detailed enquiry

hi guys,

finalizing my Micronesia itinerary, i have no big issues whatsoever, but was wondering if you could take a time answer me some complementary questions. I have quite plenty of time to spend in there, so that is no problem. Arriving from Philippines, I am planning on taking on Palau, and then Yap. Im a non-diver (only a snorkeler), so I am keen to learn about things from this perspective.
My main objectives in Palau are the Jellyfish lake and Rock islands as a whole, and in Yap, i was hoping to swim with manta rays.

My concerns are:

1) How difficult is to find ATMs on either island?

2) i was quite unhappily surprised at the high prices of accommodation in Yap. What are the really low-budget options? i don't care about running water or electricity supply. I've toughened up :) I prefer traditional lodging near the beach.

3) Are in Palau / Yap any rental agencies offering motorbikes or scooters? How to get around otherwise? Especially Yap seems made for an easy breezy ride :)

4) In one of TT reports, there was a mention of possibility to take a trip off Yap to some outer islands ? Any ins and outs?

thanks in advance

as for the ATM: are international debit cards accepted? Maybe a silly question, but id not like to come all over and not have my money readily available. Thanks

You can try the men's house at Bechiyal village - right on the beach.

I camped (with my own tent) next to it for $5 per night back in '08. I understand you can sleep in it. There were a few men sleeping there.

The weird thing was when I asked where the toilets were and was told to use the woods or the lagoon. I have nothing against the woods except that this was the suburbs not the backwoods!!! I have no idea what the villagers were using. I doubt that they were just finding random spots. (Maybe they were having fun with me!?)

They did have an outdoor shower set-up. They served me dinner for $3 - it was very good with freshly caught fish, local vegetables and a coconut to drink. I was provided with a lantern for the night.

In Colonia I stayed at the Hiltop (one "L") for $35 per night.

At that time there were no ATMs or means of currency exchange on Yap. They are a few in Palau. I think there is a thread discussing Palau ATMs somewhere (I didn't need one myself.)

thank you silvanocat,

im not gonna take a tent with me to Micronesia. Although, the Bechiyal village sounds like the place I am exactly looking for. As i understand, its in the Map island. Are there also any other types of accommodation with the village's precinct?

Well, on the net, I am right now reading a guy's account on his trip to Yap back in 2002, and it seems like there are some thatched bungalows available. Can you confirm that?

Thank you,

From my experiences in Solomon Islands villages, your toilet is exactly what the locals use.

You should look at my posts on Yap and Palau:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1931231
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1931212

On Yap, Pathways has one room for $55 a night that has AC. Book early. I had a great stay there and it is in a much better location than Hiltop. You can negotiate for a lower rate if you are staying for a while and it is low season. I tried to get a homestay organized with the tourist bureau in Yap, but when I showed up and asked about it, they said it fell through.

I don't recall if the bank in Yap had an ATM; I carried U.S. travelers checks, which ended up being very convenient for both countries (was able to get them w/o commission as an amex card holder, and found plenty of banks to exchange them to cash without commission).

By the way, you mention wanting accommodation by the beach in Yap. There aren't any places that I'm aware of that offer that. The only exception is the Village View hotel on Maap, but they didn't have running water when I visited in June (again, read my post).

I think that the Bank of Hawaii had an ATM in Koror.

Ozzie - it wasn't a toilet - it was go where you want. Surely in a village there must be something organized so people aren't stepping in it - I mean years and years and years of going? I didn't see anyone in the lagoon (except the pig right by the shore) or any toilet structure. And the tide went waaay out. Would love to hear more as I am mystified and may again find myself in such a situation.

J. - Bechiyal is on Maap. They were rebuilding after a cyclone - a big traditional meeting house(?) was in the works. They may have had another destructive cyclone since my visit. I didn’t notice any rental bungalows.

The place where I had originally planned to stay on Maap had bungalows also for rent ( DJ Bungalow ). (Around $50 for night.) However, they stood me up at my 3 a.m. airport arrival. The guy did find me days later and said he was sick. I wonder. Going through Danka (see link) marks everything up at least 100%. She is now (or was in ’08) based on Palau.

There used to be other home stay accommodations on Yap. The tourism director told me that they do not arrange such stays anymore because of too many complaints. (Folks aren't used to such basic accommodations.)

Hi Tilos, thanks for your reply. I've already read your notes of both states on the other TT thread, and that's what I based my additional questions on. While you provided some invaluable info about Palau, the Yap part was quite short and did not entirely fit my objectives.

I am anxious to resolve the ATM matter in Yap as it seems strange that there are numerous banks but none of them have an ATM attached. Have not not this facility arrived in this island yet?

Thanks for the tip for Pathways. I made a note of this hotel and put it in my tentative itinerary, even though its not kind of a place id like to stay at over the whole period of my trip.

thanks again

Silvanocat. what you describe has been the norm in many Solomon Islands villages for years. On Ontong Java atoll, for example, the women use the beach on the ocean side, the men the lagoon side.
Many villages have one end of the beach for women, the other for men.
Inland villages use the river bank, upstream for men and downstream for women, and hope they collect their drinking water upstream of both, heaven help you if there are a lot of other villages upstream.
In the last 20 years since I first went there, they have been educating people about clean water and sanitation, and some villages now have water seal toilets, but often, these are kept for visiting foreigners, ane everyone else still uses the beach.
I know at least one secondary boarding school where the students still have to use the beach.

Jirikoo: I talked with my spouse, and he actually remembers there being an ATM at the bank in Yap. The easiest way to find out for certain is to e-mail the Yap tourist bureau. They are really good about responding quickly.