Papa Mike’s Palau Blog

Papa Mike will be appearing at Pacific Travelers Supply, 12 W. Anapamu Street in Santa Barbara, California on Thursday June 8th. Come visit with the author as he discusses his latest guidebook, Papa Mike’s Palau Islands Handbook, the Republic of Palau and the proper way to prepare a dinner of Palauan Fruit Bat. For more information and directions to Pacific Travelers Supply call (800) 546-8050.

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Those of you already in Palau or with no time to order the Palau Handbook from online bookstores, will be happy to know that there are a couple of locations in Koror that you can pick up the book. On the main road in Koror, Surangel’s Raw Surf Shop on the second floor next to their department store and also at the Islander Gift Shop on the main road next to the Palau Hotel. Both stores have copies in stock to help you enjoy your trip to Palau.

If I find other shops wishing to stock the book I will post them here in the future.

What a pretty picture! What a great spot! Need a great guidebook? Well I suppose I’m not an un-biased reviewer. It feels good to get the book out to the public. This is the only in depth guidebook exclusively on the Republic of Palau, available at travel bookstores and Internet bookstores worldwide.

Just received this press release from Palau, so I thought I would pass on the information to one and all.

Los Angeles, CA (July 2005)—Palau Visitors Authority is proud to announce three new hotel and resort properties in Palau’s main city of Koror, adding 197 rooms to help accommodate Palau’s anticipated growing number of visitors.

Located in a quiet corner of Koror with a majestic view of the taro patches and mangroves of Ngerbeched, the Palau Plantation Resort is an impressive development that features six individual wood and bamboo bungalows and a larger building with suites and operations offices. A wooden boardwalk branches out to stone pathways that lead to the bungalows that feature bamboo beds, marble bathrooms with Jacuzzi-style bathtubs, AC, cable television and VCR, kitchenette and mini bar.

Palau Plantation Resort offers five Suite Villas, boasting an expansive living room space with a kitchen and counter, a private bedroom with king-size bed, and a lovely view of mangrove trees and the Pacific Ocean. Immersed in tropical atmosphere, this comfortable and spacious villa is ideal for family vacationers. The five Superior Cottages, designed for two, feature a wide veranda where guests can enjoy a refreshing breeze as they gaze on a relaxing view of taro patches and tropical jungle. The five Premium Cabins offer a cozy lodging space with room service and the conveniences of a resort. Standard rates are US$150 per night for the Premium Cabin, US$270 for the Superior Cottage, and US$400 for the Suite Villa (plus 10% tax). Other facilities include a swimming pool, restaurant and lounge, health spa and gift shop.

For more information on Palau Plantation Resort, please call 680-488-3631, e-mail plantation@palaunet.com, or visit www.palau-resort.com.

Located on the east coast of Malakal Island, famous for diving and teeming with aquatic life, Palau Royal Resort is a five-star international resort hotel developed and owned by Royal Hotel Group and operated by Nikko Hotels International. The Palau Royal Resort boasts top of the class amenities for travelers seeking leisure and relaxation. The six-story hotel built in a 328,310 square-foot property offers 158 luxurious guestrooms and suites overlooking the scenic seascape of Palau’s pristine waters. All rooms are equipped with balconies, LCD television, mini bar, AC and ceiling fans. Multifunctional facilities include gyms, on-premises dive shop, swimming pool, spa, table-tennis room, badminton and tennis court, mini golf course, children’s game room, private docks and beach, internet library, sundries and gift shop, duty-free shop, meeting rooms, business center, outdoor bars and restaurants serving varieties of international cuisine. Standard rates start at US$200 (plus tax) and are based on single occupancy, room type and seasonality.

For more information on Palau Royal Resort, please call (680) 488-8877, email reservations@palau-royal-resort.com, or visit www.palau-royal-resort.com.

On Meyuns Island, the Rose Garden Resort is perched on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the bays of Koror. Stone pathways and stairs lead up to 10 cottages, divided into 24 mahogany decor rooms, each with individual private balconies and spectacular views of Koror and the Rock Islands. Each room is equipped with AC, ceiling fans, cable television, mini refrigerator and bathroom amenities. Two of these rooms are handicap accessible. The 10,500-square-foot complex also includes a full-service restaurant and parking lots on two levels to accommodate 20 cars and one tour bus. Standard rates for both Garden View rooms and Scenic View rooms start at US$120 (plus 10% tax); each addition person/bed is US$25 per night, however, children up to 12 years old stay free of charge.

For more information on the Rose Garden Resort, please call (680) 488-7671, email rosegardenresort@execs.com, or visit www.visit-palau.com.

“The opening of these new properties marks a significant milestone in Palau’s tourism industry in providing accommodation for the niche market as well as five star international standard hotels for the high-end market.” says Jackson Henry, chairman of the board of Palau Visitors Authority.

Located in the westernmost corner of Micronesia, Palau is an archipelago of more than 400 islands with less than 20,000 inhabitants. Consistently ranked as one the world’s best dive destinations, Palau is the ultimate paradise for the adventurous traveler, boasting some of the most spectacular water and beaches and world famous for its Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake. With more than 1,400 species of fish and 500 species of coral, some have called Palau the “8th Natural Wonder of the World.”

For more information on Palau and new developments in services for visitors, please contact Palau Visitors Authority by email at pva@visit-palau.com or visit the official Palau website at www.visit-palau.com.

Well I am wrapping up the editing and inserting a few maps to the book and then the book will be off to the publisher. Papa Mike’s Palau Handbook should hit the virtual bookshelves of Amazon, Barnes & Noble and various other internet bookstores by the end of September. If you have trouble finding it at your local bookstore, you can always order it through my website at www.mikehollywood.com

Sorry I have not added much to the blog over the past two months, but things have been busy back stateside. Hello to all my friends in cyberspace, escecially those in Palau and stay tuned for more inmformation on the book and further developments in Palau.

Yes, I see that smirk on your face; you thought this was a racy story about pornography in Palau. Shows you the type of people that frequent this blog! So get your mind out of the gutter and I will take you on my quest to reinforce my three T-shirt wardrobe in a far off foreign land.

Many of you are laughing, imagining how a sophisticated author like myself could take off on a six-week trip with only three T-shirts. Well, I would like you to know that I originally started out with four, so there! I have previously told you the tale of the great time I had at North Beach Cottages, where they treated me like the royalty I so aptly deserve. Well, I must have left one of my T-shirts in upper Babeldaob, where the Filipino workers at the cottages are likely converting it to a tent.

Now, for most people acquiring a new T-shirt is a rather mundane matter, requiring a stop at any neighborhood men’s clothing store. Such is not the story for those of us who call the Big & Tall stores are home. I asked my faithful taxi driver Leo where should I go. The first stop was Ben Franklin, the store not the President you ninny! No luck. Across the main street to Surangel’s, where to my surprise there was a whole shelf of triple xxx shirts in a “wide range of designer colors.” Then I found out they were less than US$4.00! I became a local shark in a feeding frenzy and scooped up four. I would be stylin’ on my upcoming trip to Angaur and Peleliu, native women would bow in my presence. Then I tried the shirts on! It was apparent that what the Chinese considered to be xxx was slightly smaller that the American counterpart and I did not have the physique to support that tight shirt look.

So the next day it was back to Surangel’s, to exchange the shirts, but alas they had nothing larger and could not refund my money because of the credit card use. I asked if I could redeem the credit at the market downstairs and she said sure. I figured it was a simple task to exchange the shirts for a couple of six-packs of beer, maybe even pick up Bud Light in an attempt to someday fit into a smaller size. They didn’t have beer, so I had to settle for a variety of food for my refrigerator back at D.W. Motel and was remained shirtless in Koror. That’s when I got thinking, hell there are at least 8000 male Palauans here some of which make even Papa Mike look slender, I figured they had to be getting their shirts somewhere.

My conversation to every large male Palauan started like this,

“Alii my large friend, where do you get your shirts.”

I got many a strange look, but in the end it didn’t take me long to find out their secret. They simply ordered them from the Big & Tall shop catalog and had them sent from the States.

I had a wonderful trip to Angaur and Peleliu, but man was I glad to get my laundry done when I got back to Koror.

Papa Mike
April 2, 2005
Koror, Palau

Recently I have been receiving enquiries from my worldwide fan base and knowing I am here in Palau they ask,

“Papa Mike have you swam with the jellyfish like they did on Survivor Thursday night?”

Well dear readers the answer is yes. Papa Mike and a small group of westerners recently took the plunge along with 37 Taiwanese visitors; the Asian group sported bright orange life jackets, was attached to a rope and looked to be non-swimmers experiencing the magic of masks, fins and a snorkel for the first time. There was none of those svelte Survivor babes in the water like you saw. The serenity of Jellyfish Lake was somewhat disturbed by the frantic paddling, gesturing and shouts of foreign astonishment from the other group who seemed to be having the time of their life in the bathtub warm water of the lake. I am sorry to say we were not allowed to vote them off the island.

On a more serious note, the jellyfish, despite what they said on Survivor Thursday night, does indeed sting. It is just that after years in their microclimate of the lake the power of their sting has diminished. You can be assured that if the jellyfish brush up against your underarm or other sensitive areas you will receive a sting. That is why Papa Mike is issuing this important health alert, do not and we repeat under no circumstance should you kiss the jellyfish at Jellyfish Lake. As an additional caution, you may also want to avoid the Karaoke Bar at Sarah’s Yum Yum, where I believe the Taiwanese snorkelers were heading in their bus.

Papa Mike
April 3, 2005
Rock Islands, Palau

Helen Island

I stare longingly over the reef at the open ocean beyond. It has been two months since I fell overboard while traveling to Sonsorol Island. Perhaps the eight Red Rooster Ales were a contributing factor, but I really think it was that rogue wave coinciding with the cleavage distraction to my left that caused me to loose my balance. I was so concerned that my beer may have been contaminated with seawater that I forgot to yell. But that is all behind me know, a distant memory—gone with the tide.
We are alone here on Helen Reef, up until now an uninhabited atoll in the Southwest corner of Micronesia, but now home to these seven island girls and I—oh yeah, and twelve million nesting terns. Do you have any idea how much noise twelve million birds can make? Where was I? Oh yes, back to the story. This morning was just a typical island day, breakfast was lobster for eight, I prefer eggs but hey, do you think I want to get pecked to death? Tuesday was washing off the breakfast banana leafs, when Saturday ran up and shouted,
“Papa Mike, there’s been a terrible shipwreck just off the northern tip of the island!”
I hate it when she gets that emotional, but hey, she is my only red head.
“Calm down I’ll go take a look.” I stood and walked to the north end of the island. Before my eyes was a sight that I shall never forget.
Just beyond the reef was a container ship, the USS Budweiser, resting on its side. Just to the left of the first ship was a second even larger ship. I could just barely make out the name on the side of it, the Norwegian Princess, bound for Koror with a cargo of ice from Norway. The incoming tide was flushing both beer and ice through the passage in the reef and onto our narrow beach. There on the beach were Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday scooping it up and carrying it to our makeshift camp. Everyone was smiling and even the twelve million terns seemed to quiet down, acknowledging the solemn occasion. For the first time in two months I didn’t even care that I was standing in tern droppings.
That’s when the phone rang and I woke up. It was the Hawaiian timeshare people on the phone, late with my payment again. Now, where are those girls?

Well, parts of the story are true! Helen Island is a well-known nesting place for flocks of lesser-crested terns. Where there are an abundance of terns there certainly is an abundance of tern droppings. Papa Mike has been seen nesting on various stools in close proximity of Red Rooster Ale and is habitually behind on his timeshare payments. Besides, I didn’t know what else to write about an uninhabited island

Blue Dot behind trees above 1st Marine Memorial is crash site

I landed on Peleliu 22,712 days too late for the World War II invasion on this tiny island in the South Pacific. But I soon found out that the recovery and identification of the missing soldiers from that day over sixty years ago was still not over.

Around 5:00 they piled into the Mayumi’s, dirty, sweaty and cursing. After a shower and a Bud Light they assembled around the plastic covered picnic tables in the serving area. They weren’t hard to identify, with their short-cropped hair and perfect English voices. I had to smile remembering my time amongst their ranks, in an instant I realized that I was being overrun by the US Military. Tonight there were two birthdays to celebrate and I was invited to join in with the festivities. We had dinner and exchanged one-liners as the two birthday boys were presented balloons over-representing parts of the male anatomy. The celebration, complete with two birthday cakes, was a great hit and the kidding went on for hours. Later that night I was to find out that their purpose on Peleliu was of a far more serious matter.

It seems that a while back the wreckage of a TBM Avenger Dive Bomber had been discovered after over sixty years of being hidden on an outcropping over Bloody Nose Ridge, site of the fiercest battle on Peleliu. It can be assumed the bomber took off from the nearby airfield on a thirteen second bomb run dropping napalm on the Japanese that were fighting from caves on the ridge. Speculation was that the plane was hit by Japanese fire and has been buried in the jungle for over sixty years. The leader of the detachment told me that they had determined that the plane had a crew of three on board and through forensic pathology they will be able to identify the crew. I suppose you could be impressed with the technology that will allow us to identify the crew, I must say that I am much more impressed with a country that will go to all the cost and trouble to identify a three man flight crew and cross three more names off the list of missing in action soldiers from the Second World War.

Helmet and Cross at Red Beach Memorial