The city is best known for its tra­di­tion­al Palauan men’s meet­ing house, a so-called Bai. In for­mer times, each vil­lage in Palau used to have its own Bai. At the begin­ning of the 20th cen­tu­ry, more than 100 bais were still in exis­tence in Palau.
Palau’s old­est bai (men’s meet­ing house) is over 100 years old, 21m long and 6m wide, with a steeply pitched roof reach­ing a height of 12m. It was con­struct­ed using local mate­ri­als of wood and thatch on a stone plat­form. A num­ber of leg­endary scenes and sym­bol­ic motifs are paint­ed inside and out­side. Airai Bai is in a clear­ing in the vil­lage of Airai. It’s not sign­post­ed; ask locals for direc­tions. Chances are the keep­er of the bai will mirac­u­lous­ly appear and ask for the entrance fee.