Here in California, if you want to visit Fiji, go to Sacramento. That doesn’t mean my February 2020 trip to Fiji in Sacramento was easy. First, my boss wanted to eat at an upscale Persian restaurant instead of one of the two casual Fijian restaurants I suggested. I ate a salad, dropped her off at the hotel, and went to find Fiji India Foods at 7298 Franklin Blvd. It was closed when I arrived at 7:45 pm despite the Internet and door sign which claimed they were open until 8. (Okay, I was cutting it close, but I really wanted to try Fijian food.)
Tandoori Grill at 7208 Florin Mall Drive was open. Since most of the food had Indian names, I asked the young woman at the counter to recommend a specifically Fijian dish. She recommended Junglee Murga, a Fiji style tender chicken. I ordered to-go since the Persian salad had filled me up and I thought I would just take a few bites and save the rest in the hotel fridge. While I waited, I read The U.S Fiji Times newspaper which demonstrated an active Fijian community in California including the announcement of a Fijian team competing in a rugby tournament coming up in Los Angeles. From the young woman, I learned about the summer Fijian festival in alternate locations such as Modesto, Stockton, and Sacramento. I put the festival on my calendar. (It was scheduled for the summer of 2020, so I’m pretty sure it didn’t happen.)
When I got back to the hotel and opened my food, it was goat - delicious goat and I ate almost all of it, but not the Fijian chicken I ordered, so was it Fijian or Indian? I don’t know. The young woman had said Fijians use different spices than Indian food, but she couldn't tell me which ones, so I don’t have a concept of what it might taste like.
The next day after my meetings I went to Khoobsurat Boutique in Southpoint Plaza (it was closed, but I looked through the window at the beautiful dresses and materials). The following day before I left Sacramento, I went to Fiji Mart at 3280 Northgate Blvd. I bought Masala spices with instructions to mix with vegetables. The woman who sold them to me said that Fijian spices are more subtle than Indian spices and that Indian spices are too strong and give you heartburn. I used the spices and loved them, but they were super strong! Did I buy the wrong thing? I gave them to my spice loving sister-in-law because my husband, who doesn’t understand food that hurts you, wouldn't be able to eat anything I might make with them.
I had previously learned about the Indian influence in Fiji when our amazing chef at work recreated the menu from the Polynesian Cultural Center on O’ahu for a Pacific Islands themed event. Fiji was represented by curry with chicken, carrots, and potatoes, served with steamed rice. But I hadn't known why there are so many Indians in Fiji. After the British empire outlawed slavery, they replaced those workers with indentured servants from India. Many Indians were shipped to Fiji and couldn’t afford to return when their indenture was over.
Having spent this time with the Indo-Fijian community, I wanted to learn more about the culture of the original Fijians. Some of this is shown in the footage of cultural events presented to a young Queen Elizabeth II when she visited in 1953: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTt3CPQXnhM. More is shown in the ceremonies of independence for Fiji with a young Prince Charles attending in 1970. The first of five parts starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ussSfW2Vms
The movie Vai starts in Fiji as it shows the story of one woman imagined by eight women directors from the Pacific. Of the Fijian resources I found, this is my favorite as I saw the universality of women's experience. It also rang true to what I have learned from my Polynesian friend Gladys about the relationships between grandmothers and granddaughters. I watched it on DVD from the library and it is also available at https://tubitv.com/movies/516281/vai
I picked up one more dance performance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyZuiibaVrY) before moving on to some easily available shows filmed on Fiji:
· There is a River Monsters episode from Fiji which can be found on Amazon Prime (season 7, episode 5).
· Survivor: Fiji (Season 14) can currently be seen on Amazon Prime and Hulu.
· I’ve seen seven of the additional eight seasons of Survivor that have been filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji according to Wikipedia. Some are free on Amazon Prime, others can be watched for a price. Many are on Hulu. I have spent a lot more time on Fiji than I previously thought!
Just this week AP News came out with an interesting article and video on how the pandemic is impacting tourism on Fiji and the move to indigenous foods and gardening: https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-gardening-indonesia-coronavirus-pandemic-fiji-9f78985483b360008dd554bf9d4b438e
The Crazy Tourist puts a twist on their 15 Best in Fiji and shows the best resorts rather than the best places to go. Maybe because if you stay at an all-inclusive resort, you stay there or do their tours. https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-resorts-fiji/
Finally, when this pandemic is over, you might want to plan travel to Fiji using your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Fiji and throughout the world.
Photo Credit: Gary Runn https://unsplash.com/photos/V0EwMp_o6_Y