After putting on my equipment and jumping into the sea, there were sharks swimming under me, and my nerves also tensed up...
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I am sure that the name "Palau" is unfamiliar to many people, after all, it is by far one of the few countries in the world that has not been polluted by industry, so it has the clearest pollution-free sea water in the world and has seven colors;
I'm also sure that everyone who knows Palau longs for it, after all, it is the first of the seven underwater wonders of the world and is known as God's aquarium.
Don't think that you're just going to Palau to see the sea and bask in the sun, Palau has enough novel experiences to keep you from stopping.
I take you, you bring the money
Take a magical trip to Palau
Meet Palau, start with this video
Palau, an island nation in the western Pacific Ocean, is located just 7.3 degrees from the equator. Its total population is about 20,000 people and is divided into sixteen administrative states. Of these, 45 per cent are civil servants, while the rest are engaged in tourism, fishing and other jobs.
Palau, with its rich and unpolluted marine resources, is the ultimate goal for diving enthusiasts around the world.
Palau impressions
For many friends, going to Palau can be difficult because it has not yet established diplomatic relations with China and needs to transfer from South Korea or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to arrive. It should be noted that you do not need a Hong Kong and Macau Permit, you can stay in Hong Kong and Macau for seven days with a passport and a valid ticket from Palau, and the same is true for the return trip. Fly four hours from Hong Kong and Macau to Palau, first to the South China Sea and then eastward through the Philippines, during which you can also enjoy the stunning sunset of the South China Sea and the spectacular night view of Manila.
I flew from Macau to Palau, and when I landed at Koror International Airport, it was 10 p.m., and tommy, who was picked up, was a Taiwanese guy. It was raining lightly, the car window was a little blurry, roads were being built along the way, and workers were being seen holding signs to direct traffic under the faint lights, front GO, north STOP. Tommy told me that there is such a big road in the city, with a speed limit of 40, no public transportation, and no traffic lights.
Palau International Airport
Streets of Palau
Koror, as palau's largest city, has no high-rise buildings and is flanked by two- or three-storey buildings that are seamlessly connected to the surrounding countryside. The city is no more than two kilometres long, and Tommy, who has just entered the city, points to a building on the left and says it is palau's second largest supermarket. I asked, what about the first largest supermarket? He said that the three-story building on the right is Palau's largest supermarket, WCTC, the first floor is snacks and fruits and daily necessities, the second floor is tourist souvenirs and clothes, and the third floor is the Taiwan consulate.
The largest supermarket in Palau
In Palau there are many Taiwanese as tour guides, they call Palau Palau palau, and Paragon Holidays is also a company opened by the Taiwanese boss, very famous in Palau, we stayed in the Paru Hotel, which has its own private beach, yacht marina, entertainment and dining, it is said that the president of Palau often comes here to eat.
Baiyue Hotel
Palau consists of major islands such as Babeldaob, Koror, Peleliu, Angaur, a number of crater islands to the north, and the Rock Islands to the west. Park Hyatt Hotel is located on Koh Koro, and almost all of Palau's well-known attractions, such as Jellyfish Lake, Grand Fault, Milk Lake, as well as world-class diving sites such as Blue Horn, Blue Cave, German Waterway, etc., are located in this Rock Islands, which gathers about 426 small islands, whether you want to snorkel, free dive, dive, sea fishing or enjoy natural SPA, you can play cool and not get tired!
Sea Fishing If you are not careful, you will become a god angler
In Palau, which is rich in marine resources, the way of sea fishing is simply simple and rough. There is a Palau-style sea fishing method called "hand coil deep bottom straight fishing", which is to use a roll of fishing line, fishing hooks, lead hammers, bait (cut squid) to easily catch a table of fresh fish.
In this way, some people have caught blacktails, some people have caught groupers, and Aben will tell everyone that April to July is the breeding season for groupers every year, although it is also their most fat season, but in order for this species to reproduce smoothly, Palau law prohibits hunting, and if caught by the coast guard, it will be severely punished. In the end, I came out on top with three flower-tailed blacktails, and these sea fish were sashimi at noon and became our meal. Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't particularly like seafood, there is a chef from northeast China on the island, who has been here for more than ten years, so you will eat authentic Chinese food on the island.
Listening to Aben say that some tourists have caught sharks before, as soon as the voice fell, Jasmin from Shanghai shouted that he didn't know what he had caught, and felt so heavy. So the experienced Captain Palau helped to pull, and when the big monster appeared on the water, everyone was stunned, it turned out to be a huge big turtle - tortoiseshell. Overfishing has made hawksbill turtles endangered and almost extinct off the coast of China. So curious, we released it into the sea after some shooting.
The pleasure of fishing in Palau is not only about the number of people, the important thing is that you don't know what you will catch in the next moment, so the curiosity full of unknowns is the real fun of sea fishing.
Diving, a paradise for diving enthusiasts all over the world
The dry season in Palau is from November to April of the following year, and the climate is pleasant. It's a paradise for every diver, where you can dance with a unique golden jellyfish, admire vast expanses of magnificent coral reefs, dive into large faults to admire the wonders of the seafloor structures, and experience the wonders of swam past you in schools of small fish. Palau is small in size, but every inch exudes the flair and charm of a tropical island nation.
Palau has many dive sites, diverse biodiversity, superior water quality and excellent visibility. The most frequent and must-go dive sites are mainly blue horns, blue holes, German waterways, because of the terrain here, the currents, often gather a large number of fish, coral is also very rich and healthy. In addition, there are many remnants of World War II in Palau, and diving can also visit whittled boats and planes.
Palau was the first place in the United Nations to establish a "shark sanctuary", so there are more sharks here than people, which can be bigger than the addiction of a human shark dancing together.
Dance with sharks
After the first day out of the sea, we arrived at an uninhabited island called Ngermeaus, which was where we had lunch, and there were many sharks on the sea floor tens of meters in front of the beach, and sometimes they would swim to the nearshore shoals, and the entire dorsal fin could be clearly seen exposed. Knowing that you can dance with sharks here was a little timid at first.
After putting on my gear and jumping into the sea, there were sharks swimming under me, from a few to dozens, and their images were exactly the same as what I saw in the movie, but they were a little smaller. At this time, it is inevitable to fantasize about some terrible pictures, the nerves are also tense, the whole body is tense, and goosebumps are out. But at this time, you must not panic, as long as you hold your breath and float on the surface of the water to watch quietly.
The sharks here are called black-winged sharks, and they feed mostly on fish, so we're not at all what they like. Many people think that those attached to the big sharks are small sharks, in fact, wrong, the kind of fish called bass, is a parasitic fish that specializes in grabbing a ride, they are very lazy, so they use the suction cups on their heads to attach to the fish that are larger than them, because they will not swim effortlessly, but also can grab the leftover food of the host, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Although this shark does not take the initiative to attack humans, it is still advised not to chase and touch, after all, it is a wild fish, and the animal nature is not certain.
Meet a Japanese World War II shipwreck at the bottom of the sea
During World War II, Palau was one of the Pacific theaters, when the United States and Japan suffered heavy casualties and many battleships and military aircraft were sunk to the bottom of the sea. These wreckage seem to have been frozen by time on the bottom of the sea, and 73 years have been lying here quietly, becoming a man-made paradise for corals and fish.
Most of the battleships and military aircraft were sunk in the deep sea, and there was no chance to see it if they did not dive deeply. In a calm bay, there lies a sunken Japanese iron-hulled transport ship, located on the sand at a depth of only five or six meters. It is said that it just wanted to hide in this bay to avoid the bombing of the Us army, and finally it was found and sunk, and the appearance of the entire ship from the bow, cabin, and even the propeller at the tail end is still quite intact, and it can reach the engine compartment along the deck. There are no corals here, only a lot of fish gathering.
Giant dried shell shells as big as bathtubs
In Palau you'll also have the chance to see the world's largest shellfish, the giant shellfish, which can grow up to 120-180 cm in size and weigh more than 100 kilograms. There are a total of nine different species of shellfish in the world, seven can be found in Palau, there is a sea in the Rock Islands, and in the shallow sea is covered with this super large and rare shellfish, called the giant dry shellfish city.
Big fault, shocking "sea fish storm"
The Great Fault is an underwater cliff with a height difference of hundreds of meters, floating in the bottomless ocean, where the whole person is like suspended on a cliff, and it is inevitable to feel fear. The most shocking thing is that there are often "sea fish storms", and flocks of fish come to you like a storm. It's a colorful and lively dive site and a paradise for photography enthusiasts.
Five elephants in the hard coral area and see the magnificent ocean roses
When you see the bottom of the sea full of "roses" and are in the secret garden under the sea, you can feel how beautiful it is.
The hard coral area is dotted with all kinds of hard corals, like a blooming rose, but unfortunately it has been damaged by the influence of the Eldony phenomenon, and it is almost impossible to see the presence of such giant corals in most of the tourist attractions that are open for snorkeling.
Soft coral, the colorful water world in the cave
Milk bath, enjoy a natural spa in the sea
When you come to Palau, you must go to Milk Lake for a milk bath.
Milk Lake is a natural lagoon hidden in the waters northeast of the Rock Islands. Because of the large amount of snow white soft mud underneath it, under the sunlight, the color of the sea water looks as milky white as milk, so it is called Milk Lake, while foreigners call it the Milky Way Waterway.
Here everyone lifts the bucket of milk slurry up and touches it on the body, except around the eyes, other parts must be wiped, and after wiping, the whole person is "unrecognizable". How effective are these milk purees? It is said that women can paint it to nourish the face, and men can wipe it more to strengthen the muscles and bones, whether you believe it or not, anyway, I believe it.
After millions of years of precipitation, a thick layer of natural minerals has finally accumulated, so you should understand how precious these milk purees are.
The waterways of Germany, Palau's most characteristic seven-colored sea
German waterway is the beginning of the twentieth century, developed by the Germans a total length of about two hundred meters of artificial waterways, because the southern end of the Rock Islands is a large atoll, whenever the low tide shallow reef will surface, at this time must take a detour, causing inconvenience of traffic, at that time in the German rule, in order to facilitate ships to and from the southern end of the Ingres Island transport phosphate ore, was excavated a waterway, so it is called the German waterway, Occasionally, when the water level is low, visitors may also have the opportunity to see manta rays with wings spread wider than a ship in the waterway.
The potential Palau challenges are endless
The trip to Palau was the most memorable trip I took at the beginning of 2017, as it was here that I realized many firsts in my life.
The first time fishing, the first time dancing with sharks, the first time I saw "the world's top ten most disgusting delicacies" Palau bat soup, although I didn't have the courage to try it;
The first deep diving experience, carrying an oxygen tank under the water at a depth of five meters, greeted the fear of being swallowed up by the sea. Although I was eventually forced to give up due to physical reasons, being able to meet a new self also gave me more motivation to move forward.
In fact, life is not like this ocean full of unknowns, give yourself the courage to explore the unknown, give yourself the courage to accept challenges, life has so much poetry and distance.
Travel Tips:
1, come to Palau is to record their precious play moments, camera, camera must remember to bring, it is best to prepare a camera underwater shooting, because the world in the sea is more wonderful.
2, sunscreen is indispensable, Palau ultraviolet rays are super strong, especially on cloudy days, everyone will take it lightly, and if you don't pay attention, you will be sunburned, so sunscreen supplies must be brought, such as sunhats, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.
3, in addition to the application is the focus, according to my experience, because of the long time snorkeling, so the back of the body sun protection is more important.
There is also sunscreen will cause pollution to the ocean, you will see a lot of bleached coral, is because the sunscreen dissolved into the sea caused, so it is recommended that you use olive oil or coconut oil.
4, pay attention to keep warm, because in Palau you will continue to go into the water, so the body, hair is always in a wet state, take the boat blowing wind is easy to catch a cold, so go to sea to bring more clothes.
5, pay attention to environmental protection, Palau is a very environmental awareness of the country, the garbage generated by going to sea must be packed in plastic bags to take away, do not discard it on the beach or in the sea.
6, Baidu will not tell you a problem, enjoy the natural toilet without doors. Many people are worried about going to sea and what if they want to go to the bathroom? Haha, in addition to the island has a toilet, it will generally be solved in the sea. However, remember that when you want to go on, you will quietly swim to the side, do not let others find out, or it will not be very embarrassing.
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If every trip is a chapter, life is already a pleasing book. ——@Streetlight Photography
Member of China Photographers Association Founder of Shijiazhuang Street Lamp Photography Studio
Sina Weibo signed a contract with self-media
Several travel websites have signed up as experience engineer columnists
Outstanding Photographer of tourism authority of Thailand in 2016
Author of "Walking All Over China - Shandong Volume" by CHINA TRAVEL Publishing House
Hebei Radio and Television Station "Leyou Hebei" special guest traveler
Southern Satellite TV "Trend Holiday" special guest traveler