Fiji

Harry spends his time in Suva, the capital and business hub, rather than in the resorts. His stated reason is that hardly any tourists come here and he wants to know why.

His honest admission at the start is that everything he knew about Fiji was luxury resorts, Fiji Water and rugby, and that he was surprised by how developed the country actually is — a real economy that isn’t only tourism.

Obs: the video carries a long eSIM sponsor read. Only the travel content is recorded here.

Observations

From The Side of Fiji The Media Won’t Show You 🇫🇯

The colonial history, as Harry tells it and immediately flags he is simplifying:

• Fiji is one of the few places that asked to be colonised by the British — or, more accurately, was pressured into requesting it — and did so on conditions: Fijians would not be mistreated and would not be made to work.
• The British response was to import Indian labourers to do the manual work. Harry’s word for their position is slaves.
• Independence came in 1970. The Indian labourers were freed, and Gujarati migrants arrived afterwards and set up businesses.
• Around 35% of Fiji’s population is of Indian descent — Indo-Fijians, who are Fijian and describe themselves that way.
• The Union Jack is still on the flag, and Harry is told by more than one person that Fijians didn’t want independence at the time. One says outright that Fiji would be better off today if it had stayed British, and draws a comparison with Hong Kong. Harry notes on camera that he could not say that himself.

Everything else:

• Fiji Water is a serious share of GDP, and the reason the country isn’t wholly dependent on tourism.
• Wages are low. A day’s manual work is around 40 Fijian dollars, on seven- or eight-hour days.
• Tourists go to Nadi, which has the better climate and the international airport. There is, he says, no obvious reason for a tourist to come to Suva — which is why he did.
• Rugby is the national sport, sevens especially, and Fijians are enormous — though he is told Samoans and Tongans are bigger still.
• Many Fijians work or study in the UK. One man Harry meets has a son serving as a soldier at Buckingham Palace.
• What counts as success here isn’t money, in Harry’s reading: it’s the impact you make, the friends and family around you, and being a good person. He notes the country is very religious.
• Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna is the historical figure Harry starts at — one of the most influential in Fijian history.

Kava

The national drink and the thing this video is really about. A powder ground from a root, mixed with water in a large basin, and drunk communally.

• Not alcohol, but it does something: within a few sips Harry’s tongue is completely numb, then his lips.
• $5 Fijian dollars for a whole basin, shared by everyone present.
• Traditionally it was for chiefs only. It is now open to everyone, men and women alike.
• Available at any hour — the answer to “is it too early?” is that it’s five o’clock somewhere, and that kava is 24/7. Weddings, funerals, birthdays, and every day of the week.
• The taste is the price of entry. Harry is honest that it tastes like dirty water, and equally honest that this is what beer tasted like the first time.
• Everybody claps when you finish a cup, which he says would never happen at home and which he takes as appreciation for joining in.
• Bula is the toast, and, he’s told, means more or less everything.

Places

• Suva