Tidbits

- A big news story here in Palau is the recent insolvency of one of the largest local banks, Pacific Savings Bank. In early November, the Government shut it down after learning they are $12 million in debt and could no longer operate on a day to day basis. It is a big deal because there were 7,500 depositors, which is a large percentage of the population of a small nation. It's been called a national crisis and has dominated the newspaper headlines. My money is safely in the FDIC insured Bank of Hawaii, but PSB was attractive to many because it offered better interest rates. Currently, the Government has appointed a receiver to find and distribute the assets of the bank, but it is a slow process. The major shareholder fled the island and his whereabouts are unknown. The other major shareholder is the senate majority leader, so that creates some difficulties. No court actions have been filed yet, but we are anticipating multiple actions in the near future. It should be interesting watching how it all unfolds.

- I joined Palau Pacfic Resort as a member. PPR is the premier resort in Palau and allows locals to become members and use their facilities. PPR has everything one would expect a tropical island resort to have, such as a long sandy beach with chairs and umbrellasand an oceanfront pool. Although my apartment building has a pool and an ocean view, PPR has a beach and access to the water. A lot of expats are members, so there are plenty of people I know there. Just another way to enjoy Palau.

- For you Survivor fans, balut is for sale in one the small grocery stores. Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. On Survivor, it was used as the gross food challenge and Tom ate at least three to win the challenge. Rather disgusting, but Survivor was accurate in that it is a real food available here in Palau.

- An anecdote from Taiwan: In the Taiwan International Airport just before we reached the security area, we saw a large swarm of girls around a few men. The girls were clamoring around, taking pictures, and giggling. Christy approached one of them and found out one of the men was Korean film star Woo-sung Jung. He was in Taiwan for the Golden Horse Film Awards. He was nice to the girls, but they encircled him through his entire walk to the security line and then watched him go through security. Going through airport security these days is tricky enough, imagine doing it with a gaggle of girls watching your every step.