Fiji
We arrived at 7am in Fiji, 11.5 hours out of LAX. Our bags took ten minutes, the driver had us to the Shangri-La in an hour where our beach-front villa was ready for us. At 10 we attended Catholic services about 20 minutes away. (Fiji has about 800,000 people and is overwhelmingly Christian, mostly Methodist. The Catholic population is about 20%. The church was packed, including people sitting on the floor, standing against the walls and sitting outside the building. The choir was incredible and the priest fire and brimstone! And there was a baptism.)
The Fijians may be the happiest people I’ve ever encountered. The average income is quite low, but everyone is just plain happy. Apparently, there is virtually no crime. You’re greeted, helped, and assisted wherever you go. Cab drivers come back to retrieve you as promised and don’t accept money on the way out, only on the return. The security guys at the gate give a rousing shout to every car they admit (and now I shout back). There is over- employment—at the airport a man patiently waits to retrieve the baggage cart after the driver put the bags in the car, and a third man makes sure no traffic is coming.
Immigration and customs people are charming. The hotel’s head porter put his arm around me and asked if I prayed sufficiently for him. No one is in any kind of hurry (the have “slow” and “stop” and the speed limit tops out at 80 KPH) but I really don’t care.
We’re heading to a local joint for dinner and I can hardly wait to slow down.
