In Reply to: Re: THE ADVENTURE/NIGHTMARE CONTINUES posted by Kevrumbo on June 17, 2007 at 02:17:37:

My wife and I did it to get to Truk last year. I'd do it a again.

For one, it runs better hours. We traveled during the day and arrived feeling like humans. The guam run has you in airports in the wee hours, or it did when we went.

I think it ends up being about the same duration, but it was during daylight hours. Seeing each island was interesting.

We were on frequent flier tickets, which give you one stop anywhere you want, so we opted for a few extra days in pohnpei on the way home, and it was really wonderful.

You can get off on every island while they unload and load. You must get off at least every other island, as they sweep alternate sides of the plane clean. Or at least they did when we went.

The people on the plane are an interesting mix of worldwide tourists off the beaten path, to missionaries, to some military at kwaj, to locals. Lots of flowers.

It takes a certain attitude to pull off the island hopper. Looked at the wrong way, it's slow and hot. You're forced out of your plane into hot island "terminals" that are basically bus stops. Looked at the right way, i.e., compared to my day job, it was really cool to see all the islands and atolls and people.

The better hours of the flight and the stope in pohnpei made it a no-brainer as the better choice for us.

I can remember that we got to Truk early, in time to spend a day relaxing and snorkeling at the blue lagoon resort. We had a couple of great meals and got on the boat (truk odyssey) after dinner, spread out, unpacked, and put a good dent in the welcome snacks. The whole while rested and not jetlagged.

The rest of the group, who went through guam on the non-stop, arrived at around midnight in the rain, having been on about 21 straight hours of travel direct from lax, looking more dead than alive.

The locals all use igloo coolers for luggage. Baggage claim in honolulu is pretty wild.