JH7WER will be active from Koror Island, Palau 3- 6 December 2014 as T88ER.
He will operate on HF bands plus 6m SSB.
QSL via home call.
Koror Island
Koror island: the gem of Republic of Palau
Koror island is situated at the commercial center of Palau. The area is a group of smaller islands but the biggest area is Koror Island, or formerly known as Oreor island. it has a population of 14,000 in average and as the largest town, the density is packed in the city where almost 11,000 of the people live.
Koror was once the Palau’s capital city but the government replace it with Ngerulmud.
The Koror area was first sighted by the Spanish. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos was an exporer who found the island in 1543. In 1710, the explorers were back to find another 3 islands on missionary expedition with Fransisco Padila as the leader.
The geographical information of Koror Island
With the island being packed among 3 islands, Koror is situated at the center of the population. There are bridges that connect the Ngerekebesang, 2nd largest island with Meyuns as a densely populated city; Malakal Island that houses port of Koror island; and Babeldaob, where the international airport of Palau is settled. These areas are connected by the briges so people would easily travel from one to another destination.
The island’s climate can be high or low at certain months. The highest temperature is from June to November, at around 29 degrees of Celcius. The lowest point is from December to April, with the temperature around 22 degrees of Celcius.
The tourism of Koror island
Palau’s major income of economy comes from the tourism sector. With the Rock Islands being famous for its scuba diving, the facility is packed with tourists from overseas. Also, there are many resorts, bars and cafes to indulge every tourist in the city. The accommodations are modern and with the largest dolphin research facility in the island, people can watch dolphins and swimming near them as they train the animals. Koror is the tourism destination in Palau. Hence, the government makes it easy for developers to build commercial buildings in the area. What’s more, Koror can cater several languages – making the service a top notch thing to experience. The Koror Jail was closed and in 2001, it became the tourist destination. You can witness cells where inmates used to live and even creative inmate made storyboard on their walls.
Getting to Koror Island
The airport is easily reached. Hence, for visitors from international arrival, the airport is at Babeldaob. You need to cross to Koror through Japan-Palau Friendship Bridge. Here, you can take bus or rent a car as there are many car services that provide transport from and to Koror directly from the airport. For taxis, there are additional charge especially when you take a midnight hour trip.
As you finally arrive at Koror, there are ways to explore the island
- Rent car
- Shuttle bus
- Taxi
- Walk
For some of the large resorts, getting anywhere can be done by feet; hence, you will explore a lot of places like shoping and dining centers in the area. There is no need to get into a car. In the airport, there are car terminal desks where you can negotiate your destination and pay the fee. Most of the cars are from Japan with good quality. However, the traffic can be very jammed during busy hours hence the best way is to enjoy the road.
To take taxi, you can ask the hotel’s receptionist to call for you because getting one isn’t easy. Koror’s taxies are metered but most drivers do not apply a fix rate so you have to negotiate the price. It could cost differently depending on where your destination is.
There is also a shuttle service that you can use. It operates from 5 to 10 pm. The shuttle takes you to Palau Royal Resort and Pacific Resort. From here, you can actually walk at the main street and enjoy the nightlife. It takes $7 to hop in the shuttle bus. And the tickets can be purchased at the hotels.
Things to do and see at Koror island
Visit Jellyfish Lake
The Jellyfish is the most popular attraction in Koror. The marine life is a home to golden jellyfish. They are friendly and does not sting. Hence, you can actually dive in the area or snorkel with the Jellyfish. The saturated water lake is a home to million of jellyfish creatures. It is a pretty attractions for the snorkelers. To swim at Jellyfish Lake, you need to book your tour. As the area is well preserved, no divers are allowed. To get to this place, you will pass through wild jungle and uninhabited area.
Visit the dolphins
Koror is a home to the largest Dolphin research facility. Here, you can interact with the dolphins and swim with them. They organize swimming session where you will be swimming in shallow water along with the dolphins. You can watch them closely and see how cute these animals are! You can also learn to dive with the private diving lesson or enjoy a diving tour in the habitat of the marine life. Diving license is a must.
Visit the Coral Reef Center
The Coral Reef center is a research facility and educational destination for children and adults. The area owns big aquarium with species that Pulauan owns. The clean place is mostly for educational purposes. There are turtles and crocs, too.
Visit museums
Belau National Museum has several indoor and outdoor exhibitions that contain Palau History. The Palau crop, relics, and artefacts give you a lot of information about traders and explorers who visited Palau. The area also houses some Palau arts and sometimes it organizes parades and cultural events to commemorate important date like Independence Day.
Etpison Museum has several artefacts dated from the early Micronesia. The eclectic style and antique money are some of the items you will find here. Not to mention, ancient canoes, and sculpture from the past, the collections have vast history and some local marine endangered species like Dugong. You can also see traditional homes.
Video Koror Island Palau
