Fiji

Fiji was a two-part experience. I met a guy from Ireland at the airport in Nadi named Tristan, and he became my wingman for the duration of the trip. We spent the first part of the week in the outer Yasawa Islands, which was perhaps the most unspoiled place I have ever been. There is no noise pollution, no roads, no cars, no airplanes, no TV, no nothing, just jagged mountains jutting up from a perfect azure sea covered in palm trees. The first night found me learning traditional dances with some large and very giggly Fijian women. The music was made by a village choir with guitars and mandolins; classic Polynesian island music that really took me away. I found the music to be one of the highlights of the trip. The Fijian people are welcoming and full of questions about the rest of the world. Many seemed to have never traveled far from where they were born, much less outside of Fiji. The tiny hostel I stayed in was run by the village, and I think there were only about eight guests there. I went to church with the villagers, barefoot in a small wood building with no glass in the windows or door at the entrance, and I was invited to a picnic with the community afterwards. Everyone sat on the ground eating meager portions of breadfruit and soup with their hands, covered in flies. Several kids were fascinated by my camera, so I let them borrow it and run around the village to show the others. Wild dogs came in and attacked some domestic dogs during lunch, but they were quickly chased off by people throwing stones. Livestock ran free throughout the village, and the homes were single-roomed huts with no furniture (or anything else for that matter) including windows, and usually doors. It was eye opening. The villagers seemed content amidst conditions that would redefine Western standards of poverty. These people live on what they grow and catch, make their music and go to church. It's apparently that simple. Aside from the village experience, I went to an undersea cave, an uninhabited island, and I went for a swim in the actual 'blue lagoon'. I was also devoured by jungle insects that can drink DEET for breakfast, swam among reefs, and had interesting conversations with several of the other travelers I met.

The second part of the week was much different as it was spent at more popular backpacker destinations in the Mamanuca island chain. This was the party scene. Most the islands in the south that Tristan and I stayed on were so small you could walk their circumference along the water line in five minutes. They really were just spits of sand with a cluster of palms, a bar and a few beds. On the whole, I was pretty blown away by the first half of the week. I had never ventured into the 'real' third world before, and the beautiful nature of the natives really touched me. The second half of the trip was just a party in paradise. One final highlight was a night I spent with a group of Fijians having a sing-along around the kava bowl, playing Bob Marley songs on guitars. I was the only foreigner in the group, and there was an older woman in the room who sang all 'the wailers' accompaniment to the songs flawlessly. It was some of the best live music I have ever been a part of.

It’s time to get things underway here in Sydney.

---

---