Unexpected building and a Paradise on Earth

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Let me explain the title. What was unexpected was finding this huge, brand new, pseudo-classical building up on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere on the main island of Koror in Palau. This is the new government building, which has been designed so inefficiently from an energy view point that it is costing the government tens of thousands of US dollars a month to maintain! That's money they don't have...nevermind...you can't tell people how to spend their country's money... Enjoy the photos...

What was pretty close to a paradise on earth was our visit to the Rock islands on the Saturday after all the meetings and work were over. All that big blue, all those very, very green small islands popping up everywhere. And the empty white beaches. Again the photos say it all...it was a perfect end to a week of hard work.

What more can I say about Palau? It really is a beautiful place. Not just the rock islands but all the places I saw. Also the food was amazing! Lots and lots of really good seafood, especially Japanese dishes but also meat. I tried sushimi (raw tuna) for the first time and it was delicious! I'm sure there's more to discover in Palau that I just didn't have time to get around to but what I did see I liked a lot.

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Photos

The Capitol building
Remind you of anything?

Some of the team
There was a whole group of us in Palau for the meeting, here are the people who made the trip to the Capitol

Me!
And here's a photo of me - with a nice view in the background. Palau really is a beautiful place, even if it does take 2 days and 4 flights to get there!

Seafront
This is the dock where we got on our little boat to go out to the Rock Islands

Paradise?
Blue sea and little islands popping up all around - it was beautiful

Somewhere to rest
This where we stopped for a swim, a bbq lunch and in my case lots of sleeping on the beach. Lovely.

Blue, Green and White
I could have taken hundreds of photos like this one...but they still wouldn't have done the place justice

View from the hotel
Nice view - and some lovely sunsets

Comments

[Bims Ajadi]

Hello stranger !!
Chick ! The islands looks awsesome ! Im still incredibly jealous. Twas great to see you albeit briefly back in the Rhoda ( or the "Roger" as Emma calls it !) last week. Hope all is cool where you are, probably fast asleep as we speak. Whats new here in Basingrad...? I still look past your desk almost every time I walk past your office, just in case you're in there and I forgot ( I need to get a life clearly !). I just got back from Venice which was very beautiful but feel like a beach whale and trying to shed the pounds. I ate a lot of crossaint. And I mean a lot. I'm still running and might possibly have a new recruit in the shape of Claire. I know !! The gang and I are going to see 300 tonight and Lee( Pirata) is incredibly excited even more than normal : ) Who am i going to talk to loudly now you arent here any longer ?! Anyway, keep in touch and keep the blog going. Hope youre settling in fine and getting some rest !! Juicy Fruit