwin in order to get to the rest of my destinations. All in all, it was a lot of flying time. It’s hard to get all the Pacific Islands in one trip due to the many flights.
Q: What kind of food did you eat on this trip? Anything you really liked?
The islands tend to have a lot of starches like ramen noodles, rice, fewer fresh vegetables, and canned meats. I liked the Japanese and the Philippino breakfast menus, as they had fresh options. In East Timor I really liked the fish grilled in banana leaves.
Q: How would you rate the friendliness level of the islanders? What kinds other travelers did you meet there?
Polynesian people, in my travels, have always been welcoming and friendly, open to questions, and easy to get along with. Many of the other travelers I met were NGO-types doing sports diplomacy, health directives, and UN workers, and Japanese tourists. A lot of the people I met at my hotels or in airports were people trying to get to the end of their countries list, like me.
Q: So the conclusion of this trip brings you to how many countries left that you’d like to visit?
I have fifteen left on my United Nations list. Some are active war zones, while others are difficult to get a visa to, especially now that there’s a list of 44 countries that have travel restrictions to the United States. It’s likely those countries will make it harder for Americans to visit them as well.
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