The thing I love most about these 300-plus islands isn't their palm-draped beaches, their blue lagoons, or their rugged mountains. It is the enormous friendliness of the Fijian people.
You'll see why as soon as you get off the plane, clear Customs and Immigration, and are greeted by a procession of smiling faces, all of them exclaiming an enthusiastic "Bula!" That one word -- "health" in Fijian -- expresses the warmest and most heartfelt welcome I have ever received anywhere.
This diverse country's great variety will also be immediately evident, for the taxi drivers who whisk us to our hotels and hostels are not Fijians of Melanesian heritage, but Indians whose ancestors migrated to Fiji from places like Calcutta and Madras. Now about 44% of the population, these Indo-Fijians have played major roles in making their nation economically as well as politically independent.
But their presence has also resulted in racial animosity and three political coups, most recently in 2000. Except for an occasional work stoppage or protest, however, visitors have not directly been affected by the political tensions, which exist primarily in Suva (the capital) and other towns. Fiji has remained calm since the coup of 2000, and with the country once again perceived as safe and affordable, tourism is booming as never before. In addition many new hotels and resorts have opened their doors since my recent visit.
In the tourist areas -- and especially on Fiji's marvelous offshore islets -- you'll find gorgeous white-sand beaches bordered by curving coconut palms, azure lagoons and colorful reefs offering world-class scuba diving and snorkeling, green mountains sweeping to the sea, and a tropical climate in which to enjoy it all.
Fiji has something for every pocketbook. Its wide variety of accommodation ranges from deluxe resorts nestled in tropical gardens beside the beach to down-to-basics hostels that cater to the young and the young-at-heart. Out on its 300-plus islands is the largest and finest collection of small, Robinson Crusoe-like offshore resorts in the entire South Pacific -- if not the world.
Regardless of where you stay and what you do, you are in for a memorable time. The friendly Fijians will see to that.
