Questions About Palau

A few weeks ago my friend Matt Kendall wrote me with a list of questions he had about life in Palau. They are interesting questions and cover a wide range of topics, so I thought it would a good idea to share the questions and my answers for all to read. If anyone else has questions about life in Palau, please do not hesitate to email me or post them as a comment. I'll compile them and post the answers.

1) What foods do they grow on Palau? Nuts, fruits, vegetables, trees for lumber?

Traditionally, Palauan women grow taro and tapioca. There are also a lot of trees planted to grow coconut, banana, mango, betelnut, and pineapple. Recently it has become popular to grow noni, a type of nut that is turned into a health product that is very popular in Japan. There are also western style vegetables like lettuce, carrots, potatoes, and others grown at some farms. All these products can be bought at the stores, but they are not a plentiful as one would think because Palauans mainly grow them for their own use and don't sell them. There are trees grown for lumber in Babeldaob, such as beautiful old mahogany trees.

2) What animals are raised on Palau? Pigs are pretty common in tropical locations, I think, but what else?

Chickens, chickens, and more chickens. They have free range to wander where they please so they are often seen in the hamlets or along the road. Chickens cross the road in front of me so much that it has rendered "why did the chicken cross the road" jokes meaningless. Pigs are popular outside of Koror and Palauans are very good at raising and cooking pig. There are only a dozens cows up on Babeldaob and we think they are mostly for private use, so there is no fresh cow products.

3) What does gas cost?

Gas has consistently stayed in the low $3.00 range. Lately, it has crept up a bit and it is currently $3.35. While it is a bit more expensive than the states, comparatively we drive shorter distances so the gas lasts longer. That is especially true in my little car that gets great gas mileage. The only long distances we drive is to the Capitol, which can get pricey if done a lot. There are seven major gas stations that are either Shell or Mobil located in Koror/Airai and smaller pumps in some of the villages. They are all full service so I don't have to pump my own gas.

4) What animals are native to Palau? Any monkeys or crazy-looking birds or bugs?

As far as land animals, there are no large mammals native to Palau. The Germans brought monkeys to the southern island of Anguar either as pets or to serve as the canary for their mining operations. The monkeys multiplied and Palau considers them a pest. They don't allow them in any other island so the monkeys are contained to Anguar. Birds are plentiful, especially water birds. In Babeldaob the herons are everywhere. At night, the fruit bats come out and are plentiful. After all, the bats created the guano that created the phosphate that the Germans mined. Little geckos and lizards are plentiful, but there are no large lizards. There are only a few types of snakes and only the banded sea snake is poisonous, but because they have such small mouths it is difficult for them to bite humans. The insects are not too exotic, we have plenty of mosquitos and flies. The southern islands have plentiful land crabs and coconut crabs. They make their shelter anywhere, including the roads, and scatter when you get close to them, scurrying away with their pinchers held high in some vain attempt to look scary.

5) Do they have problems with non-native invasive species?

Besides the aforementioned monkeys, the European boats also brought rats. They are no longer the pestilence carrying sewer rats they once were and live a fairly healthy lifestyle. I see them occasionally; they're kinda like squirrels. There are also stray dogs. At one time there was separate kinds of dogs, but through lots of inbreeding they all look fairly similar and are simply referred to as Palauan dogs. Before my time here there used to be more strays, but Palau now has an animal shelter and has made an effort to round up the strays. There are plenty of non-native invasive plants of which I am not that familiar. The Palauans are a little worried about a type of invasive sea star that can inflict mass damage on reefs. A few have been spotted lately and they are being monitored to make sure another outbreak doesn't occur. The last time the sea stars invaded the Palauans went out with spears and hunted them into extinction.

6) Any crazy-looking plants or flowers?

With Palau's climate the plants and flower grow and bloom throughout the year. Being a lush tropical environment, Palau has all the plants and flowers you would expect: palm trees, ferns, orchids, and other vibrant flowering plants. Along the shorelines, mangroves abound. I mentioned the mahogany trees, but there are also pine trees which seen a bit out of place here.

7) Does work ever seem like a burden, or is it mostly Cloud 9 out there?

Work is never a burden. It keeps me mostly busy during the work week, but I never have to stay late and it never is a burden. Like any job, we like to complain about it but it really is a great job. It can be frustrating at times working with people who operate at a slower island pace, but then I just remind myself to take it slower. Palauans can get very set in the ways and be adverse to change, even if what they are currently doing is totally illogical and unpractical. We try to point out better ways to govern, and sometimes they listen but other times they do not. At that point we just remind ourselves that it is their country and they have to live with the system. Overall, the job is pretty easy and the workload is very manageable. It is Cloud 9.

8) How many jellyfish do you typically shake out of your shorts when you get home after an outing to jellyfish lake?

I haven't had any passengers yet. They usually just bounce off of you. Occasionally, they can get caught up in your suit while swimming, but usually they free themselves.

9) What do they do with garbage?

They have garbage trucks and make regular garbage pick-ups. There are landfills just like in the states and they maintain them so they are not too noticeable. The one curiosity is that instead of plastic trash containers they use old oil drums so everyone has an old rusting Shell oil drum in front of their homes.

11) Is there much crime to speak of?

Crime is very low. The typical crimes are traffic citations, domestic issues, and petty theft. Most of those crimes are fueled by alcohol consumption. All guns are illegal in Palau, so there is no gun crime. There have been a few stabbings while I have been here, but they were unusual and were early morning disputes at bars after mass consumption of alcohol. I consider Palau to be very safe. Because it is such a small place, everyone knows everyone so if something turns up missing they just round up the usual suspects and that usually solves the crimes.

12) What's with the small-gauge railroad tracks in your photos from Babeldaob? Was there mining on Palau?

The tracks are for mining cars. Near Ngardmau Falls and other places throughout the islands the Japanese mined Bauxite. Those tracks are from the 1920's. The Germans mined phosphate in Anguar around the turn the 20th Century.