Moon Fiji (Travel Guide)

Fiji was not on my short list, but it is now. If you could hear the sweet tones and relentlessness with which my wife has been reading to me from this book, you would think it a volume of love poetry. And maybe it is. Minal Hajratwala, also a journalist, teacher, and poet, has written a tempting and inspiring travel guide. It provides sensual descriptions in the voice of someone who’s spent a lot of time and wants to curate the best possible experience. Minal tells you where you’ll first land and unfolds your choices from there, like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. A good travel book introduction is indispensable, and this one’s top-10 list and general orientation really drew us in. When recommending an experience, Minal doesn’t just tell you where to go to get more information. She tells you what to ask for. She offers itineraries that fit my comfort level but also challenged me to fantasize about stretching my travel ambitions. The guide also includes very helpful orienting maps for this complex region. Reading it, we felt empowered to visit a place we knew nothing about and curious to read the Moon guides for other destinations we’ve been intimidated to visit.

Good travel guide for Fiji with plenty of good info. Might add more info for budget traveler.

In 2008, I had planned this epic solo trip to Australia and Fiji and just when I was about to finalize my travel, the market crashed and a number of my clients cancelled their contracts with me. This prompted me to pro-actively cancel my trip to Fiji. I haven’t forgiven myself since — and in the subsequent years, I have been dreaming of another time I could make the trip. I have not yet made it to Fiji, but I have busied myself over the years consuming books and writing and history about the culture and the islands — and then I read this Moon travel guide written by Minal Hajratwala, and it surprised me — in all the good ways. This guide is so much more than other guides I have read and used as traveling reference — in that it engages the parts of me that want to go deeper — to understand different cultures from both a critical, de-colonial and respectful lens. The voice of the guide is of a loving friend — committed to keeping me accountable as an ethical traveler that cares both about the earth and the people, and a reminder that when traveling — I am a guest. For example - there are detailed discussions on how to practically show respect in what I choose to purchase (support local makers / economies), how to behave (say ‘bula’ to folks), ask permission to photograph and be ok with hearing “no”, as well as what to wear. As an Asian American traveler, it was engrained deeply into my consciousness that my clothes, especially when traveling, communicate so much about how I show respect. I also appreciated the ways information about the flora and fauna is highlighted with detailed storytelling about their relationships to places and customs. In reading through many of the sections, I was pulled into the literal place of Fiji often as Minal’s writing spoke with me, not at me.Additionally, I judge all travel books for relevancy on how they approach LGBT/Queer travel and local culture. Most leave me wanting — allocating a mere paragraph if anything at all. This guide however, provided exactly what I am often looking for — a discussion about social and political realities, as well as this history of cultural ways of being — both of which weave throughout the guide and helped me better understand the intersections of customs and behaviors in different regions. The book also speaks more openly about transgender folks, not just gay and lesbian — which totally tempered my judginess.Fiji is still high on my list of travel destinations and it is becoming more and more likely these days. I can’t wait to have this guide in my pocket (ok, backpack) to keep my company when that adventure unfolds.

Moon Fiji mixes lush depictions with a fierce social conscience to create a beautiful, compelling book! I feel like I'm living multiple lives! Thanks to Minal, I can trek through waterfalls, zip-line through old growth rainforests, and sail down the river along black volcano walls. 300-plus jewel like islands? Barrier reefs and thousands of marine species? Sign me up, please. I feel like I'm really living life now that I know about "the soft coral capitol of the world," and can drink kava with new friends. I knew nothing about Village Homestays before. Now I know they are a great way to integrate and participate respectfully in Fijian culture. Being a city girl, I appreciate that she draws our attention to Suva, a cosmopolitan city with museums and night clubs, eateries, bars, and places to go dancing. Minal, who has deep roots in Fiji, reminds us that Fiji is not a single story, there is a multiplicity of place and experience here. I love that she includes a sample itinerary offering a kaleidoscopic experience. By far one of the best tour guides I've ever read.