Ungil Sils Water Taxi was started as a budget option for open water transportation by husband and wife team John and Treya Swords when we realized something important; you, as a tourist, are paying too much for too little. If you find yourself on a larger boat (12-18 passengers) you will be taken to snorkel sites with boat loads of other strangers and guided in a timely fashion to swim between buoys. Sure, there are reasons for this, one guide and one boat operator must keep track of many people who likely do not understand a word he is saying. Without the structure there would be accidents or death....there have been. I will tell you honestly there are very few safety regulations dictating how a business of the tour variety operates here. Boat operators are not drug tested or licensed in many cases (although many are quite capable) and most are paid poorly for their services. I think this is both dangerous and disheartening, Palau should respect that tourism is the main source of income for our nation and act accordingly. We are a developing nation, I hope these changes will come with time and action by smaller businesses that demonstrate improved ethics. We also realized that locals cannot afford a tour service, we think this is a shame. Koror is not a lovely city, but we are surrounded by pristine rock islands and breathtaking beauty that many a local resident, who is not fortunate enough to own a boat or have a friend willing to take them out, is unable to enjoy fully. The local minimum wage here is $2.75 per hour, this fact alone does not provide for a great deal of leisure as the average resident of Palau.
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what is important to us as a micro business here in Palau:
As mentioned above we believe the availability of our services to local residents is important and this belief has greatly affected our prices. We do not try to take more than we need.
That we follow practices that do not harm the marine ecosystem.
That we respect the government mandating permitting. (There are fees outside of our services for using protected areas such as the rock islands and jellyfish lake)
That we never operate the boat in a way that endangers your safety. (We will never drink on board or operate the boat unless we can claim complete sobriety.....we have very young kids of our own, so such activity is pretty much non existent anyways)
We have been first aid trained and maintain a current business license and government issued captains license.
We are committed to keeping our prices reasonable and do not charge by the person but instead per trip. So have a date night or bring 4 other people, the choice is yours!
We will not rush you unless the weather starts becoming questionable.
We will always help you find another tour company with ethical practices to meet your needs if you require a larger boat or other features such as diving tours that we do not offer.
Phew. Now that we have discussed the business let me take a moment to give you some insight about what to expect from our future blog postings. We will be giving a photo tour and description of some of our favorite spots to snorkel and picnic as well as updates on local conditions. (insane storms,fascinating corruption, delicious food, what locals do when there is no running water, how to poop in the jungle, Palauan lessons and last, but not least, where to get a massage where you will not be offered sexual favors)
So stay tuned!
