Travel - Guam (Part 5/5)

Two Lover's Point is one of the key attractions in Guam located on a cliff-side overlooking both the Tumon Bay and Philippine Sea. Stunning view and on a quiet afternoon, the sound of the  crushing waves somewhat created a sense of peacefulness, filled the air with joy and ... love? The story or the legend of Two Lovers Point (Puntan Dos Amantes) goes something like this according to its website: "The lovers tied their long black hair into a single knot. And acting as if they were entirely alone, they looked deeply into each other's eyes and kissed for the final time. Then they leaped over the long, deep cliff into the roaring waters below." Is it just me or I find the idea a bit ... daunting or perhaps not so romantic? The idea of the knot and jumping off a cliff is not really a modern definition of romance right? Then again, during a different period, the ways to express true love differ quite significantly across different cultures, what we considered a common practice may not apply to two lovers across the pacific, we must respect each of their ways of cultural expression and most importantly is the fact that what's common among cultures is the underlying concept of love and affection between two lovers, that's universal in my opinion. (I may be a bit off topic here but the same theory applies to food such as soup which many cultures have it as part of their culinary history even when there were no contact between them across continents. What about the concept of spirits, ghosts?) In any case, Two Lover's Point in Guam represent true love and is worth a visit not just for the view but for what it represents.

Travel - Guam (Part 4/5)

The people in Guam seem to be enjoying themselves most of the time, enjoying the abundance of sunshine, the heat (some prefer the heat), the friendliness among neighbors, the frequent festivals, and of course the food. After a few days of staying here in Guam, I am quite used to the heat already, I embraced the heat and humidity because there was not point fighting against it, you will sweat anyhow. Arriving at the Agat Mango Festival with that mentality was proven wise! The American flag I saw flying around was a good reminder that I was actually in the land of the USA because with the humidity and large amount of Japanese tourists in town all the time, it was hard to think otherwise.

Travel - Guam (Part 3/5)

The Maila Ta Fan Boka (Come, Let's Eat) started on a high note, as in the top floor of Hotel Nikko Guam. It was nothing overly formal, a brief introduction by the organizer and a breakfast session overlooking Guam's Tumon Bay. To my surprise, there were over 50 bloggers and representatives from various Asian countries attending this event, namely, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Philippines. For once, I feel very comfortable tweeting on the go because most people here are doing the same! We were encouraged to tweet, post or even blog on the go with the mobile devices provided. I think Hong Kong should try something like that both for the tourism and the promotion of digital media for what it is worth. I know it is kind of risky to bring out the topic of social / digital media but however you like to define it, it remains an area of growth and one that more people and businesses are trying to understand for its full potential. Anyhow, after breakfast, our first stop was a mango farm!

Travel - Guam (Part 2/5)

As mentioned, Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is part of the USA only differ by the fact that the "state / territory" has no voting rights. With almost 40K US troops stationed there, the Guam government received an annual compensation or so-called rent for that part of the land within the island accordingly to my sources. That is a fairly large sum of money for an island of this size and population, so in other words, I say Guam is quite rich! It does make one wonders why the USA want to keep this island under its control repeatedly over the past century or so. Time for some history? Like it or not, I am going to talk about it for a bit before going into details of my trip which include tons of food 24/7 and a few exciting activities such as flying a plane and other water sports. Of course it is a given to be able to see clear blue sky and fluffy clouds almost every single morning!

Travel - Guam (Part 1/5)

Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean accordingly to wiki. It has a population of around 180K, about 40K are US troops and approximately 30K Japanese are living here based on my little research. I started with such facts because I do find it quite interesting to see such large population of Japanese living here in Guam. With a monthly average 28K - 30K Japanese tourists visiting Guam, I guess that explains why. The chance is you will see a lot of Japanese tourists at any given moment, Japanese signs are everywhere even in Kmart, public transportation, menus, billboards, fire exit signs and most staff at tourist destinations (both local and perhaps Japanese-Americans) speak fluent Japanese. Come to think of it, NTT DoCoMo Pacific has a branch here in Guam! (beyond excellent mobile 3G reception and great pre-paid mobile data plan by the way) In terms of population density, I am quite certain Guam has more Japanese restaurants than in Hong Kong! Most tourists leaflets are default in Japanese!! I certainly did not expect such a scene prior to my arrival but after just a few days, I started to have the feeling that I am actually in a small city in Japan rather than in Guam, USA! Just in case you are wondering, a lot of the businesses here are also run by Japanese businessmen.

Salt and Peper anyone? (Guam)

Yes, it is quite a random post I have to admit but it is a rather significant post, a post of great importance in my opinion. I have been writing a lot of posts on restaurant reviews but in additions to that I do have many rants piled up to be released regarding food and how we treat, value and respect food we often take for granted. I have been doing quite a bit travel over the past 12 months and most involve taking the plane. While I have a lot to say about plane food, both good and bad of course, that would be for another dedicated post. But just to show you the following iPhone picture I took on my way to Guam simply because I want to express the attached comment and what I learned from the meal.