Fiji Islands: an Introduction

On a chilly morning we departed from Beijing and flew to Incheon, a South Korean airport in Seoul. We transferred to our boarding gate no. 19 and were waiting to board a Korean airplane bound for Nadi, Fiji Islands. Some crispy haired people we met at the boarding gate and upon a courtesy conversation we realized them to be Fijian people. Well, we spared no moments to collect the basic information about our destination from the Fijian people. We left Incheon at 19 hours, Korean local time. We flew through the giant Pacific Ocean and after a long 10 hours 40 minutes flight we were near our airport. It was morning at 8:20 Fiji local time and our aircraft was preparing for landing. The whole island was visible through the windows.

We could see the blue water below. Within a minute we touched the Fiji land. We looked around and were satisfied with the bewitching beauty of the South Pacific country-The Fiji Islands. We proceeded to immigration. We became surprised for some Fijian young people with Fijian dress were found singing welcome notes to the tourists. Their musical instruments were locally made we never saw before. With an excellent mind we finished the immigration formality and went down to pass the green channel. We came out and met Mr. Ravu, our Fijian sponsor waiting with his car to greet and receive us. We started for Suva, h capital city, 167 km from Nadi, the only international airport. “Viti Levu” and “Vanua Levu” the two main islands have constituted the territory of Fiji.

Apart from these two islands Fiji has 332 smaller islands. Most of them are so small that there are just one or two houses whereas some others have no houses at all. Some families have their single house in a single island with a beautiful watery surrounding. Interesting thing is that Fijian prison is located in an island.

Anyway, Viti Levu is more important than Vanua Levu because, almost all of the offices, business centers, schools, colleges are in Vitu Levu. Suva, the capital is located on a hilly place facing the Pacific to the south. From the balcony of a hotel a traveler can view the tremendous beauty of the mighty Pacific with her big ships, fishing boats and Yachats. People from all over the world flock in Fiji but most of them are from Australia and New Zealand. Upon arrival, a tourist has the option to extend his or her tourist visa from consular section of the Immigration Office, located in the Governments Building in Suva. Actually most of the Nationals of the world need visa to enter the country. Fiji visas are on arrival in the international airport. Normally the visa is issued for ten days which is extension able. The requirements for a tourist visa are valid passport, return ticket, sufficient fund, sponsorship or hotel reservation and a medical certificate. The official language of Fiji is English but there is another language called Fijian. While marketing or traveling you’re bound to catch the words “Bula” (hello), “Vinaka” (thanks). Local people are very hospitable and smiling. They love to greet a stranger with the word “Bula”. For food culture, Fiji is a nice place. Whether you’re a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian you’ve no troubles. If you’re cooking at your rental apartment you’ll find all kinds of vegetables and sea foods and fishes in the local markets. Markets of Fiji open early in the morning and close early by 6 pm. Almost all the hotels have cooking facilities at a nominal cost. For entertainment TV channels are mainly from India. The cinema halls run the Hindi films. For communication the telephone operator is Vodafone. The ISD dialing code is +679. There is a plenty of telephone booths in town as well as I rural areas. Traveler’s native driving license is valid to drive in Fiji. Fiji has one of the best climates of the world. It rains almost everyday. The atmosphere is excellently clear because, there is no garbage on the way. Fiji currency is Fijian Dollar (FJD). 1 USD= 1.67 FJD (approximately). In this island country a foreign traveler can taste the sea food with plenty of coconuts. MacDonald, KFC and The Republic of Cappuccino have their business outlets in Suva. So, traveling Fiji is absolutely a wise option because the smiling Fijian people are always ready to embrace the foreign tourists with their typical Fijian word “Bula”.