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:
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
A new series thanks to encouragement from Youtube channel subscriber, Mikell!
Links to all the referenced articles are in the description of the video below:
See the latest update here: https://youtu.be/f25zVyeLBgM
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
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
“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:
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
@ApauHawaiiTours asked, “How do locals feel about outsiders moving to Saipan?” I’m not “local,” but here’s my take:
Click watch on Youtube, then the “Notify Me” button so you don’t miss it in your time zone! Relocating? Retiring? Or simply curious about life on Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands? Well, this is your chance to ask me anything about life on Saipan! I’ll be taking your questions live as well as answering questions that have already been asked in the comments section! This will be fun, informative, includes some business ideas for entrepreneurs and might be helpful for someone you know who’s relocating, but can’t make the livestream! Don’t miss it! Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023 at 11:00am Saipan time (ChST: Chamorro Standard Time)
That’s 9:00pm Tues Oct 24 in New York City
6:00pm Tues Oct 24 in California