source: dashh.typepad.com
Having come in contact with several tourists over the past few weeks and hearing their impressions of Fiji, it dawned upon me how far we’ve progressed from its days of head hunting, neighbour eating, and selective afro growing. A simple stroll through town will reveal important looking businessmen sealing important deals on their important cell phones, while children hum along to the latest hip hop/pop/reggae tunes with the help of their iPods. Giggling teenage girls compare their latest trendy buys from fashion stores around the corner, and in the midst of this all, various street modded cars zoom around, blaring ‘Gasolina’ through their daddy bought speakers.
source: www.maskworld.com
Sure we see these things everyday, but to the first time tourist, first impressions last. Out of curiosity, I decided to take a look around and tried to see things from their point of view. When a tourist first sets foot on our land, he/she would run through a mental checklist that may include whether or not the locals have electricity, (running off assumption here folks, feel free to think otherwise) running water or anything that represents said ‘civilization’.
Of course, as all locals know, Fiji passed that test a long time ago, and then some. While I’d like to think that we’ve come a long way, lets take a look at exactly how much has progressed since good ol’ Bligh set sea-weary eyes upon our infamous shores.
1) We got McDonalds
source: www.flickr.com
Nothing says global commercialization like Mcdonalds. When you can open up a small version of 1st world ideals in the remotest parts of the world, Fiji doesn’t seem that far off from everyone else. Considering the fact that the first branch was opened in Nadi, the gateway to Fiji (thanks in no small part to their airport), the golden arches are a welcome sight to all incoming tourists familiar with fast food and the slightly creepy mascot. When the second branch opened in Suva, we knew they were here to stay.
2) We got Internet
source: www.flickr.com
The world became that much smaller when the internet was brought to Fiji. From that fateful day when Telecom introduced the concept of shared communication, we were never the same. Imagine – now we could keep in touch with the rest of the cool people from around the world via MSN! Now we could read the latest news of what was going on continents away and not have to wait for the 6pm local news! Email made itself at home with both business houses and private homes alike, spam and all. Porn was no longer restricted to the tattered, well thumbed magazines that were a few years old, but was readily available in all its full, DVD quality glory! Of course, the hourly disconnects were a pain, as were the high phone bills due to the numerous reconnection attempts the computer modem made to the overloaded telecom server, but it was a small price to pay for downloaded seasons of The Simpsons and Takashi’s Castle.
3) We got MTV
source: image.vinylpulse.com
Albit on a pay channel, but still! To prove that Fiji is up-to-date with all that is ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ (makes alien ears sign with fingers), we brought MTV to our shores, and the corruption of the future generation began anew. To be honest, it was (correct me if I’m wrong) the Coca-cola Power Jammer that started it all, but the influence of MTV cannot be denied. Even today, we can see the influence of such a life style, with krump and local hip hop in full bloom. Where will this all go from here? Who knows?
4) We get Movies before Australia and New Zealand (sometimes)
source: myfijiguide.com
For serious? Well…to the best of my knowledge, yes. We, the little country in the middle of the pacific, constantly pushed around by the upper powers of the 1st world country watch dogs (or so the left wing conspiracists would like to believe), by some strange powers that be, have Hollywood movies that open first at our beloved Damodar Village cinemas first, before they even see the light of the projector in Australia and New Zealand. I may have to check now to see if that still happens, but when I was growing up, it was common knowledge to people who had just arrived from Australia or New Zealand that movies that had already run their screening course in Fiji were just beginning to open there. This, I believe, is something worth investigating 
5) We got more than one television channel
source: www.sarnil.com
The ultimate pointer when deciding whether Fiji is still in the dark ages or has settled amongst the stars. One locally produced television channel in a country is mandatory, when the infrastructure has been set up by the local government and set in motion. We were there once. Fiji One Television dominated the … television landscape for so long, it seemed almost blasphamous to even think of having an additional station take up space on our local tv screens. Who out there was brave enough to take on the titan that was Fiji TV? Not only did they bring us ER, Seasame Street, and X-Files, but for a time (all too brief in my opinion) they provided BBC free to air during off peak hours. That was awesome. However, after showing Hercules reruns again and again, another channel didn’t look so bad, and with the government breaking open the tv market, it was only a matter of time before Mai TV stepped in to provide an alternative. And we were happy.
6) We got four two lane roads (corrected because I’m a noob)
source: www.istockphoto.com
This particular point is something close to my dear heart. In the dark ages of single lane roads between Suva and Nausori, traffic jams were such a common occurance that I began to believe that all of civilization ran on roads such as ours. Seeing multi-lane roads in the US through movies was an eye opener to what we were missing out here. Then, lo and behold, the government (then 
) stepped in and began the arduous task of building a highway that had – what? 2 lanes? No. Way. But it happened! Now queues are a thing of the past (in the old queue places, but with poor planning, bottling up of traffic happens else where now =_=)! Now we can speed through certain parts of the Kings Road on our superior 2 lane road, confident in the knowledge that this is how it’s done overseas. This is how Uncle Jone in California drives to work. On a road with more then one lane. Beautiful.
) stepped in and began the arduous task of building a highway that had – what? 2 lanes? No. Way. But it happened! Now queues are a thing of the past (in the old queue places, but with poor planning, bottling up of traffic happens else where now =_=)! Now we can speed through certain parts of the Kings Road on our superior 2 lane road, confident in the knowledge that this is how it’s done overseas. This is how Uncle Jone in California drives to work. On a road with more then one lane. Beautiful.Bear in mind though that this post doesn’t reflect the real thing when it comes to Fiji and its development pace. We’ve still got a long way to go if we want to look anything like Australia/New Zealand in terms of the advancement of society. Look at this as merely an observation more tongue in cheek then mirror reality, and make your own hypothesis from there.
Agree? Disagree? There’s the comment button 
PS: I’ve posted a poll on the right, asking you people what you think was the most important development that brought us in sight of being nominated as a country that isn’t missing out much on some of the creature comforts easily afforded by our neighbours.
#1 by shiva on September 10, 2008 - 8:10 am
4 lane roads? Are you serious? Thats amazing…unless they have potholes the size of small lakes like most roads back home
#2 by Wilson on September 10, 2008 - 8:18 am
I stand corrected >< It's actually 2 lane roads we have on the highway between Suva and Nausori
This is what 12:30am does to you hehe
#3 by Picky Eater on September 10, 2008 - 3:14 pm
We still have 1 big impediment to being declared truly civilised: speed/road humps on ‘national highways’
Seriously! WTF?
Potholes are natures way of getting back at us; a shortage of road lanes: nothing but a reminder that most of us don’t pay tax … but road humps on highways: that’s active human stupidity at it’s most uncivil.
When our highways don’t have road humps, don’t detour through every village, and don’t conspire to prevent a steady 80km/h between Suva and Nadi … then, and only then, will we ready to stand naked and unashamed on the threshold of civilisation.
#4 by Peceli and Wendy's Blog on October 6, 2008 - 2:44 pm
From a distance now, but we were in Fiji three weeks ago. I was astonished by the activities of our grandkids – it’s all about video games, mobile phones, etc. The life of their parents was so different – mucking about on a beach, fetching coconuts, etc. Is it better today though?
Suva has changed since the days I lived in Amy Street,Toorak – no bars on windows, no locks at all then. However the internet cafes are great and the food is still delicious especially at the Tiri Restaurant with the catering students.
w.
#5 by Nandni on October 13, 2008 - 9:18 pm
Fiji Has USP and FIT????as far as education goes, Uni degrees are recognized around the south Pacific..Vinaka Fiji
Oh and also did any of you notice MHCC?mini shopping mall…what say??
#6 by Wilson on October 14, 2008 - 9:08 am
Very valid points nandni O_o As per usual, i wasn't thinking much of education, taking USP for granted. Never again ><
As for MHCC – weeeeelllll yeah but we've had shopping malls of various sizes for awhile now (if i recall, Boulevard was the first one that had the kaicolo factor, tv ads and roasted cone ice cream) so i would consider MHCC an upgrade, though a rather substantial, airport quality one ^_^
Of course, opinions may differ…
#7 by irishfalla on November 10, 2008 - 6:41 pm
hmmm, dont forget fiji now has locally made porn too!. lolz.
#8 by Wilson on November 10, 2008 - 9:48 pm
A very important point Irishfella lol Point well made indeed
#9 by Some Angry Fiji Indian Guy on June 6, 2010 - 9:35 pm
Dude we have everything in Fiji. We have:
(1) Swimming pools – both Olympic Pool in Suva City and the Aquatic Center at Laucala Bay.
(2) Universities – 3 of them. University of the South Pacific (USP), Fiji National University (FNU) and University of Fiji (UoF).
(3) Fast food restaurants – McDonald’s (1 in Nadi, 2 in Suva), KFC and Pizza Hut (2 in Suva), Wishbone and Pizzaking, Nando’s, Chicken Express, etc.
(4) Nightclubs.
(5) Air-conditioned buses making Suva to Nadi trips.
(6) Free-to-air channels with Sky Pacific and PBS as satellite pay tv operators.
(7) 3 Internet Service Providers – Connect Fiji, Unwired and Kidanet.
(8) 3 cell phone operators – Vodafone, Inkk and Digicel.
(9) Wildlife and traditional parks – Kula Eco Bird Park and Orchid Island.
(10) Our own airline – Air Pacific with a bunch of domestic operators e.g Pacific Sun.
#10 by Wilson on June 6, 2010 - 9:47 pm
@Some Angry Fiji Indian Guy
We don’t have HBO.
Also, please re-read the post. Especially the last bit.
#11 by Some Angry Fiji Indian Guy on June 8, 2010 - 4:56 pm
I don’t think HBO is even available in Australia and New Zealand. Correct me if I am wrong on this. Does every country need to have HBO?
Can you specify what you mean by rereading the post and what bit actually needs to be reread? It will make a lot of things easier.
By that if you mean the bunch of domestic operators, then in reality there are a lot of domestic operators in Fiji. You could always check the 2010 Fiji Yellow Pages. Online Yellow Pages for Fiji wouldn’t give a good result unless you type the actual name of the airline.
If you mean Air Pacific being 46.32% owned by Qantas, then the Fiji Government still owns a majority of 51% and so it still is the Airline of Fiji.
Anywhere you feel I am wrong, do correct me.
#12 by Wilson on June 8, 2010 - 8:22 pm
Firstly, the bit to re-read was “Look at this as merely an observation more tongue in cheek then mirror reality, and make your own hypothesis from there.”
I’m not being super serious. This isn’t THE FACTZORS. All for a little fun. So chill. The way you were listing all those points sounded like you were – oh. ‘Some Angry Fiji Indian Guy.’ Should have known you’d be slliiighhtly pissed.
Remember, the article is about a tourist’s POV when they arrive in Fiji. You’ve raised all good points about Fiji and what it has. But it’s nowhere near as plentiful as what they got overseas, in terms of 1st world access to…everything else. Mostly materialistic though, but that was my point.
I’m not saying I’m not proud to be a Fijian. Hell no. I love my country just as much as any non-migrating local does (ooooh low blow). What I’m saying is that when someone from a 1st world country comes to Fiji, they will see a few familiar merchandising sights, maybe experience a few cool air-con creature comforts, and nod their heads and say, “Yep. Fiji is definitely…improving.”
Yes we have all of what you’ve listed. But we’re still not 1st World Country material. Not yet.
But hey. Who gives a fuck. I’m just fine with my Fiji Bitter and my nightclub (which mind you, is actually a Bar with dancing space. THIS, on the other hand…is a Nightclub.)
PS: That HBO bit was a joke. But seriously…we really need to get HBO. “The Pacific” was some great shit.