Getting Around

Before coming here I was adamant about bringing our bikes. It is a tropical paradise and it seems such a shame to pollute it with the burning of hydrocarbons. When we arrived, I then agreed with my husband that having bicycles here is a really bad idea. Unlike many places that we love, Pohnpei is not good for bicycles. I do not believe that civil engineers had much of a hand in designing Kolonia. It is not the very steep terrain that is daunting, but the fact that roads are narrow, winding and cars barely have enough room for two lanes, so they maneuver around potholes by crossing into the other lane. We see cars ditched or swerving that we commonly attribute to alcohol or sakau use. There are only a few sidewalks in town and certainly no bike lanes. I might be more willing to ride if our precious cargo were not in tow.

The first two months we walked most everywhere. Places that are too far can be reached by taxi, which is absurdly cheap at $1-2 for a 15-20 minute ride, but we have waited for over an hour for a taxi or, “Taxi Crab” as our two-year-old calls them. Being places on time is important to us, so we resolved to get a car. We bought one from someone at the college, but the engine seized five days after purchase. There is a long story therein which involves the seller agreeing to reimburse us, but failing to make the contracted payments within the agreed upon timeframe. So…

Buying from a dealer here is more expensive, but there is a warranty of one month and you can pick up your car right away. Ordering a car from Japan costs less, but is more hassle and you wait for one to three months to receive the car. We decided to order a car from Japan – who knows why, maybe for the experience. There are several websites we studied before deciding on a gas efficient Mazda Demio.

We received the car six weeks after ordering it.

Before we could pick up the car we had to get local drivers licenses. You are required to study the small book of road laws for one full week before getting a license. There is no test involved, just a nod when asked if the book was studied. The speed limit on Pohnpei is 25 miles per hour (even though the speedometers are in kilometers per hour), pedestrians have the right of way, use common sense and don’t park in the middle of the road, except for all the people who do. That is the gist of the booklet that took fifteen minutes to read. Once we had the form from the police station, we went to a different location to pay a $6 fee for a stamp at the Treasurer’s Office, then went to a printing company to get photos before returning to the police station with the stamped form and picture needed to make the paper driver’s license. In a place that rains as much as Pohnpei, a laminator would be a useful tool.

The Five Stamps of disorganized bureaucracy

After your car arrives, but before you can pick it up you must retrieve the golden fleece. Not really, but almost as epic and painstaking are the gathering of the five stamps from five different mostly unmarked buildings on the island. On the Bill of Lading sent by the car dealer you need the following stamps, in order:

1. Pohnpei Transfer and Storage. This is the only marked building but a bit tricky to find in the maze of buildings behind the airport. No fee for this stamp.

2. Shipping Company Office. Pay a fee based on the weight of the shipment.

3. Treasurer’s Office. This unmarked office is at the end of a long corridor of doors without signage.

4. Custom’s Office. This is not the customs office at the airport or the one behind the post office. It is located across from Wall Mart in an unmarked building. There is a duty of 4% of the cost of freight (CIF.)

5. Pohnpei Port Authority [shown below].

Located behind the airport and where the minimal wharfage fee is paid.

With all said and done this will take the better part of the day and you can then pick up the vehicle – if the port is still open. Do not leave the car too long or an additional storage fee will be imposed. We are grateful to our awesome neighbors who drove me around to get the stamps. Thank you Lloyd and Juvelina!

Driving on Pohnpei is not so bad once you learn where the potholes are (they are some of Pohnpei's most famous landmarks). Drivers often stop to allow for other people to turn left, and traffic is easy going. Car horns are only used to signal that you are passing or that your taxi is waiting. Our bank has a drive-though designed for cars with the driver on the left, but our car and most cars on the island are Japanese with the driver on the right side. Everyone using the drive-through actually then has to get out of the car and walk up to the window. It is a bit odd to drive on the same side of the car as the driving side. It is safer for the driver to be closer to the opposing traffic so as to ascertain the distance between. In this case each driver is on the opposite side of the cars from one another and guessing as to the amount of room they have between the two.

Car Safety

People do not generally wear seatbelts here, which is to say that I have not seen a single native person use a seatbelt.

Here in Micronesia it is considered safest for a baby to be in the front seat of a vehicle in the

arms of an adult. On more than one occasion, I have seen an infant sleeping against the shoulder of a driver. Kids hang out of the windows or stand up in the back of pick-up trucks all while in motion, on the road with other drivers. This is very much opposed to my culture of car seat restraints and over protection. I am not saying the Micronesian custom in this case is wrong or bad, but so different from what I am used to that it is difficult to get used to.

We are thankful to have a car. We no longer have to walk 30 minutes each way to retrieve our five-year-old from school, which has substantially brightened my outlook on life here. We have also done a driving tour circumnavigating the island with the kids buckled into their little booster seats. It is great to be free to go places. Without a car, this small island seemed more claustrophobic than it does now with a car.

Safe driving to all.