Downtown Koror is beginning to feel like a resort town . Going out to eat is expensive . There are more food options . The roads are good , traffic is bad . The cars are newer and in better shape . There are luxury brands plying the roads .
Island hopping and hopping islands
W hen I was a child , going to the Rock Islands was work , collecting firewood , catching fish so we had food . It wasn ? t for fun .
Of course I ? m paraphrasing from memory . I was having lunch with a co-worker . He was probably 20 years older than me , sharing a memory that was completely inconsistent with any trip to the Rock Islands I ever experienced . My discovery of the Rock Islands , now a World Heritage Site , was on a friend ? s boat , hauling food , snorkels , and unhealthy amount of beer .
To outsiders , the islands of Micronesia can seem a single entity . Beginning in the 1940s , both the United States and the new-born United Nations took such a view , grouping the widespread cluster into the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands , and not entirely sure what to do about them .
As everyone familiar with the region can attest , each of the island jurisdictions , while sharing many obvious similarities , are quite distinct , culturally , politically , and economically . Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands , after all , are US territories , and the political relationship between each of the jurisdictions and the US , while structured along the same lines , is nuanced .
Over the past year , living in Chuuk , after telling others that I used to live in Palau , many have said , ? Oh , well Chuuk is very different .? ( To which my muttered reply is ? No kidding , I ? m the one living here .?) I ? ve spent the past few weeks in Palau , where I have not been in several years . The differences , both between other parts of Micronesia , and the Palau of a decade ago , are striking .
Consider lagoons . Palau ? s Rock Islands are a unique formation , small , clustered together in sheltered shallow waters . The Rock Islands at this point are a recreation zone . A trip to the Rock Islands is fun . Diving , snorkeling , smearing sand
on your skin at the Milky Way , kayaking through protected coves . Shiny twin-engine dive boats holding 20 people . Sailboats moored near restaurants . Visits from yachts , and the occasional celebrity .
Chuuk Lagoon is a different creature . Over half of Chuuk State ? s population lives on lagoon or outer islands , rather than the main island of Weno . The lagoon is a work site ; the boats , working skiffs . Many people commute to Weno everyday for work ( often at a loss after paying for fuel ). The skiffs are battered , the engines older and louder . Instead of divers on vacation they carry bags of rice and workers returning home . The islands are populated , larger , and further apart . The current is stronger , the waves higher , the water deeper . It ? s not open ocean , but not for the uninitiated boater . There are certainly recreational opportunities ; the ghosts of the Imperial Japanese Navy line the lagoon , casualties of Operation Hailstone . Chuuk Lagoon can be unforgiving ; it claimed the state ? s first governor .
The differences are more pronounced on land . Chuuk is among the least developed areas of the islands . Palau is among the most developed . Palau has a visible presence of foreign non-governmental organizations , visiting delegations of various professions , a US military Civic Action Team . While Palau certainly has need of such services , there are many other areas with a greater need , and the cynic in me suspects that NGOs are more interested in Palau because it is , undisputedly , a nicer place to regularly travel to .
Other apparent changes in Palau ? For starters , it gets a lot more attention on the world stage , due in no small part to better representation during the Compact negotiation process , which in part helped to create more economic stability than is the case in other freely associated states .
The influx of Chinese money , followed by tourists , is well known at this point , as is China ? s
Downtown Koror is beginning to feel like a resort town . Going out to eat is expensive . There are more food options . The roads are good , traffic is bad . The cars are newer and in better shape . There are luxury brands plying the roads .
objectives in America ? s extended backyard . Less apparent is whether real economic growth is occurring . A pervasive danger in tourism-based economy is the creation of a parallel economy , where foreigners ( and a select few locals ) thrive and locals ( or imported labor ) starve . The old adage , ? do you work in a hotel where you can ? t afford to stay ? comes to mind .
The changes in Palau are apparent . Downtown Koror is beginning to feel like a resort town . Going out to eat is expensive . There are more food options . The roads are good , traffic is bad . The cars are newer and in better shape . There are luxury brands plying the roads .
Foreign investment can be a powerful tool , but it ? s important to understand the difference between foreign investment and foreign spending .
Gabriel currently lives in Chuuk , Micronesia , where he works for a regional NGO . He likes to write about the world disorder , and If he ever gets enough bandwidth , his blog , the sunburnchronicles , will be fully functioning . Send feedback to Gabrieljmccoard @ hotmail . com .
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