October 18, 2017
When I woke up, it rained cats and dogs. I enjoyed breakfast in the Lounge, were a variety of options were available. Afterwards I did some surfing in the internet and when rain slowed down a bit, I used the chance to check out and get to my car somewhat dry. I didn't came up with much to do outside with all the rain since I also had the wrong types of shoes with me. Though I drove to the The Plaza Shopping Mall to visit the Hard Rock Cafe. I bought the Flag Logo Tee for my collection, but was a little disappointed that it only showed the US flag. Glasgow two weeks before as way more rebellious as they had the Scottish Flag and not the Union Jack.
At the ABC store, I bought a bottle of water, a bottle of milk tea and something for lunch. In the mall across the street (T Galleria), I found a United counter which offered check-in. I used the chance to get my boarding pass printed and save some time at the airport (three minutes tops). They also offer a free shuttle to the airport, but I didn't make use of that.
With Guam also having a naval base, my plan was to try to spot some ships. As the rain also slowed down, I just drove off. North of the naval base are three tiny peninsulas with roads on them. The southernmost belongs to the naval base, so no access for me. The middle one was gate locked and guarded at the end of the road as well. And the northernmost one did not offer any views, because of the larger distance and building on the base blocking the view. So no pictures for me.
I then switched to the tourist mode. On my way to the naval base I had already seen a park with a WWII memorial:
The Fields at Asan Beach. Besides WWII, there were also some other noticeable events taking place there: 1892 to 1900 it was a hospital for leprosy patients, 1901 - 1903 it was a camp for Philippine Rebellion prisoners, in 1917, the American used it to keep the crew of the German Supply Cruiser Kormoran as prisoners, 1945 - 1967 it was Camp Asan, housing area for civilian staff of the US Navy, 1975 the abandoned camp was used by Vietnamese refugees and it finally was destroyed by hurricane Pamela an subsequently cleared by the US Navy in 1976.
I Mark 14 Mod 5 torpedo in remembrance of the submarine heroes for their relief of the Pacific during WWII.
Closer to the water were additional information boards. Additionally, it was possible to walk a trail through the
forest, where I could reach a hill. From up there I had a nice view over the beach.
After seeing everything there that I could reach by walking without drowning my shoes, I drover further towards south. On my way, I also passed the Naval Base Guam. I closely monitored the surroundings to find a place for more detailed observation. I wasn't very successful and only spotted the super structure of a supply ship.
My plan then was to circle the southern part of the island. In the northern part is an air force base that makes completely circling impossible. My next stop was near Agat at
Gaan Point. There was a Japanese emplacement.
Unfortunately, the weather remained the same, with rain even getting stronger at times. And it was very windy. This is why most of the pictures are rather dull. At Umatac Bay was an interesting bridge.
At Merizo it was possible to see Cocos Island, the southernmost island of the Mariana Islands.
The bay at Achang.
With time being far after noon and me wanting to see another attraction before I had to return to the airport, I continued my circle around the island with fewer stops. The weather was also not very inviting to do otherwise.
Close to my destination, I used the photo opp to capture one of the colorful bus stops.
Their shape is mostly the same, but they all are differently painted. School bus stops look like large mushrooms and are just as colorfol.
My destination was the
Two Lovers Point. The story is like Romeo and Juliet. Two lovers from antagonized families killed themselves by jumping off the cliff. The spot also has a nice view over
Tumon Bay, but access fee is $3. Since I was there I paid it and enjoyed the view.
With all the rain and wind it was pointless to clear my lens from rain drops.
The view towards the beach has some attraction to it.
The love theme is also very much commercialized at that point. You can buy the typical locks including hearts right there. Behind the LOVE sign is the aforementioned lookout. Access to the whole area was included in the access fee.
I then returned to the airport. On the way there, I refilled the tank of the car. It didn't matter which gas station I used, prices where identical all over the island. Price agreement? Regulation? I don't know.
Return at the airport was somewhat unusual. You park the car in the respective parking lot, hand the key to the agent there and walk over to the counter in the airport terminal. They are calling the agent or were already called by them to let them know about the return. I than had to sign one more form to complete the procedure.
With my boarding pass already in hand, I went directly to security. TSApra was signposted, there was no separate line. Staff at security had an eye on who was TSApre and those got a slightly different treatment. The only difference to usual pre-check was to remove the notebook computer from the bag.
After security, I went to the United Club to eat something. One plus side of the Guam United Club: alcoholic drinks are for free at the bar. So I got a G&T.
When I walked to the gate, boarding had already started and groups 1 and 2 were already boarded. So I didn't had to wait in line. My flight for that day was UA 159 to Hong Kong. It was operated by another 737-800.
Dinner was served in flight. Options were chicken with rice or noodles with pork, which I had chosen.
Arrival was at 9:43 and ahead of schedule. Another first for me on the trip: seeing Lufthansa's A350. And the Finair one as well. We had to be bused to the main terminal, where an efficient immigration took place. I then made it to the 10:30 pm Airport Express.
After I alighted at the first station, I had to solve the riddle of how to get an MRT ticket. This can only paid cash, so I had to find an ATM. When I found one, it only issued HKD 100 bills. Paying with HKD 100 bills is only possible if you want to buy tickets for HKD 80 or more. To get smaller bills, I bought a bottle of water in a nearby Minimart. I then was able to get a HKD 9 ticket. It would be nice, if there was at least some technological progress...
I alighted at Olympic Station and searched and found my way to the Hilton Garden Inn Mongkok. After typing the trip report, I went to bad. One option would have been Victoria Peak at sunrise, but my guess was that I would prefer some sleep. At least if I would sleep long enough. Since the two days ago, it were another 6 time zones.
Some remarks about Guam: I cannot remember seeing a speed limit of more that 45 mph. 25 or 35 mph were the vast majority. So driving felt like driving in slow-motion. On the other hand, road conditions were sometimes poor, so driving faster would not have been possible. And because of all the rain, there were huge puddles covering the roads.
Tourism is completely focused on the majority of tourists. So many things are marked in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, sometimes not even in English. And you see a lot of people from those countries. It is also quite a distance from the US, the direct Honolulu - Guam flight is around 7 hours. From Japan or Korea to Guam it's about 5 hours.
The island itself is green. There are hardly any natural spots where no plant is growing. The green is interrupted by colorful houses. Half of the houses are white, the other half are painted in bright colors. However, the fabric does look dated and to some degree battered. I guess this is the toll nature takes.
I had some bad luck with the weather. I have to return there when the sun is shining, but I guess it will be much more crowded then. This was one of the pluses, there were only few tourists.