Now, I'm sure most of you are thinking, "Where in the heck is Saipan?" Well, it's one of the islands in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. And folks, this is part of the USA!
While it was great to see Paige and to visit a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, I must say that Saipan has seen better days. It's almost like a cross between a Native American reservation and a down-and-out West Virginian coal mining town. I made this comparison with another mom at Joseph's pre-school, and she said, "so Saipan is like Detroit?" Yes. Sadly, yes.
Saipan is a beautiful island. The water is the bluest I've ever seen, and there are coral formations everywhere. Apparently, diving is very good as well. And the weather was just perfect - low 80s with a nice breeze.
Saipan kind of had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. Japanese tourism was booming, and there were many, many garment factories on the island. The garment factories, though, were very problematic. They were recruiting workers from China (mostly) and paying them sub-standard wages. These "sweatshops" were set up so that the factories could put the "Made in the USA" label on the merchandise. Eventually, there was a crackdown on these factories, and the last one closed in 2009. There used to be 34 factories!
Japanese tourism has decreased a lot in the past few years. Japan Airlines stopped flying to Saipan in 2005. There were were a couple of hotels on the island that were totally abandoned. (this one in the photo was abandoned)
Stores were often boarded up, and places were just empty. Here is a mall that was just left behind... For an island so beautiful, I just felt so sick about this.
There are stray dogs all over Saipan. I'm not an animal person, but it was sad to see emaciated dogs, especially given how dogs are revered in Japan.
Here is a picture that reminded me of Japan. These are Japanese tourists. Who wears these kind of shoes while hiking????!!!
Paige and I did some sightseeing on Saipan. Many of the sights are related to WWII, and I love WWII history. First of all, let me show you a picture of some Navy ships that are just hanging around Saipan. They are here as part of some strategic positioning. Apparently, when North Korea was doing weird things, the number of Navy ships increased several-fold.
Here is one of the most sobering things I've seen. This is called Banzai Cliff. The US had some really bloody battles with Japan. When the US finally regained control of Saipan, the Emperor of Japan allegedly told the military leaders that suicide was a better option. (I'm paraphrasing here, obviously.) So about 20,000 people (military and civilians) jumped off Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff. Allegedly, families would line up at the edge of the cliff with the youngest in front. The older sibling would push off the younger sibling, the mother would push off the older sibling, the father would push off the mother, and then the father would jump off the cliff. The Japanese believed in reincarnation, so this might have seemed a better fate than to admit defeat to the US. I'm sure I've depressed all of you. Here's a picture, though.
Saipan also has its share of scandals and weird people. Jack Abramoff dealt with some fishy stuff here.
Jack Abramoff is a scumbucket.
And one of Saipan's most famous residents was Larry Hillblom - the "H" from DHL. This guy is a whackjob.
Sicko.
And lately there have been some problems with the Russian mafia.
I mean, this island cannot catch a break!
Finally, here is a picture of something kind of common in Saipan:
Betel Nuts. A lot of Saipan locals chew these "nuts." It's practically like chewing tobacco. And one of the very delightful side effects is that the teeth turn bright red after chewing this garbage. Really gross! I'm sure it does wonders for the dating scene.
