TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Cultural Night at the Fiji Palms Resort

Monday, February 24, 2014

Cultural Night at the Fiji Palms Resort

I know these cultural nights at resorts can be hockey, but sometimes, they're all you've got to get clues about a people's culture. We attended Fiji Palms Resort's cultural night, which included a buffet of their traditional food and folkloric dance and music. Here are some pictures. Please be patient as my high-res pictures take forever to download.

In Fiji, there are Melanesians, Polynesians, and later the British brought in South Asians (from India). Now, Fijians of South Asian background make up 50% of the population.

I recognized some of the dishes last night: a raw fish salad like a cerviche; a local spinach cooked in coconut milk; and they had traditionally-earth-oven-baked-with-hot-stones barracuda, pork, and chicken. There was squash soup, taro root, potato, cole slaw, and a variety of fruit. And they had all-you-can-drink kava, which is non-alcoholic but acts as a mild sedative. I didn't like the earthy slightly bitter taste of Kava, which comes from the pepper family.

Here are some pictures. Click on the picture to make it larger. They show the women in our group; little Brynn with Brody (who is enchanted with her); Lauren checking the kava bowl; the dancers; and Brynn horrified at the Fijian warrior.

It's hot here but we heard a storm is on its way. Well, that will be an adventure if it does get here. Our resort guidelines talk about Earthquakes, Typhoons, and Tsunamis. Hmmm..... I hope not!