Pohnpei, The Hotspot of Micronesia Alan Kim   © Copyright 2020 by Alan Kim

One place that I have experienced this is Micronesia or the Federated States of Micronesia. Micronesia is made up many islands from big to small. The island I first visited in the island of Pohnpei, which is the biggest island in Micronesia in the summer of 2013. My journey to Pohnpei started in a class at community college called “Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian culture.” I learned a lot about these cultures in the south pacific and how they lived very simply. I had to write a paper on one of these cultures and my wife (friend back then) has a father and mother-in law living in Pohnpei. She visited them a few times in the past, so I decided my paper was about her experiences in Pohnpei. What she described was a amazing time in Pohnpei and this even intrigued me more to go and visit. The more my wife talked about Pohnpei the more I wanted to see it. So when my wife told in in 2012 that she wanted to visit her dad, I was in.

I remember that plane ride to Pohnpei and how excited and afraid I was to see a new place and what I was going to experience. The first thing I saw as soon the plane landed was Sokes Mountain, it was right next to airport and it stood out like a sore thumb. It was massive and looked like someone got a huge chisel and scrapped off the side of the mountain. It was an incredible sight. I asked out tour guide Apollo if we could go up to Sokes Mountain and he took us. He warned us the hike would be long and the trail would be steep, but I was up to the challenge. Sadly to say, we didn’t make it to the top. Along the way to the top, we stopped at a old tank graveyard from WWII. We even went around Sokes Mountain on another day, to see it from all angles.

This was the best part of my visit to Pohnpei. A place called Nan Midol. This is a place where first time tourist has to go, because it is so mysterious and marvelous to see. As we walked closer to Nan Midol, I saw it was on top of a small island. As I got closer to the place, I saw how gigantic the structure was. Around 15-20 feet high, the rocks that look like bricks was about 3 feet high and 5 feet long and all in perfect formation. The question I asked Apollo is that how was Nan Midol built? His answer was “magic”. As I walked around Nan Midol, I was in complete awe at what I was seeing. Where did the rocks come from? How did it get there? How did it get built? All visitors needs to go to Nan Midol.

Micronesia is surrounded by the ocean, so activities like surfing, fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving are popular in Micronesia. On this trip we were introduced to my mother-in-law’s friend Allois, who runs the Pohnpei surf club and has his own boat touring business. We rode his boat to an island called Ant and met the king. On this excursion we saw, sting-rays, hammerhead sharks, dolphins, whales and flying fish all in one day. It was an invigorating experience to see these living creature on the same day. My wife could not stop talking about for days.

When we returned home from Micronesia, I had to tell all my friend and family about Micronesia. I told them about the scenery, activities and the friendly people. I would highly recommend everyone to visit Pohnpei in Micronesia. It is becoming a hotspot for travelers around the world.

I am a freelance writer. I also traveled parts of the world. Attached is an article of my first trip to Pohnpei, Micronesia. I knos that you will find it interesting and intriguing for your readers. Pohnpei is a place where world travelers have to go and see all the awesome activities they offer.