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IamBabo
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
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 Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:34 pm Post subject: Guam |
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Hello,
Anybody been? Opinions?
Thanks! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:20 am Post subject: Re: Guam |
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| IamBabo wrote: |
Hello,
Anybody been? Opinions?
Thanks! |
If you are American, it is a little slice of home (albeit tropical).
If you are not, it is a little slice of America.
. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| I'm American and I hated it. I can appreciate the little slice of home, but it's an awfully little slice at awfully high prices. It is refreshing in a sense, and the people, in my experience, are ridiculously nice, particularly if you're a white dude who happens to not be military. That said, I would strongly advise against it for a beach vacation unless you have some aversion to Asia. |
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jdsolo
Joined: 25 Jan 2011
Location: Hell
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| Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:57 am Post subject: |
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If you're planning to spend your precious little 10 days of vacation there, don't do it. But if you've done Asia to death, then it's not too bad.
It's America so it's going to have American prices.
side note: I grew up there |
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IamBabo
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 6:41 pm Post subject: Guam |
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Thanks for the replies. Besides the prices, could you be more specific why you wouldn't recommend it? I would appreciate more detail.
Thanks again! |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:05 pm Post subject: Re: Guam |
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| IamBabo wrote: |
Thanks for the replies. Besides the prices, could you be more specific why you wouldn't recommend it? I would appreciate more detail.
Thanks again! |
There's really not much there. The beaches are nice, but it's really built around Koreans and Japanese staying at resorts and shopping. If that's what you want to do all day, then go for it, but personally I'd get ridiculously bored after two or three days. There isn't even much of a food scene, from what I could tell. While it strikes me as a place that could be kind of cool to live, it offers less personality than even the most built up Southeast Asian island. That said, if you really want to feel like you're not really in Asia for a bit, it might be worth it. Even so, you'll likely still feel like you're in Asia, considering that the vast, vast majority of tourists there are going to be Japanese and Korean. |
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jdsolo
Joined: 25 Jan 2011
Location: Hell
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| Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:57 pm Post subject: Re: Guam |
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| northway wrote: |
| IamBabo wrote: |
Thanks for the replies. Besides the prices, could you be more specific why you wouldn't recommend it? I would appreciate more detail.
Thanks again! |
There's really not much there. The beaches are nice, but it's really built around Koreans and Japanese staying at resorts and shopping. If that's what you want to do all day, then go for it, but personally I'd get ridiculously bored after two or three days. There isn't even much of a food scene, from what I could tell. While it strikes me as a place that could be kind of cool to live, it offers less personality than even the most built up Southeast Asian island. That said, if you really want to feel like you're not really in Asia for a bit, it might be worth it. Even so, you'll likely still feel like you're in Asia, considering that the vast, vast majority of tourists there are going to be Japanese and Korean. |
Regarding the food issue, you just didn't know where to go. I think that's one of the major issues for Guam. The tourists simply don't know where the good places are. They all follow these pre-determined trails and "hotspots" that are made to make money. Plus the locals really go out of their way to try and hide the gems in order to keep it local. I guess they don't want too many people crowding their hideaways..
I think they have some really great food there. If you go, let me know and I'll recommmend some must-go places.
As for things to do, northway is right. Shopping is geared towards Japanese and Korean tourists. But if you like surf/beach clothing, than you'll find some good shops.
Diving is pretty fun there. They have some pretty cool dive sites. You'll be able to see crashed Japanese WW2 fighters and sunken German/Japanese warships from WW1 and WW2. The marine life isn't the Great Barrier Reef but there's still plenty of fish, both large and small, depending on where you go.
There are some good hiking spots too. But they are kind of hard to find.
Guam isn't that bad of a place to visit, if you have the money. But personally, I'd rather explore SE Asia. |
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warmachinenkorea
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| Guam is a little expensive. You could try to couch surf and the cut down on the price. Avis rent-a car has a package for a room and car that runs about $130 a day. PM me with questions and I'll answer from a tourist's perspective. My wife, a friend, and I just got back from Palau which you might wanna consider too. |
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West Coast Tatterdemalion
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:58 am Post subject: |
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C'mon, guys, it's a US territory. Did you really expect SE Asia prices? No, you get US prices, which means that Guam isn't for the cheap. I loved Guam. I had a really good time there. The EXPENSIVE shopping is geared towards the Japanese, and to a lesser extent, Koreans because they are foolish enough to overpay for everything. But the shopping for the rest of us is nice. I loved the K-mart there. Stocked up on a number of US amenties. Nice supermarkets with US style selection. Plus, Micronesia Mall is a super cool place. That said...
if I had a choice, yeah, SE Asia all the way. More bang for your buck there. But like one poster said, if you've got the money, then Guam is your huckleberry. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:00 am Post subject: |
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| Excellent wreck diving in Guam. Beach is pretty decent. If you like wreck diving, go there. If you don't dive, there are many better beaches and party hot spots to go to in Asia. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 3:21 am Post subject: Re: Guam |
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| northway wrote: |
| The beaches are nice, but it's really built around Koreans and Japanese staying at resorts and shopping. If that's what you want to do all day, then go for it, but personally I'd get ridiculously bored after two or three days. |
Do they contribute much to a 'beach culture'? Or are they generally shy of becoming 'tan'? |
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IamBabo
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:01 am Post subject: Guam |
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jdsolo,
Any food recommendations are welcome. When I checked Tripadvisor, a lot of the reviews are in Japanese! Help!
Thanks for all the opinions! |
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warmachinenkorea
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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For eats:
Jamaican Grill
The Chamorro village food stalls or Wednesday night @ the Chamorro village.
The Mermaid Tavern
We also liked the California Pizza Kitchen. |
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jdsolo
Joined: 25 Jan 2011
Location: Hell
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:44 am Post subject: |
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No, you'll see the tourists on the beach. If you walk along Tumon Bay, you'll see a lot of Japanese girls in bikinis 
Jamaican Grill is good (get a side of finadeni and put it on the red rice)
Capriciosa
Fuji Ichiban
Kings (if you wanna try the local flavor; finadeni on anything is good)
Taiyro (has some cheap but not too bad sushi)
Genji's (great Japanese teppanyaki place but a little pricey. located at the Hilton)
Jeff's Pirate Cove (middle of nowhere but worth it)
just to name a few. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:09 pm Post subject: Re: Guam |
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| jdsolo wrote: |
| Regarding the food issue, you just didn't know where to go. I think that's one of the major issues for Guam. The tourists simply don't know where the good places are. They all follow these pre-determined trails and "hotspots" that are made to make money. Plus the locals really go out of their way to try and hide the gems in order to keep it local. I guess they don't want too many people crowding their hideaways.. |
Yeah, I was traveling solo for a couple days and asking locals where to get good food, local food specifically, and got sent to some godawful restaurants. I could see the potential in the food, but it was just low quality. I'm not surprised by the fact that there's good food there, but I didn't find any. |
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