I wasn't sure where to post this but here goes.
I lived in Chuuk, FSM for 4 months. Chuuk is the new name for Truk Lagoon in Micronesia. I was the operations manager at Truk Stop hotel one of only two resorts on the Island. I lived in a suite in the hotel so I was right there all the time. The hotel is almost in the village and you can easily walk to several stores. Most of the road is not paved or completely broken apart and difficult to navigate by car or on foot after a rain.
The diving was better than I expected in some respects and disappointing in others. There is lots and lots of soft coral on many of the more shallow wrecks and it is spectacular. Night diving and seeing the soft coral almost glow was fun. I was very surprised that many of the wrecks can be done without exceeding 100 feet. There are probably close to 60 wrecks but only about 40 are dived on with any frequency. A few are really deep (below 140 ft) and I refused to dive on them. There was so much so see on the shallower wrecks I didn't see the point.
I'm not really a history buff but this place is just full of history. There are lots of books and even movies that explain the events so I won't I attempt to explain any of that.
Remember these wrecks are pretty old so don't expect pristine conditions. Some are broken apart but many are basically intact. Unfortunately the visibility is a little less than I would have liked. I'd guess it's 50 to 80 feet but remember your general down to 80 feet so it's a bit dark.
The Truk Stop hotel isn't in the greatest condition. I thought it was clean enough in most places but it's not the best you've ever seen. The indoor public restroom in the restaurant was pretty nasty and the outdoor one on the patio was totally unusable. I can't describe how filthy it was and I saw rats coming out of it on more than one occasion. There have a nice ocean front patio at the hotel and a great pier. Unfortunately, the owner rarely if ever cleans up the ocean front area. Lots of bottles and cans float right in front of the place. I actually paid the local school kids next door to clean them up but the hotel owner bit my head off for doing it. He said I should hire family but he never did and he never suggested anyone.
The dive shop has the basics needed but you certainly want to take your own equipment if possible. The dive guides are locals that are extremely good in the water. Most have only basic certification but the hotel attempst to keep a PADI instructor on sight but the turnover has been high. They had 13 people in 3 years. The guy before me left without notice after 3 months and the guy that followed my lasted about 2 months. The new manager seems to like the place and maybe he'll stick it out.
If there aren't a lot of divers the experience is excellent. There are 6 lockers for equipment that easily accomodate 2 or 3 divers each. The boats are great dive boats but they work. The owner likes to cram 8 or more divers on them some time but they are comfortable with 4 to 6. There are rarely more than 8 divers at the resort but I they have booked as many as 14 and that just doesn't work.
The other resort of called Blue Lagoon. It's sits on an end of the island all by itself. It's actually a gated compound. It is also a bit old and worn down but acceptable. I sometimes had a beer on Sunday afternoons on there grounds. It has several hundred feet of ocean front and a park like atmosphere. The setting beats Truk Stop Hotel easily. The place is isolated with no facilities near by. You are at the mercy of the hotel for everything though the prices charged for snacks and beer are about comparable to the Truk Stop. I never ate there but heard the food was pretty good.
The island itself is horrible. It's very dirty with junk cars everywhere. There's a channel in front of the grocery store that is just a giant cess pool. There is trash everywhere. I was told it wasn't particularly safe to walk the streets after dark so I never did. The entire problem with the island is simple. There are NO consequences for anything. The police force is a joke. Medical care is really scary. There is a hospital but many people leave sicker than they were to start with. Until a few months ago, one patient had more than 30 cats that lived with him and roamed the hospital freely. There is a small private clinic that I once visited and they were clean, organized and effective for me. It is right next to the hotel.
Would I recommend Truk Lagoon? Yes as long as you know what you are getting in too. I was never scared during the day and the diving was very good.
I visited Yap on the way home. It's another state in Micronesia and is totally different. It had paved roads and was pretty clean. The people take pride in there heritage there and it showed. If you visit this area of the world stop by Yap or Palua while you are there. (I intend to visit Palau soon)
I'll be glad to answer questions.
I lived in Chuuk, FSM for 4 months. Chuuk is the new name for Truk Lagoon in Micronesia. I was the operations manager at Truk Stop hotel one of only two resorts on the Island. I lived in a suite in the hotel so I was right there all the time. The hotel is almost in the village and you can easily walk to several stores. Most of the road is not paved or completely broken apart and difficult to navigate by car or on foot after a rain.
The diving was better than I expected in some respects and disappointing in others. There is lots and lots of soft coral on many of the more shallow wrecks and it is spectacular. Night diving and seeing the soft coral almost glow was fun. I was very surprised that many of the wrecks can be done without exceeding 100 feet. There are probably close to 60 wrecks but only about 40 are dived on with any frequency. A few are really deep (below 140 ft) and I refused to dive on them. There was so much so see on the shallower wrecks I didn't see the point.
I'm not really a history buff but this place is just full of history. There are lots of books and even movies that explain the events so I won't I attempt to explain any of that.
Remember these wrecks are pretty old so don't expect pristine conditions. Some are broken apart but many are basically intact. Unfortunately the visibility is a little less than I would have liked. I'd guess it's 50 to 80 feet but remember your general down to 80 feet so it's a bit dark.
The Truk Stop hotel isn't in the greatest condition. I thought it was clean enough in most places but it's not the best you've ever seen. The indoor public restroom in the restaurant was pretty nasty and the outdoor one on the patio was totally unusable. I can't describe how filthy it was and I saw rats coming out of it on more than one occasion. There have a nice ocean front patio at the hotel and a great pier. Unfortunately, the owner rarely if ever cleans up the ocean front area. Lots of bottles and cans float right in front of the place. I actually paid the local school kids next door to clean them up but the hotel owner bit my head off for doing it. He said I should hire family but he never did and he never suggested anyone.
The dive shop has the basics needed but you certainly want to take your own equipment if possible. The dive guides are locals that are extremely good in the water. Most have only basic certification but the hotel attempst to keep a PADI instructor on sight but the turnover has been high. They had 13 people in 3 years. The guy before me left without notice after 3 months and the guy that followed my lasted about 2 months. The new manager seems to like the place and maybe he'll stick it out.
If there aren't a lot of divers the experience is excellent. There are 6 lockers for equipment that easily accomodate 2 or 3 divers each. The boats are great dive boats but they work. The owner likes to cram 8 or more divers on them some time but they are comfortable with 4 to 6. There are rarely more than 8 divers at the resort but I they have booked as many as 14 and that just doesn't work.
The other resort of called Blue Lagoon. It's sits on an end of the island all by itself. It's actually a gated compound. It is also a bit old and worn down but acceptable. I sometimes had a beer on Sunday afternoons on there grounds. It has several hundred feet of ocean front and a park like atmosphere. The setting beats Truk Stop Hotel easily. The place is isolated with no facilities near by. You are at the mercy of the hotel for everything though the prices charged for snacks and beer are about comparable to the Truk Stop. I never ate there but heard the food was pretty good.
The island itself is horrible. It's very dirty with junk cars everywhere. There's a channel in front of the grocery store that is just a giant cess pool. There is trash everywhere. I was told it wasn't particularly safe to walk the streets after dark so I never did. The entire problem with the island is simple. There are NO consequences for anything. The police force is a joke. Medical care is really scary. There is a hospital but many people leave sicker than they were to start with. Until a few months ago, one patient had more than 30 cats that lived with him and roamed the hospital freely. There is a small private clinic that I once visited and they were clean, organized and effective for me. It is right next to the hotel.
Would I recommend Truk Lagoon? Yes as long as you know what you are getting in too. I was never scared during the day and the diving was very good.
I visited Yap on the way home. It's another state in Micronesia and is totally different. It had paved roads and was pretty clean. The people take pride in there heritage there and it showed. If you visit this area of the world stop by Yap or Palua while you are there. (I intend to visit Palau soon)
I'll be glad to answer questions.
