from w
The Australian newspaper has an excellent travel writer, Susan Kurosawa, and I have enjoyed her articles for a few years because they are usually informative, quirky, humorous. But... what was she thinking in the Bula Groove article yesterday! As a guest of Fiji Beach Resort & Spa aka Denarau, managed by the Hilton chain, she relaxed on the beach or in a villa with all the luxury offered to tourists who can pay $545 a room.
I quote: 'You can call in a chef for $50 an hour and do the barbie for you.' 'Babysitting charges are a low $F6 an hour.' The article does not of course mention coups, strikes, Momi Bay, the normal pay for a hotel staff member as about $2.50 an hour, and what the Fiji papers are currently saying. Here is 'political/tourist brochure' correctness without the full story.
She writes: 'greeted by the customary bula by everyone I pass. I ask one of the housekeepers how often she says the word each day. She finds my curiousity amusing. 'Too many times to count, ' she giggles. 'We Fijians say Bula all day long, probably in our sleep.''
I read this article soon after posting about poverty in Fiji. The Fiji Bula test, now the Fiji Resort Test. Hmmmm.
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