Palau: Sorting out our new life!

Since my last post we’ve had a very busy and successful few days getting our new life sorted in Palau. The best news is that the morning following my last post we found a great unit to rent. Amanda found that the phone book (of all places) listed a bunch of places you could call for accommodation. Most had nothing going however the first place she called had a block of 4 near new units where re-modelling was just finishing up. Compared to the other 4 places we looked at this place is a palace! It’s nice and clean with new furniture to boot. Unfortunately we don’t have one of the stunning views that some other people have here but we must have close to the newest & cleanest place on the island (at least in a reasonable price range anyway). We are also a walk or very short drive away from a great swimming spot in Nikko Bay. The little area there also houses the local outdoor basketball court which had a family of local chickens training for their next league game (unfortunately we weren’t quick enough for photos). 

After sorting out our accommodation we had our first swim at our new local swimming hole which was absolutely beautiful but the water was almost too warm for my liking. I also reminded myself why I don’t play basketball!    

I’ve heard mixed a few mixed reports about the reputation of the neighbourhood we’ll be living in, with everything from it’s a great area to it’s a bit dodgy. We will have a guard onsite between 9pm and 5am which seems like serious overkill! A fellow Aussie couple live just down the road (the guy works with mine clearing) and we’ve also been introduced to another lady who lives just up the road. On a side note we are already running into people we know in the street. If you think Brisbane is small try living in Palau.  

Some observations for anyone who may potentially end up living here or is just interested in what things are like here: A fully furnished unit here is a very different concept to what it is in Australia. What is included here is typically: a bed, side tables, a couch, a fridge, stove, aircon (maybe an oven and an entertainment unit). What they don’t include are: TV, microwave, all kitchen appliances, all kitchenware, bed linen, towels and pretty much everything else. So we’ll now have to spend a bit just to buy the minimum amount of stuff we need. Oh and the laundry is generally shared between units or you have to use a local Laundromat, both you need to pay for.  

Amanda & I are much happier now we have sorted our new digs, we move in on Thursday. After securing the lodging and knowing we need a bit of kit for the place we thought we’d attend a ‘Garage Sale’ at the fancy resort here. We arrived to see that they had hardly anything and when we asked about the linen that appeared to be in bags behind a desk we were told they didn’t have any. We aren’t sure but we suspect the lady didn’t want to sell to us. Frustratingly we were $10 poorer for having to catch a taxi all the way out to the resort and back with nothing to show for it. It also apparently started at 9am despite the flyer saying 11am…

On Saturday night the local Aussie volunteers were treated to a dinner at the local Indian restaurant ‘The Taj’. It was a very good meal easily at Brisbane quality however it was quite expensive for local standards, especially on a volunteer wage. We will be back but only on special occasions or for their Friday lunchtime buffet which is more affordable.

Sunday we headed off for a trip up on the largest island called Babeldoab to see the capital building and for a jungle cruise down the river. The capital building is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it is ridiculously big and looks completely out of place. It reminds me of the large old US buildings in the European style. The pillars are hilariously fake and apparently no one is happy about travelling from Koror up to the new capital everyday so I understand more work is being down out of Koror. The jungle trip was nice, great to see the area and a few animals like crocs, fruit bats (which they eat here), king pigeon, kingfisher and some cute kittens.

Rodger the local Croc

a 2002 FunCargo (not our Fungo though)

We’ve noticed that our grand plan of trying to not own a car here is rather unrealistic. Even if you live in the middle of town you’ll frequently be going places well out of walking distance. Everything seems to be mostly clustered around the main street that runs across the 4 attached islands. It’s not overly hilly but with everything so stretched out and our with new accommodation a good distance from downtown and the hospital we knew we’d need to buy a car. Most of the Aussie’s seem to drive a Mazda Demio which are like a little van crossed with a hatchback. Today we were very kindly taken around by another Aussie volunteer, in his two months in the country he’s made a lot of connections. We looked at a number of car yards and decided to buy a 2002 Toyota FunCargo which is very similar to a Demio. We should pick it up tomorrow and have a lot more freedom. I've nicknamed the car Fungo after the baseball training/bat.

We’ve also both got local sim cards for our mobile phones. The network seems pretty good but there is no data network. However what is interesting is that you have to pay to call AND receive calls on the mobile network here. So most people just text each other. Local land line calls are free unless you call mobiles where the person receiving the call pays.  

Tomorrow we have a lunch with the Aussie ambassador to the region which should be interesting! I’m going to wear my best (and only) polo shirt and best shorts.

 

PS As we’d say in Australia It’s absolutely pissing down right now.