Rota is a great place to chill out, MV 16

Seasoned travelers often cite a lack of other travelers as the standard of purity and desirability in a location. So talk like "Bali was great before all the tourists arrived" becomes typical travel boilerplate. If people really mean it when they cite unspoiled as a draw, then they'd do well to spend time in tranquil Rota as I recently did.
Rota felt calm and relaxing from a Saipan resident's chilled out mindset. For someone from Tokyo or Seoul, it must be an oasis of uniminaginable peacefulness. I've lived, worked or traveled in those bustling cities and firmly believe those overworked people would relish the opportunity to be somewhere without any pollution or traffic lights, and more importantly, few people and beaches all to themselves. To get to the East Coast Korean beaches from Seoul in summer involves hours of traffic to get to a wildly crowded beach where you have enough room to lay out and relax if you fit on a book of postage stamps. Korean beaches in high season are about as comfortable as a intercontinental flight in coach between two flatulent Sumo wrestlers. To our core travel market, Rota should feel like a VIP pass to the Playboy Mansion, not the 200 meter crawl over glass shards they’re used to undergoing in order to cool off and relax.

My friends and I pretty much had the whole Coconut Village to ourselves, which was a clean, nice and reasonably priced lodging site near the Rota swimming hole where I took a late night swim and saw a small meteor shower over a night sky that redefined spectacular.

My primary draw to Rota was the clear, pristine underwater environment, so I hauled my dive gear over and did a few dives and saw what sure looked like the world's largest moray eel. The Rota Hole, the best of the four dives, offered a spectacular backdrop of light and dark through underwater cracks in the earth. The reefs appeared healthy and lightly taxed given the small population and the water warm with its famous visibility indeed a reality. As a diving location, Rota offers three wrecks, as well as walls, drift dives and the aforementioned Rota Hole. If nearby Rota doesn't get some spillover from the lousy yet burgeoning Guam diving market, as well as general Guam tourism, there is a major marketing and advertising debacle going on in a place that seems to be extremely poorly marketed. The recently passed Rota Casino Initiative hopefully won't harm Rota’s prime virtue -- its calmness.

Sandra Atalig, an administrative specialist at the Rota branch of Marianas Visitors Administration, said that island serenity is still the main lure to the island. "We want to promote the tranquility. We want people to enjoy the relaxation. It's about coming here and just relaxing. Tourists are really into exploring the beach side and the friendliness of the people, as well as the peacefulness and lack of traffic. Tourists are not worried about being robbed -- they feel safe." Atalig noted that arrivals have been up slightly of late with the Rota fiesta and triathlon. However, it is hard not to notice that business in Rota is suffering terribly. Abandoned houses and businesses are prevalent. Downtown Songsong makes the Paseo de Marianas look like a Hong Kong shopping district.

I made one other trip to Rota a few years ago when the Attorney General's Cup was held there, and thought the place had a distinct cultural feel to it. All the public events were conducted in both Chamorro and English, which makes the place feel a lot different from Saipan. Rota probably isn't going to attract bacchanalian twentysomethings, but for older travelers who want a place to relax, read, swim, fish, golf and explore the underwater world, Rota is a wonder.

After sitting idle for nearly 18 years, the revolving 360 Restaurant at the Marianas Business Plaza is now operational. I visited Friday night and thought it pretty good. They are also now open for lunch. Associate Manager Rick Jones said the restaurant has gotten good support so far and jogged the memories of patrons who remember going there in the 80s. Jones described the food as "American style with an international flair" and said the investors thought it was a unique business opportunity, noting the 360 Saipan panorama offered to diners. "The view during the day is fantastic. At night you don't see the ocean, but the atmosphere is stylish,” Jones said.

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This column, not necessarily this blog, will go on Christmas break for two weeks. I wish all my readers Happy Holidays.

Jeffrey C. Turbitt is the language arts department chairman at Saipan Southern High School, as well as an avid scuba diver and traveler. He offers more thoughts in his blog Hypercritical Thought at: www.turbittj.blogspot.com/ He welcomes feedback, tips and story ideas at turbittj@yahoo.com. His column appears regularly on Wednesdays.

Advice for tourists in Saipan

I came to Saipan on a scuba diving vacation from Korea. I decided to move here on that trip. Saipan is great for a short vacation because once you are here, you are on the beach. If you go to Phuket or Koh Samui or Boracay you need to connect there from Bangkok or Manila. This fact makes Saipan more convenient. Saipan isn't as culturally fascinating as Bali or Thailand, and the beach isn't as nice as Boracay, and it isn't as cheap as any of the three, but it does have history, scenic views, good food, great golf courses, and one World Class dive, and many other good dives -- all with warm water and great visibility. If shopping is your thing, this isn't really the place. The DFS in Garapan has some high end stores, but shopping isn't our strong point. Golf, scuba, history and general relaxation are our things.

I'm going to offer a few tips for our Japanese tourists especially. This isn't designed to be everything, but I live here, and I think I know what is good, and what to look out for, see below.

Things to do:

Visit both CNMI Museums. The Museum in the Park is all about the Battle of Saipan in World War II. It is very well done and brand new with Japanese translations and all sorts of accounts of Saipan in WWII. The CNMI museum on Middle Road is all about Marianas history, and it is fascinating. Especially interesting is the exhibit on the "Castaways of Anatahan Island." These Japanese soldiers whose ship was sunk nearby and escaped to the island didn't believe the war was over until 1951. They lived there off the island and spent time mostly killing each other over the one woman on the island. Read and see everything about it at the CNMI museum.

Dinner Cruise is very nice. I've been on the Jade Lady a few times. This is a very nice evening.

Play Golf at King Fischer or Lau Lau Bay Golf Course. I'm not a golf expert, but I think these are the two nicest courses.

Dive the Grotto and snorkel at Managaha Island. The Grotto is an amazing, amazing place, but respect it, go with someone who knows the area, and be careful crossing over onto the rock. The snorkeling is great, but you might even try camping out at Managaha. Look up at the sky at night, you can see all the stars out here. This is very different from Japan and other places in the region. No place I've been has a sky like Saipan.

Eat at Casa Urashima and Giovanni's at the Hyatt. These are the two best restauarants without a close second. On the subject of food, eat at a place called Spicy Thai Noodle House and the Taste of India. Neither restaurant is in Garapan, so you'll have to leave the tourist area.

Stay at the Hyatt. This is the nicest hotel on island.

Visit the top of Mt. Topachao at sunset.

Visit the Mandi Spa at Mariana Resort. This is a beautiful Balinese Spa with many Japanese customers. I love this place. There is also a go cart track here. There is a horse trail ride here, but that trail ride stinks. There is also a company that offers trekking and biking to various spots. One of the best places is called Forbidden Island. This place can be dangerous also, so it is wise to go with someone who knows the area. This is really a place to see, but it is physically taxing. Read my post about it.

Neighboring Rota, a short plane ride, has a very different feel as compared to Saipan. There are no traffic lights, the people are very friendly. The diving is good. The food is not so good. I wrote about this in greater detail as well.

If you like to gamble, go to the Tinian Dynasty and go to the casino there. This is only a short ferry ride away, or a short flight.

Take the kids to the Wave Jungle at World Resort. This is a nice afternoon for kids. It is slippery in certain places there, so watch out for that.

The best beaches are kind of hard to find. Some require a hike through the jungle, and probably a guide.

Ladies, keep wearing those slinky outfits and smile if you see a short, stocky bald man.

If you are obsessed enough to want English lessons or an English tour on your vacation or other Saipan advice, email me at turbittj@yahoo.com

Things not to do:

Saipan is a safe place, but there have been some jerks stealing money from tourists. Do not leave large quantities of cash in your car. Do not leave anything valuable in your car. Leave it at your hotel. Only go out with the money you need. Thievery is fairly common here -- much more than Japan, but just don't leave money or valuables in your car and you won't have a problem.

Don't go out without sunscreen. I've seen some Japanese tourists with some incredible sunburn. The sun here is intense.

If this post was helpful, leave a comment and let me know.