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Around the world with Traveler
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<blockquote data-quote="traveler" data-source="post: 257877" data-attributes="member: 1954"><p><strong>Re: Around the world with Traveller</strong></p><p></p><p>Well, since my wife is catching up on her sleep after an eleven plus hour flight from Auckland, New Zealand to LA, and overnight there (the plane from NZ was late and we missed our connection) and then a six plus hour flight back to Orlando, I will write a bit on American Samoa.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Pago Pago</strong> (pronounced <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode'">/ˈpɑno ˈpɑno/</span> by native Samoan-speakers and sometimes <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode'">/ˈpɑngou ˈpɑgnou/</span> by others). That's a quote from Wikapedia and true. I don't know where the "n's" come from but we were told that Samoans put and "n" in many words that don't show them in writing. This is our second time in American Samoa. The first time we simply explored the capitol city (town) and accessed the internet there. This time, we were determined to do more. For the shoppers out there, this is a very inexpensive place to be. You can buy nice Hawaiian-South Pacific type shirts from the vendors on the pier for $8.00 or so each. I bought a few last time and they are well worth the price. American Samoa is apparently heavily subsidized by the US Government, which accounts for the low prices on goods there. Beautiful flower arrangements of tropical blooms are available from these vendors at the pier too. Average price is about $10.00 but at the end of the day, when the boat is about to leave, you can negotiate. My wife picked up on this skill quickly when we took our first trip to China. There is it is all but mandatory to negotiate for everything one might purchase. She bought a $10.00 arrangement for a paltry $3.00 at days end.</p><p> </p><p>American Samoa is not a particularly good place to swim (few beaches) or snorkel their claim to fame is the magnificent scenery. So, we decided to join the locals on the tiny, brightly colored busses. After watching a few go by the bus stop I noticed there was a sign on each as to their destination. We first picked one with Leona on a cardboard sign in the window. Leona is a town on the west end of the island so we figured we would have a good ride. I believe these busses are privately owned since at times, the driver will pull into his driveway for lunch or just to finish his day or take a break and will direct the remaining passengers to the nearby bus stop to catch the next bus to arrive. All the busses have thinly padded wood seats and a wooden body on what I believe is a pickup truck chassis. Each has Plexiglas windows that can be manually opened and closed and are held in, up and down by an ingenious gravity system. More on their use later. I asked the driver the fare but couldn't make out his answer. I handed him $2.00 and he seemed pleased so we took a seat near the front to watch the scenery and perhaps, take a few photos. After our entry, I found that everyone that got on, paid nothing but left their payment when leaving the bus. There were one hundred or so quarters on a large indent in the dashboard and people just tossed in 50¢ or if they only had a dollar, they tossed that in and took their own change. The bus driver would scoop up the dollars before the wind could take them, putting them in a cash sack attached to the dashboard next to his left side. Very interesting honor system. At that point I knew why the driver was pleased with our double payment, and in advance too. We were the only non-locals on the bus but everyone smiled at us as they entered or left. That's part of the enjoyment of independent travel. The bus followed the road along the shoreline past the flower pot rocks, a small island covered with foliage that actually looks like a big flower pot and guards the Pago Pa go Harbor. All this with the CD player blasting a tune by the Eagles. Guess the driver was a fan. We then went into the hills, inland, passing local homes and the community college with its open sided gymnasium. I guess that's to let the breeze in and keep the rain out. We traveled back to the oceanside and then looped through the town and started back to the capitol city (town). On our return we decided to stop for a drink and shop at the local grocery/everything store. Some of the smaller size sneakers were on a table out front at a mark-down price of $1.00 a pair. Couldn't find any that fit me. We returned to the ship with our goods and for lunch. My wife is up and has breakfast ready so - to be continued...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="traveler, post: 257877, member: 1954"] [b]Re: Around the world with Traveller[/b] Well, since my wife is catching up on her sleep after an eleven plus hour flight from Auckland, New Zealand to LA, and overnight there (the plane from NZ was late and we missed our connection) and then a six plus hour flight back to Orlando, I will write a bit on American Samoa. [B]Pago Pago[/B] (pronounced [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]/ˈpɑno ˈpɑno/[/FONT] by native Samoan-speakers and sometimes [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]/ˈpɑngou ˈpɑgnou/[/FONT] by others). That's a quote from Wikapedia and true. I don't know where the "n's" come from but we were told that Samoans put and "n" in many words that don't show them in writing. This is our second time in American Samoa. The first time we simply explored the capitol city (town) and accessed the internet there. This time, we were determined to do more. For the shoppers out there, this is a very inexpensive place to be. You can buy nice Hawaiian-South Pacific type shirts from the vendors on the pier for $8.00 or so each. I bought a few last time and they are well worth the price. American Samoa is apparently heavily subsidized by the US Government, which accounts for the low prices on goods there. Beautiful flower arrangements of tropical blooms are available from these vendors at the pier too. Average price is about $10.00 but at the end of the day, when the boat is about to leave, you can negotiate. My wife picked up on this skill quickly when we took our first trip to China. There is it is all but mandatory to negotiate for everything one might purchase. She bought a $10.00 arrangement for a paltry $3.00 at days end. American Samoa is not a particularly good place to swim (few beaches) or snorkel their claim to fame is the magnificent scenery. So, we decided to join the locals on the tiny, brightly colored busses. After watching a few go by the bus stop I noticed there was a sign on each as to their destination. We first picked one with Leona on a cardboard sign in the window. Leona is a town on the west end of the island so we figured we would have a good ride. I believe these busses are privately owned since at times, the driver will pull into his driveway for lunch or just to finish his day or take a break and will direct the remaining passengers to the nearby bus stop to catch the next bus to arrive. All the busses have thinly padded wood seats and a wooden body on what I believe is a pickup truck chassis. Each has Plexiglas windows that can be manually opened and closed and are held in, up and down by an ingenious gravity system. More on their use later. I asked the driver the fare but couldn't make out his answer. I handed him $2.00 and he seemed pleased so we took a seat near the front to watch the scenery and perhaps, take a few photos. After our entry, I found that everyone that got on, paid nothing but left their payment when leaving the bus. There were one hundred or so quarters on a large indent in the dashboard and people just tossed in 50¢ or if they only had a dollar, they tossed that in and took their own change. The bus driver would scoop up the dollars before the wind could take them, putting them in a cash sack attached to the dashboard next to his left side. Very interesting honor system. At that point I knew why the driver was pleased with our double payment, and in advance too. We were the only non-locals on the bus but everyone smiled at us as they entered or left. That's part of the enjoyment of independent travel. The bus followed the road along the shoreline past the flower pot rocks, a small island covered with foliage that actually looks like a big flower pot and guards the Pago Pa go Harbor. All this with the CD player blasting a tune by the Eagles. Guess the driver was a fan. We then went into the hills, inland, passing local homes and the community college with its open sided gymnasium. I guess that's to let the breeze in and keep the rain out. We traveled back to the oceanside and then looped through the town and started back to the capitol city (town). On our return we decided to stop for a drink and shop at the local grocery/everything store. Some of the smaller size sneakers were on a table out front at a mark-down price of $1.00 a pair. Couldn't find any that fit me. We returned to the ship with our goods and for lunch. My wife is up and has breakfast ready so - to be continued... [/QUOTE]
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