Wednesday 3/5/2008- Sunday 3/9/2008
The flight to Korea was relatively uneventful. The highlight was seeing Juno which Dermot thought was good but didn’t quiet live up to all the hype. The only other thing that sticks in our minds from the flight was the old Korean couple next to us who hawked up loogies and spit them into napkins the entire flight. In Korea we had a two hour layover, where we used the free Internet and had some fruit smoothies. We then boarded our flight to Guam and prepared for our next adventure. Our flight got in at 1:50 a.m. and after collecting our luggage we took a taxi to our hotel. We immediately went to bed as we were exhausted from our travels.
The next morning we explored Guam—thanks to Lindsay and Tripp’s recommendations and our trusty LP (Lonely Planet) Chapter (which you can now simply download from their site per chapter!). We took the shuttle into Tumon Bay and stopped at the first restaurant we saw: Hard Rock Café. Ahhhh… to be back in “America” and eating hamburgers with a Budwesier. We walked around on the beaches, made our way to Hotel Nikko where we made use of their very fun water slide. (We were the only people over the age of 12 using the water slide). We continued on to Gun Beach which was so named, because it still has a Japanese artillery gun there left over from WWII. We took a quick hike across a rock face to another beautiful and empty beach filled with coconut trees.
After our hike we headed back to the Hotel Nikko for a sunset barbeque dinner. The dinner included prawns, chicken, ribs, steak and all sorts of accompanying veggies and fruits…and we were the only non-Japanese folks there. The tables were set up with a BBQ in the middle of each table, so you cooked your own food as you watched the sunset. There was also a traditional Guam dance show after dinner. We got our picture taken with one of the dancers who was about half Dermot’s height and then headed back to the hotel shuttle stop. The bus was full when we got there, so we had a drink in Planet Hollywood, then got the next shuttle home and went to bed.
We woke up early the next morning and headed down the street for breakfast. Dermot had the local Chamorro sausage (spicy sauce with eggplant mixed in) with his eggs. Afterwards, we headed to one of the main resort beaches and once again were the only Americans admist a sea of Japanese tourists. We opted for the couple’s package, which included unlimited use of their snorkeling gear, kayaks and paddle boats. Our favorite was the large paddle boat in the shape of a swan. We spent the entire day on the beach before heading over to the Jamaican Grill for dinner. There we shared the Jerk plate as we listened to Bob Marley in the background bringing back memories of our trip to Jamaica. After dinner we got a free ride home in the Jamaican Grill van, got a bunch of stuff done on the Internet and then headed to bed.
Saturday morning we were excited to get up and head out on our “Boonie Stompers” trip. The Boonie Stompers is a hiking program that was originally started by the USO (Army sponsored event) back in the 60s. For $2 a guide will hike with on various different trips every Saturday. This Saturday was the “very difficult” trip, so we were excited for a workout. After rushing to pick up our rental car in time to make it to our hike, we sadly forgot to bring our camera. Luckily on the hike, we met two fellow “mainlanders” named Joe and Joe who offered to take pictures for us. They were in Guam for 3 months as their wife and girlfriend were traveling nurses in Guam. The hike definitely qualified as “very difficult” as the trail was slightly overgrown, very steep at parts and mostly jungle. But when we saw the coastline, we realized it was definitely worth it. It looked like the backdrop from “Lost”. We then hiked along the coast, exploring some fresh water caves along the way, before turning around and heading back to our cars. We had to watch your step, since we were hiking on old molten lava rock, which was incredibly sharp…if you were to fall. Unfortunately, on the hike back to our cars… the entire group (including the tour guide) had a little trouble finding the right path. With a little luck and a lot of bushwhacking, we made our way back onto the right path and made the very tiring and steep climb back to our cars.
After the hike, Joe and Joe invited us to celebrate our survival…with a few pints at a little brewery on the island called Mermaids. Joe had raved about the Oatmeal Stout, so Dermot was very excited to try it. As luck would have it, they ran out of the Oatmeal Stout the day before, so we settled for some Pale Ales, wings and quesadillas instead. We said goodbye to the Joes and then headed back home to shower and get ready for dinner. We had dinner at the Old Hagnata Grill and Pub. It was regarded as one of the classier joints in Guam and Joe and Joe informed us that it was also voted “Best Bar to find a Sugar Daddy”. Luckily Dermot had already asked for Katie’s hand in marriage before the trip started, so no Sugar Daddy hunting was necessary. The food was excellent and the service was even better.
After dinner we headed to the local’s favorite bar, Jimmy Dees, to try and meet up with Joe and Joe. The hike had tuckered them out though, as well as their 4 hours of sleep the previous night…so they never made it. We ended up seeing a local musician debut his new album for the first time. We hope he becomes famous so that we can always remember it being performed before a live audience (i.e. 5 people) for the first time ever. He asked us our opinion after every song, as we were the only non-related, non-locals in the bar! His song called “Cartoon Love” was our favorite. After the first set we snuck out of the bar and headed home to go to bed.
We woke up for our last time in Guam and immediately packed our bags and then brought them down to reception to hold until our trip to the airport. We then headed to Denny’s for our last All American breakfast for awhile time….. We walked back to the hotel and took advantage of the free Internet until we boarded the plane to chase the sun westward to Bali, Indonesia!