Today, we left Guam for Saipan. Our flight was in the afternoon so we had some last minute meetings before we flew out. After breakfast, we made a courtesy visit to Walter B. Dias, the Staff VP for Sales and Marketing of Continental Airlines. After the visit, we were invited to visit the Hyatt Regency Guam to check out the facilities and savor their sumptuous buffet lunch.
The view from the rooms was picturesque! All their rooms are actually on the side of the beach and thus get a wonderful view of Tumon Bay. Lunch was at La Mirenda Retaurant. Everyday, the theme of the buffet changes so expect to try out something new. For today, it was Mexican so I had nachos and made my own burrito with guacamole in it. But the pièce de resistance was actually their dessert table. Yummy!
We were running late and had to rush to the airport. The counters were actually closed when we got there but they let us in anyway. We were already late, but when we placed our bags on the weighing scales, everyone was overweight no thanks to the shopping! So all of us were frantically opening our luggage and taking out stuff. Good thing Lou gave us a travel bag from Continental so we were able to balance out the stuff between the two bags. Whew!
The plane is actually a 42-seater ATR42/72, the ones with the propellers. I already had some misconceptions about these planes and was pleasantly surprised that it was a smooth flight since I had motion sickness. In fact, I was asleep for the most part.
We landed at the Saipan International Airport at about 3:30 p.m. To get into the Northern Marianas, you either need a U.S. visa or a visitor's entry permit. You could get an application form at the Marianas Visitors Authority office in Manila and fax it to CNMI Immigration. Forms can also be downloaded at the website of the CNMI Attorney General's Office.
We got a warm welcome when we got out the airport courtesy of our hosts, the Saipan Grand Hotel. They gave each of us plumeria leis which really smelled good.
From the airport, we went to the hotel. But they took us for a brief drive around the island center in Garapan first. Our rooms had a really great view of Susupe Beach which was right beside the hotel. The group had a lot of time to rest since our only activity today was dinner. So after getting settled, I went down to the beach to swim a bit.
We had a BBQ dinner at the beach. The atmosphere was so relaxed and we had our feet on the sand. They served us salads, roasted oysters and mussels and steak. They also let us try Tinian chili. I dipped the tip of my fork in it to try it out. Wow! The effect of that very small amount was overwhelming since the chili was just soooooo hot!
The great thing about this hotel was that they had free Wi-Fi internet access at the lobby! Hehe! Anyway, time to sleep now. Lot's of stuff to do tomorrow.
Today, we visited Tumon Bay, one of four protected marine reserves of Guam. Tumon Bay is actually the area of the hotel row which is why visitors residing in the hotels could easily access it. Our plan was to snorkel from the Ypao Beach Park.
Instead, we found ourselves going snuba diving, which is a mix of scuba diving and snorkeling since although you have the oxygen tank, the tank is floating on an inflated raft above the surface. It was a good thing Snuba, a company which offered this great activity, had clients on Ypao Beach that day. So we were able to join in. A thirty minute snuba tour around the reefs of Tumon Bay would cost you about US$65 per person.We got ourselves some underwater cameras yesterday night. It was a great deal since we got the reusable ones with flash for just US$15 at K-Mart. So you just have to change the film when it's done. So I'll post the photos of our snuba trip once I get the photos developed.
There was a lot of marine life in the reef. Not as much as the deeper reefs but going snuba in Tumon Bay was a good introduction to scuba for a beginner like myself. The fish aren't scared of people since no one is allowed to go fishing in this protected area and they are used to people too. I think I'll try the real scuba diving one of these days since checking out the marine life was really fun! I didn't expect it to be that tiring though because when I got out of the water, I was so exhausted. My throat was dry too!
We had to rush and get dressed since we had to catch the rest of the group for lunch at Tony Roma's at the SM Store. Yes people... Henry Sy has landed in Guam! It was hosted by SM Store GM Tes Reyes and the marketing heads of Continental Airlines and the Guam Visitors Bureau namely Lou Sanchez and Pilar Laguana.My lunch really accelerated my food binge. Talk about American servings! I had a large serving of ribs and chicken, coleslaw and a mound fries all in one plate! And to think I had tortilla chips and salsa before the main course.
I decided to take a nap after lunch since I didn't want to go shopping anymore plus I slept quite late the night before since I was maximizing my Internet access which was US$15 for 24 hours! So they brought me back to the hotel while the rest went shopping or were doing more interviews.
From the balcony of my room, I took some photos of Tumon Bay. Really great view! It's a really good thing Guam was able to take care of its environment which is why you have these really blue waters right beside high-rise hotels.
For dinner, we met up with successful Filipino businessman Emilio Uy at Proa Restaurant. Again, another large plate for dinner. I could feel my stomach and my face expanding! Mr. Uy was the owner of a very large office supply store in Guam and was very famous for his generosity to visiting Filipinos. He even sent us some pasalubongs at the hotel.
We had to rush back to the hotel since Probe had to interview Cueshe, a popular Filipino band, who was in Guam for a week for some gigs. Cheche Lazaro did the interview and we got to listen in. We found how they started in Cebu and the gamble they took by coming over to Manila without any assurance of gigs and all; how they lived in a single apartment, living on canned foods and noodles. Well, obviously their gamble paid off.
After the interview, I went up again to my room since I wanted to maximize the remaining minutes of the Internet connection. Haha! We leave for Saipan tomorrow.
OT: The M/S Nippon Maru is now docked in Manila. And I missed the SSEAYP reunion on board the ship! Oh well! I will have to wait for 2008 since it's not docking in Manila next year. Thanks to SSEAYP International Philippines for the SIP National Award for Arts & Culture. I apologize for not being there to receive the award personally since I'm still working here. Thanks again!
Photo credits: Karlo de Leon who took most of my photos, Jodi Madridejos and Cheche Lazaro.
Today we visited the southern end of Guam. It was raining since the tip of a storm was passing through Guam. After breakfast at the hotel, we made our way eastward towards the Pacific side of the island. We stopped by the Mangilao Golf Club to check out the view of the Pacific coast and take some photos. Notice the hand gesture? That's the sign for Hafa Adai which is Chamorro for hello.
From Mangilao, it was a southward drive towards Talofofo. But on the way, we checked out the jungle cruise port but the boat had just left. There are two schedules, one at 9 a.m. and another at 1 p.m.Our next stop was the Talofofo Falls Park. Talofofo Falls is one of Guam's popular tourist attractions. A privately owned area, the entrance fee for tourists is US$20 which includes a two-minute cable car ride down to the falls and back, the amusement park, and a visit to Yokai Cave.
The cave was the hiding place of Sergeant Soichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier who hid in the Talofofo jungles for 28 years following the defeat of the Japanese in World War II. He was finally captured in 1972 and returned to Japan where he was given his back-pay. From the depiction on the wall, you could see that the cave was actually a small bunker 2.5 meters below the ground, 1 meter high and 1.5 meters wide.
We took the cable car down to the waterfalls area and hiked around. There are actually two waterfalls. Several rope bridges allow visitors to walk across the river to get around the falls area.
From Talofofo, we passed by Inarajan which we visited yesterday. We stopped at the Saluglula Pool which was a popular swimming area with a two-meter deep natural pool popular for diving. This pool was protected from the strong waves by several rocks.We made our way to Merizo which was celebrating its village fiesta that day, known as Fiestan Tasi. Among the interesting sites in the village is an old convent which is now a school as well as a bell tower. There is also a replica of the image of the Our Lady of Camarin, the patroness of Guam, right in front of the church plaza. Merizo Port is also the jump off point for Cocos Island, a very popular beach among Japanese tourists.
From Merizo, we went to Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad in the village of Umatac. Umatac Bay is said to be the landing site of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 which is why a monument to him could also be found in the village. In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Umatac, claiming the islands for Spain. This would start the long intertwined history of the Philippines and Guam since the Marianas were governed by the governor-general in Manila.
Umatac Bay was very important to the Manila Galleon Trade since it was the last replenishment stop before the long voyage to Acapulco in Mexico. Which is why from 1680 to 1810, several fortifications were built to protect the galleons from pirates and privateers. The last of the four forts constructed was Fort Soledad.It was already close to 2 p.m. and we realized we hadn't had lunch yet. So our driver took us to a popular Filipino restaurant in Tamuning which is actually an institution in the Filipino community of Guam. Opening its doors in 1987, Rambie’s is said to be the longest-running Filipino restaurants in Guam. Serving Pinoy favorites such as kare-kare, sinigang, caldereta and dinuguan, the restaurant uses the turo-turo concept, enticing customers with its colorful display of different dishes.From Rambie's, we made our way to the Hyatt in Tumon to pick up the Probe crew who had done interviews the whole day. From there, we went back to the hotel to freshen up for a dinner cruise. But the sad part was the boat cruise cancelled due to the storm. So we decided to go shopping.Our first stop was Micronesia Mall which is owned by none other than Lucio Tan. I guess the Philippines is completing its invasion of Guam with the arrival of shopping malls. Yes, Henry Sy has his own stake on the island as well. Jollibee is there too and so is San Miguel! After Micronesia Mall which closes at 6 p.m. on Sundays would you believe, we went to K-Mart which was open 24 hours. Anyway, more tomorrow.Heritage updates
626-year-old mosque named National Shrine
Today, we left Guam for Saipan. Our flight was in the afternoon so we had some last minute meetings before we flew out. After breakfast, we made a courtesy visit to Walter B. Dias, the Staff VP for Sales and Marketing of Continental Airlines. After the visit, we were invited to visit the Hyatt Regency Guam to check out the facilities and savor their sumptuous buffet lunch.
The view from the rooms was picturesque! All their rooms are actually on the side of the beach and thus get a wonderful view of Tumon Bay. Lunch was at La Mirenda Retaurant. Everyday, the theme of the buffet changes so expect to try out something new. For today, it was Mexican so I had nachos and made my own burrito with guacamole in it. But the pièce de resistance was actually their dessert table. Yummy! 
We were running late and had to rush to the airport. The counters were actually closed when we got there but they let us in anyway. We were already late, but when we placed our bags on the weighing scales, everyone was overweight no thanks to the shopping! So all of us were frantically opening our luggage and taking out stuff. Good thing Lou gave us a travel bag from Continental so we were able to balance out the stuff between the two bags. Whew! 
The plane is actually a 42-seater ATR42/72, the ones with the propellers. I already had some misconceptions about these planes and was pleasantly surprised that it was a smooth flight since I had motion sickness. In fact, I was asleep for the most part. 
We got a warm welcome when we got out the airport courtesy of our hosts, the Saipan Grand Hotel. They gave each of us plumeria leis which really smelled good.
We had a BBQ dinner at the beach. The atmosphere was so relaxed and we had our feet on the sand. They served us salads, roasted oysters and mussels and steak. They also let us try Tinian chili. I dipped the tip of my fork in it to try it out. Wow! The effect of that very small amount was overwhelming since the chili was just soooooo hot! 
