Saipan Bound
May 24, 2004
Out of the blue, the woman’s mother decided to treat us to a trip to Saipan! For you geographically challenged, Saipan is part of a chain of islands located in the western Pacific Ocean. On a map, it’s directly north of New Guinea (or Australia, if you’re really geographically challenged… you do know where Oz is right?).
I’ve never really had a yearning to visit tropical islands featuring beautiful beaches, luxurious hotels, and water as clear as a morning dew on a summer morning (where the hell did that simile come from?), but if the trip’s free, count me in! The three of us will be leaving June 11th and be coming back on the 14th. A quickie trip it’s true but given the size of Saipan; “The island is about 20 km long and 9 km wide” (source); 3 days is plenty.
For this, my first holiday outside of Japan, I’m planning to tote my precious camera, swimming trunks, sandals, sunglasses, and my pale, oily skin to the exotic looking beaches. The woman wants to go diving but I hate swimming for some reason. I’m reluctant to even enter baths.
A rather interesting place in Saipan is Suicide Cliff. “This is the infamous cliff where many Japanese civilians jumped to their deaths as the American forces advanced” (source). I don’t know if we’ll be heading there but judging from the size of the island, I bet I can just stroll over from our hotel and snap a few pictures of Japanese soldier ghosts.
Speaking of the hotel – Hotel Nikko Saipan - it’s a 5 star beauty. From the picture, it may possibly the most beautiful hotel I’ll have ever stayed in. I’m also rather dazzled by the pictures offered at this site about the island.
