bula not hula
Thursday, October 19th, 2006
Two hectic days in Fiji have just passed in this rustic Hawaii overflowing with a culture filled with juxtapositions – cell phones and outhouses – curry and cassava – children bathing in the river while their mothers do their washings next to the high end resorts with commercial washings done at 10 Fiji dollars per bag.
We stayed at Fiji Beach house, a backpacker “resort”, where we were happily upgraded from a camping stay to a private dorm. We spent our brief time exploring a five kilometer radius around the resort, from snorkelling to a guided waterfall hike to combing the beach for brilliant blue starfish and saying “Bula” to the many locals we encountered in their villages – along the road – in our “resort”, always curious about where we came from and how we liked their beautiful island(s) nation.
A 3 hour flight has now taken us to New Zealand where we will surely encounter equivalent grand scenery, but we surely won’t again encounter the innocent friendliness of the Fijians.
Bula!
Adam