My adventure in Tonga is over.
Bye.
23 January 2007
10 January 2007
polynesia, top to bottom. well, almost.
A week or so after the riots in Nuku'’alofa -– which the Tongan media is referring to as 16/11 - I flew out to Samoa. After a period of us wondering '“will they or won'’t they'” the company managing the Australia volunteer programs had decided to offer us the chance to get away from Tonga for a while. As my assignment was so close to finishing, I wasn'’t eligible for the taxpayer-funded holiday to Australia (some of you would say one such funded holiday, to Tonga, is enough). With the centre of town, including my work under tight security and most of the volunteer community boarding planes I chose to stump up for a ticket to Samoa.
Four weeks in Samoa, and two weeks in New Zealand, later I am now back in Tonga. Counting down the days until the end of my placement.
Having already been to Samoa for two weeks in July and already ticked off most of the must-see/must-do attractions, I went for the low-key and relaxed approach the second time around. Many of the volunteers in Samoa thought it strange that I could spend four weeks sleeping-in, reading books, watching DVDs or catching the bus to town for little reason other than to have lunch with Jess. It must be too long since they enjoyed such procrastination while at university. I did do more than what I have described, but going to Samoa really was just about not being in Tonga and spending time with Jess.
A big part of why I didn't busy myself with touristy activities in Samoa was that Jess and I had already planned to travel to New Zealand for Christmas and New Years. By train, boat, plane and car we covered Auckland to Christchurch via Rotorua, Wellington, Nelson and Greymouth in 12 days.
New Zealand was full of highlights, but after my first few posts I made a commitment not to write too much of a travelogue. A few things stood out however. Everywhere we went over our first ten days people apologised for the cold weather, but after the 30-degree temperatures and 90-odd per cent humidity of Samoa I have never appreciated the cold more. The cold also helped to justify a few additions to our wardrobes and lingering in strong hot showers that also provided a pleasant change. It was nice to be in a land of plenty again and our itinerary, focussed on cities rather than nature, reflected our desire for creature comforts. Trips to the supermarket were as wondrous as our train trip across the Southern Alps from Greymouth to Christchurch. Our itinerary reflected our longing for creature comforts.
Coming in to land in Tonga, I was struck by how familiar everything appeared. Tongatapu is such a small island, just a dot on the map, and I have seen much of it over and over again while being here that there was barely a building or landmark that I couldnÂ’t recall having ridden by at some point in time. Chatting to the taxi driver (who also picked up my intake of volunteers when we first arrived in-country back in March) I couldn'’t help but thinking this familiarity was quite superficial. I have enjoyed Tonga and learnt much about the Kingdom this year, as well as myself, but there is a lot I can'’t, or don'’t, want to understand. Some things should remain inexplicable.
Four weeks in Samoa, and two weeks in New Zealand, later I am now back in Tonga. Counting down the days until the end of my placement.
Having already been to Samoa for two weeks in July and already ticked off most of the must-see/must-do attractions, I went for the low-key and relaxed approach the second time around. Many of the volunteers in Samoa thought it strange that I could spend four weeks sleeping-in, reading books, watching DVDs or catching the bus to town for little reason other than to have lunch with Jess. It must be too long since they enjoyed such procrastination while at university. I did do more than what I have described, but going to Samoa really was just about not being in Tonga and spending time with Jess.
A big part of why I didn't busy myself with touristy activities in Samoa was that Jess and I had already planned to travel to New Zealand for Christmas and New Years. By train, boat, plane and car we covered Auckland to Christchurch via Rotorua, Wellington, Nelson and Greymouth in 12 days.
New Zealand was full of highlights, but after my first few posts I made a commitment not to write too much of a travelogue. A few things stood out however. Everywhere we went over our first ten days people apologised for the cold weather, but after the 30-degree temperatures and 90-odd per cent humidity of Samoa I have never appreciated the cold more. The cold also helped to justify a few additions to our wardrobes and lingering in strong hot showers that also provided a pleasant change. It was nice to be in a land of plenty again and our itinerary, focussed on cities rather than nature, reflected our desire for creature comforts. Trips to the supermarket were as wondrous as our train trip across the Southern Alps from Greymouth to Christchurch. Our itinerary reflected our longing for creature comforts.
Coming in to land in Tonga, I was struck by how familiar everything appeared. Tongatapu is such a small island, just a dot on the map, and I have seen much of it over and over again while being here that there was barely a building or landmark that I couldnÂ’t recall having ridden by at some point in time. Chatting to the taxi driver (who also picked up my intake of volunteers when we first arrived in-country back in March) I couldn'’t help but thinking this familiarity was quite superficial. I have enjoyed Tonga and learnt much about the Kingdom this year, as well as myself, but there is a lot I can'’t, or don'’t, want to understand. Some things should remain inexplicable.
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