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Tours

Welcome!

I have some of the most interesting tour clients! I’ve launched this blog to share their stories–starting with a special group from Annapolis, MD. (You can meet others on the testimonials page and on my Youtube channel) Videos of their adventure are coming soon!
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Categories
Tours

In His Father’s Footsteps

Alan Sonntag’s father participated in the Battle of Saipan. His wife Peggy’s father stormed Utah Beach (Normandy, France) on D-Day. The couple recently visited Saipan on a pilgrimage to have a virtual “Then & Now Father & Child Reunion” with Alan’s father. I had the honor and pleasure of making that wish come true. Read the interview here:

(14 photos are in the slide; click the arrows to view)
https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/in-his-fathers-footsteps-a-battle-of-saipan-veterans-son-pilgrimage/article_332556f0-e1ca-11ee-891c-03f2940e3c00.html

Watch it here:

 

 

As promised in the video, here are the photos Alan Sonntag brought with him to Saipan (Leave a comment telling Alan where a given photograph was taken):

1 below(this looks to be the Grotto) 2 below 3 below 4 below 5 below 6 below 7 below 8 below 9 below 10 below 11 below 12 below 13 below 14 below 15 below 16 below 17 below 18 below 19 below 20 below 21 below 22 below 23 below 24 below 25 below 26 below 27 below 28 below 29 below 30 below 31 below 32 below 33 below 34 below 35 below 36 below 37 below 38 below 39 below 40 below 41 below 42 below 43 below

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Tours

Wunderschön! Germany Discovers Saipan…Again!

In case you didn’t know, the empire of Germany actually had possession of these islands for 15 years from 1899 to 1914, and there is still some of that influence (names, language, etc.) within the local community. Well, “the Germans” have returned! A fun-loving, cool group of folks visiting on the cruise ship MS Artania from out of Hamburg! Join me on a wunderschön (beautiful) day on Saipan:

And, they made it into one of the local papers the next day!

Check out the color photos on the Marianas Variety website!

 

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Tours

Tour Plans Gone Wrong…When Zuiderdam Came to Town

At 7:30am on Mon, Feb 19, as the MS Zuiderdam was docking at the port of Saipan, I arrived at the car rental company and was told that the TWO 15-passenger vans I had reserved over a year ago (and confirmed and re-confirmed every month in between) were now unavailable for me to conduct my “Saipan in a Day” tour for the 20-30 folks who’d been anticipating it for months and who would be disembarking in less than a half hour! Here’s what I did:

 

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Tours

Kuwaiti Tourists Discover Saipan!

I had the unique opportunity to meet, tour and interview with Wesam Behbehani and her sister, Weam, from Kuwait. Wesam, who focuses on off-the-beaten-path destinations, provides vicarious travel enjoyment to her 15,000 mostly Kuwaiti Instagram followers (@rosy_path) who are unable to travel due to prohibitive logistics and/or expense. Here is a short, post-tour interview along with articles/photos in Saipan’s newspapers:

 

MARIANAS VARIETY: https://www.mvariety.com/lifestyle/kuwaiti-tourists-discover-saipan/article_853b7418-cbc4-11ee-9555-c72bd8faff55.html

SAIPAN TRIBUNE:

https://www.saipantribune.com/opinion/columnists/kuwaiti-tourists-discover-saipan/article_14593e98-cbf5-11ee-8e72-eb04e1365a9b.html

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Tours

Boots on Saipan: What’s With Those Big Gray Planes at the Airport?

A new series thanks to encouragement from Youtube channel subscriber, Mikell!

https://youtu.be/mcABn9ymvM4

 

 

Categories
Tours

Tinian Runway Off Limits Soon?

Links to all the referenced articles are in the description of the video below:

 

See the latest update here: https://youtu.be/f25zVyeLBgM

Categories
Thoughts

A World War II Story in Photos (by a previous tour client!)

     One of the coolest aspects of doing these tours on Saipan & Tinian is getting to share these islands with folks interested in a wide range of types of tourism including Atomic Tourism, War Tourism, Ecotourism, Thano Tourism (look it up!), Pacific island culture, historical sites, abandoned buildings and more!

     I’ve been fortunate to hang out with geologists, bird watchers, nuclear physicists, foamers (yep, look it up!), and of course war buffs and authors. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of giving Fred G. Brems a two-day battlefield tour of Saipan and going in search of Hara-Kiri Gulch. (Fred gifted me the topographic map and Campaign in the Marianas by Philip A. Crowl he brought with him and that we used in our adventure and that I’ve since used to enhance the detailed nature and accuracy of my tours! Thanks, Fred!) See Fred’s tour below.

     Little did I know at the time that Fred was already several years into an 18-year project chronicling his father’s participation in World War II. We’ve kept in touch over the years and so I’ve had on-going behind-the-scenes access during the writing and development!

     So, it is with great pride that I announce that Fred’s almost two-decade project and ode to his WWII veteran father has been picked up and published by Stackpole Books! (See press release & below)

     Knights of Freedom With the Hell on Wheels Armored Division in World War II, A Story in Photos by Lt. Col. Frederick C. Brems USAR (RET) With Fred G. Brems was released worldwide on January 16th, 2024! Check it out and order on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RXQ2iy

 

 

 

Categories
Thoughts

Escape before things fall apart

THINGS FALL APART
“One of the more fascinating phenomena to observe in modern society is that of people with limited life experience, inadequate vocabulary and delusional thinking attempting to understand, navigate and explain reality to themselves and others.”Walt F.J. Goodridge

When people who don’t know how the world works
start to work in the world,
the world no longer works as it should

When people who don’t know why policies are enacted
start to enact policy,
ideology steers policy

When people who don’t understand why laws are made
start to make laws,
laws become toothless

When people who don’t know how jobs function
are hired to function in jobs,
incompetence abounds

When people who don’t understand the natural order
try to re-order what’s natural,
feelings replace facts

When people who’ve never been held accountable
face ethical decisions,
ethics are abandoned

When people who’ve failed based on merit
are allowed to advance,
self-entitlement soars

When people who can’t define the words they use
speak from positions of influence,
words lose their meaning

When people who prioritize opinions over facts
are given control,
opinions become reality

When systems that prioritize quotas over quality
are placed in operation,
systems implode

When people who don’t respect others’ individual authority
are given authority over others,
authority becomes authoritarianism

When people who never learned how a society advances
advance in society,
society regresses

When people of limited life experience and intelligence
rise to positions of governance,
Idiocracy ensues

In other words…
When people who don’t know how things work
start to work on things
…things fall apart

 

 

Categories
Relocation Q&A

Considering relocating to Saipan? Here’s your one stop shop

“re: relocating…..could you direct me to how would I find out more about that?…If there is a website that would be a one-stop-shopping for this kind of information (a “SO YOU WANT TO LIVE ON SAIPAN” sort of site), that would work perfectly.”—recent email

That’s typical of the inquiries I’ve received over the past 10plus years. And, it just so happens I do know of such a resource! So, just in case you or someone you know are considering relocating to Saipan, CNMI and have questions:

(a) I have a Saipan Living Relocation Guide and a companion website at https://www.saipanliving.com that answers questions about cost of living, health care, entry requirements, taxes, lifestyle and more! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XDCxH9

(b) I have growing series of “Saipan Living” as well as “Relocation Q&A” videos on the DiscoverSaipan Youtube channel! Here are some recent topics:

 

Categories
Streets of Saipan

Streets of Saipan: Kagman Fire Station #5 to Joeten

Everybody on board! Featuring

“Ngang upwe Fen Ekkepen”
by Tboi featuring Honeyboii, an artist from
Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

Check out: https://soundcloud.com/braddah-tboi