I will also cross-post on the Australia/Pacific branch.
Link to photos: http://tinyurl.com/7kt7lk
In December, I traveled around Micronesia, visiting Guam, Saipan, Yap and Palau, then traveled around the Philippines (Manila, Cebu, Bohol and Davao), ending in Malaysian Borneo and Brunei.
Some highlights were:
Yap: unbelievable snorkeling (I swam with a pod of spinner dolphins, but was unsuccessful in my attemp to see manta rays since the water was too murky)
Palau: snorkeling in the Rock Islands, including in Jellyfish Lake (a saltwater lake in which jellyfish have evolved without predators, so have lost their ability to sting -- its like swimming in a lava lamp with millions of jellyfish) and with giant clams
Bohol, the Philippines -- Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier Center
Brunei -- Kampung Ayer, the over-water stilt village in which thousands live in intersting dwellings, albeit in povery, while the Sultan lives in a golden domed, 1,000+ room palace
Lowlights:
Manila -- a lot less interesting than the other Asian capitals, although it has excellent restaurants
Guam: much of the sense-of-place has evaporated with the influx of American culture and Japanese tourists
I haven't seen too many trip reports or requests for information about Micronesia, so I won't prepare a detailed trip report, but I would be happy to answer any questions.
I expect to return to the Pacific this December, visiting Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.
Michael
Photos -- Micronesia and the Philippines
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Thanks as always for posting pictures of your trips to the far flung corners of the world.
Thanks for sharing your photos.
I am curious about your itinerary and flight routings. Have you posted about this somewhere else?
cruisenred, it was a fairly complicated itinerary, especially because I wanted to use Continental miles for the long-haul routes. Basic itinerary was:
Flight 1: open jaw, round trip with stopover: from JFK to Yap (with a stopover in Guam) and return from Manila (I used miles for this flight)
Flight 2: I visited Saipan from Guam (cheap round trip ticket)
Flight 3: one-way Yap to Manila, with stopover in Palau (I think this was 37,500 CO miles)
Flights 4, 5 and 6: internal flights within Philippines on Cebu Pacific (very cheap, maybe US$50 per flight)
Flight 7: round trip from Manila to Kota Kinabalu
Flight 8: from Kota Kinabalu, I made a round trip on Royal Brunei to Brunei
I used miles for Flights 1 and 3, and paid for the rest, and I'm sure it was less than $1,000 for all of the other flights, in total.
It was a fair amount of work to put the itinerary together, but a lot of fun and I learned a lot (very easy with the Internet and no need for a travel agent). I'm also in the process of preparing a similarly complex itinerary for next December to New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, hoping to use United miles to get tickets on Air NZ for the long-haul flights.