Why Travel to Fiji? Duh.
When you travel to Fiji, you’ll probably find yourself stopped in your tracks, jaw dropped, and only able to utter one word: Wow. (Or, woof... like these pups on our own private beach said.)
This might sound crazy, but my two-week trip to Fiji sort of fell into my lap. Fiji wasn’t on my bucket list, I only had a vague sense of its location, and truth be told, I figured it was probably like Hawaii… expensive and tourist-filled, but with a longer plane ride. I had a vague image of what I thought was Fiji (turned out to be Tahiti, with the over-water bungalows), and a foggy memory of maybe watching an episode of Survivor based in Fiji. That was it. Unless you count having watched Tom Hanks in Castaway a couple of times – but at the time, I didn’t know that was filmed in Fiji, so it shouldn’t count!
I’m a U.S.-based freelance business writer, and I teach an online course on how to launch businesses like mine. About six years ago, through that course, I happened to connect with a Fijian lady. About a year ago, she asked me to come to Fiji to teach that course. How long would it take you to answer a request like that? Yeah, me too.
So, I looked up Fiji on a map, Googled it, watched some videos, and braced myself for a long plane ride as I packed my bags. The information I gathered from my research didn’t really help. Slick travel pieces showed beautiful people on gorgeous beaches, island hopping on booze cruises, and lounging poolside at oceanfront resorts that could just as easily have been in Florida. Other videos showed backpacking budget vacationers hanging out at hipster-friendly hostels, dunking themselves in mud baths, and drinking beer… a lot of beer.
Don’t get me wrong; I was very excited to go. Friends, family, and even strangers volunteered to come along as my assistant. I suspected that Fiji was one of those destinations everyone wants to go to – even if they don’t know anything more about it than what you’d see on a postcard. I knew this would be the trip of a lifetime, so much so that it almost seemed too good to be true, and it was only when I set foot in the first of several airports to start the journey that it really sank in… FIJI!!
If you’re after a glitzy and glamorous vacation where you drop a boatload of money on an idealized dream, you can do it in Fiji. On the other extreme, if you’re more attuned to eco-tourism and want a backpacking adventure, you can do that, too.
But what if you’re somewhere in the middle, budget-wise, and prefer to really get to know a place… for real? That’s what I’d like to share with you, so you can get the real scoop rather than a slick promo for a vacation that could be anywhere in the world.
Stay tuned for more tales from The Authentic Fiji.
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