navala
fiji | travelled in 2015 | posted on nov 03, 2015
located in the heart of the south pacific, fiji is blessed with 333 tropical islands that are home to some of the happiest people on earth.
known for its luxurious private-islands, all-inclusive resorts, top spas, culinary destinations and outdoor adventures, fiji is most widely celebrated for its culture, which uniquely welcomes visitors home. fiji's white sand beaches and pristine, crystal-clear ocean waters offer an ideal vacation destination for divers, honeymooners and families-- or simply, those looking to relax and get away from it all.
sounds like a catalogue advertisement? well, this is how the official website of tourism fiji praises the country. and i guess this is what most tourists are looking for. so, welcome to the cliché world of tourist fiji.
but fiji also offers a different side, or as a fijian told me: "you have not seen fiji if you haven't been to a real fiji village".
as i am not a beach person at all (ok, i really started to like snorkeling in fiji, but i will talk about this later in another post), we first visited navala. isolated in the highlands of viti levu (fiji's main island), navala is a small rural village where almost all of its over 200 buildings are still built in the traditional style: thatched wooden huts. most of navala's people are farmers having a quite basic lifestyle as these simple one-room huts are neither connected to running water nor electricity. but of course many navalans do own smartphones, which are recharged when the fuel-powered power generators are switched on - but this is going to change as the village should get electricity the week after we left.
on the day of our arrival, there was a big feast because the villagers were celebrating three weddings. so we were invited to join the meal, and of course - being in fiji - to many bowls of kava (again somthing i will get into more detail in another post).
i really do not know if fijians are the happiest people on earth. but they are indeed among the friendliest, even if one might not notice at first because when you see fijians on the street, their expressions are often really grim - as if they want to eat you on the spot (what they actually did in the past ;-)). but the moment you smile back and say "bula" (fijian for "hello"), this immediately changes to the sunniest smile you can get.
