. OnHiatus.com > Journal 1 > Day Index > Journal Entry: June 5, 2001
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
Hagåtña, Guam
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Hagåtña, Guam:
Latitude: 13° 28' 37" North
Longitude: 144° 45' 13" East
Altitude: 58 feet
From Seattle: 6110 miles
Lodging: Hotel - Hamilton Guest House
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Today's Travel:
Country: United States
Region: Guam
Weather: Partial Sun
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Trip Stats to Date:
Day: 1517
Linear Dist: 282960
Countries Visited: 77
Regions Visited: 292
More stats...
Hotels: 640
Friends / Family: 338
Camping: 133
Hostels: 262
Transit: 100
Other Lodging: 13
Beers: 4662
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Journal Entry:
I ended up being up late last night (a late three hour movie, waiting for a taxi, then writing in my journal) so I slept in. I'd planned on renting a car and doing some shopping in the morning (for dive gear and miscellaneous sundries to take to Pohnpei) and then spend the afternoon driving around the island. Unfortunately it took nearly four hours to get a car. The place that I had planned on using didn't answer the phone. The second place didn't have any cars and the third wouldn't be open early enough in the morning for me to drop it off before my flight. The fourth was a little expensive, but I was sick of dealing with it, so I had it all set up and was waiting for them to pick me up in ten minutes. Forty minutes later they called to tell me they would have to charge me $20 to pick me up - so I cancelled. I tried the first place again and this time got an answer - they were way cheaper, picked me up for free, and would drop me off at the airport tomorrow morning. By the time I got the car it was after two! Drove around doing my miscellaneous shopping, then started looking at dive gear. Three hours later I'd spent a lot of money but had my own kit. I left the shop just in time to watch the sunset - there were some low clouds and the light show was fantastic. I continued around the island but turned around after fifteen minutes - it was too dark to see anything. I was still interested in trying to get another memory stick for my digital camera and Guam is famous for its shopping so I tried the giant gallariea complex complex in Toloum. It was pretty interesting to realize how focused the shopping is here - all the signs are in Japanese and many of the stores employees don't even speak English! It was a failure for me though - they don't even bother trying to sell anything that can be bought in Japan reasonably (i.e. electronics and cameras). I'd been told that ninety percent of the islands tourist are from Japan - now I'm starting to believe it! Every time I've talked to someone living here they ask first if I'm military, second if I'm working, and third if I want a job - they just can't conceive of an American tourist.

I spent a couple more hours - went to K-Mart to buy bag to carry all the new dive gear in, had diner, and picked up a few more sundries (coffee / batteries). Back at the hotel I was predictably up late playing with and reading about all my new toys, and then packing. Since I was up late I took advantage of being back in the US and having cheap phone rates (seven cents a minute!) and called home for the first time in three months. By the time I got to bed I only had three hours until I had to get up!

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