A few things:
1) This is my first blog post on the road using my iPad
2) Tonga is the first country to experience the new day, i.e. closest to the international dateline
3) The following are random thoughts and photos from the trip thus far
People are friendly - I left my backpack at a restaurant and the waitress ran after me holding my precious Guatemalan messenger bag that I have had for 7 years - Malo (thank you in Tonga)
The Pace is slowed - virtually everything is closed in Tonga including the airport on Sunday. The International Dateline Hotel is an apparent tourist destination and I will be able to watch the Packers beat the Falcons - Malo once again
Mutual wonderment - I am always asked where I am from to which I reply, "I live in Texas." The response has been virtually universally the same around the world, "Oh, like cowboys and John Wayne." If we get into details, I slip in the fact I am actually FROM Wisconsin.
For me, I have always been interested in the Tongan culture since the first time I played against them during my college rugby days. During the first encounter, one extremely large Tongan stepped on me so hard that the air in my lungs jumped from my body like a whoopy cushion. Of course, this was while on the field of play and totally legal on the Tongan's part. You learn in rugby, if you are on the ground, you are part of it and this particular Tongan must have really hated the ground.
This picture is of a very traditional piece in Tonga called tapa that is used for weddings, funerals and other celebrations. As you can see, she wants to make peace from my first experience with Tongan rugby.
The food has been good with a heavy emphasis on pig, fish, and coconut milk. I have two more days here before I am off to Samoa and then a few days in Fiji. Later I will write about the next 3 months of travel.
One last thought, I have always enjoyed the general carefree way people approach life in many parts of the developing world. For example, this morning I say a small child (under 1 year old) on the lap of persumably her father while he drove the car. This may not be considered "safe" but that little girl probably had a blast. Yes, there are limits to the safety and simple common sense balance, but isn't fun important too?
Another prime example (with photo) was from my trip yesterday to the small Tongan island, Panaimotou. Just off its coast, there is a sunken ship which protrudes from the water and is now heavily rusted. One might worry of dangers but not the Tongan children, it appeared they were more concerned with the exceeding amounts of fun to be had as they climbed higher and jumped farther.
Good Times.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Salote Rd,Nuku'alofa,Tonga
Great update! Makes me miss traveling.
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