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Published: September 4th 2007
Hi folks - I promised a part 2 to my blog about Tonga and, finally, here it is.
Let me give you a couple of Tonga facts. Tonga is an absolute monarchy and the royal family rules all out here, as well as owning all the country's power and telecoms companies. The country is the only one in this part of the world that was never colonised. The kingdom of Tonga is actually made up of several islands spread across hundreds of miles of the South Pacific. As I had been spending most of my time on the largest island of Tongatapu, I decided that it was time to visit another island.
I bought a ticket on a local airline to head a couple of hundred miles north to the Vava'u group of islands. If I had thought that the international airport was a little different, I was about to find out that Nuku'alofa's domestic terminal would win the award for the most amusing airport terminal I have visited. As I checked in my bag for the flight, I was asked to step on the scales with my hand luggage. Some of the locals are a little larger than your average passenger and they have to be placed on opposite sides of the plane so that it balances properly. Eek. The jet was a 16 seater - the smallest plane I have ever travelled on. The pilot's safety briefing lasted around 5 seconds and we were off. As there was no door to the flight deck, I could see the two pilots laughing and joking around the whole way. I'm almost certain that at one point we flew a little lower over one of the islands so one of the pilots could wave to his mum.
As Vava'u is further north than Tongatapu, the weather was a little warmer. The scenery remained beautiful and I spent several days lazing around in the sun wondering what to do with the rest of my life. Those thoughts were often interrupted by the need to buy beers from the bar (maybe I even sampled the local Vava'u Breeze cocktail - containing coconut milk and something unknown but very alcoholic) or the sound of a dropping coconut. Note to anyone intending to visit Tonga - never sunbathe under a coconut tree. It could prove very painful.
When I returned to Tongatapu, I was invited to stay with Becky's aunt and uncle. Again, I was treated like royalty. One of the highlights occurred on a Sunday morning. Becky's dad, Beni, had invited me to attend his local church. We set off early and I was asked to take part in the ancient Tongan tradition of the kava circle. We entered a small hut next to the church where there were 6 or 7 Tongans sitting legs crossed on the floor surrounding a huge bowl of murky liquid. I removed my shoes and the members of the circle greeted me enthusiastically. Every few minutes, everyone passed their half-coconut shell to the man with the ladle and he filled it with the murky liquid. When all the shells were full, we drank. The liquid is water that has been flavoured with the powdered roots of the kava plant. It has an odd taste, not easy to describe. It was an honour to be invited to such an ancient tradition. I was in good company. Three of my fellow drinkers were ministers from the church and I later discovered that the man on my right was the mayor of Nuku'alofa! I must also mention the singing during the church service. Unforgettable. As the hymns were sung in Tongan, I'm afraid I couldn't join in. That's an extra blessing for the people in church that morning.
Before I left Tonga, Becky's Aunt Teti gave me a tour of the main police station on the island. A quick peek into the cells was all the incentive I needed to avoid committing any crimes during my time on the island. Teti chatted to some of the prisoners. I hope the man jailed for stealing a book from his neighbour has learnt his lesson now. I was shown around the CID rooms upstairs. It didn't seem to matter that there were several interrogations being carried out at the time. When I entered the room, everyone gave me a friendly wave - both the detectives and the suspects they were interviewing!
Tonga is such a wonderful place and a large part of that is down to the people. They fall over themselves to help you and make you feel at home. If you ever meet one of the 50,000 Tongans that are reported to live around the world away from Tonga, be nice to them - they were to me!
As you can imagine, I've crammed in a lot more since I left Tonga. I've been back to New Zealand, dashed around Australia and dipped my toe in Africa. There may be blogs about those trips at some future point. Or those stories may just have to wait until an evening in the pub. Some stories just can't be told properly on the interweb.
Yep, after 42 weeks away from home and 24 flights covering 16 countries, I now have more stamps in my passport than Jason Bourne. (And I reckon I could take him down in a fight if I had to). Soon, I'll be on my way home and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. Thanks to everyone for having a read and leaving messages for me - I hope you enjoyed it. If you'll allow me a personal indulgence, I'd like to dedicate the trip to my grandad Len. He passed away before he got the chance to travel to the places he wanted to see. His advice to me was to go and see the world when I got the chance. It was sound advice. I might not have seen everything but I've seen more and done more than I ever thought I would.
So, if any of you are staring out of the office window right now, reading this instead of working and perhaps wondering about that place you'd always wanted to go to, all I can say is do it. If I can do it, anyone can.
Take care
Joff
PS - Project Grow A Magnum Moustache officially ended today and was declared a failure.
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Welcome Back!
Joff - congratulations! Does this mean you are back? When will you be in London (this Thursday?).