People from Southeast Asia were the first people to arrive on Fiji and that was long before European explorers reached Fiji in the 17th century. Evidence of inhabitants settling Fiji has been found in excavated ceramics and it is estimated that Fiji had settlements as early as 1000 BC. C. Fiji was inhabited mainly by Indians from India and was perceived to have a government dominated by the Indo-Fijian (Indian) community. This was interrupted by a military coup in 1987 and in the same year another similar coup replaced the British Monarchy and the Governor General with a non-executive President. The country changed its name from the Dominion of Fiji to the Republic of Fiji and then to the Republic of the Fiji Islands in 1997.
Polynesians and Melanesians migrated to the South Pacific centuries ago, and now the Fijian population is a mix of both. Indentured laborers were brought from India between 1879 and 1916 to work in the sugar cane fields. The Indian population in Fiji grew rapidly to 60,000 after indentured workers were brought in. There was more Indian migration to the country in the 1920s and 1930s, which formed the core of Fiji’s business class. The Indo-Fijian population declined due to emigration and lower birth rate and currently makes up about 37% of the total Fijian population. From the 1940s to the 1980s, they were the largest ethnic group within the Fijian community.
The Fiji Museum is located in the middle of the Suva Botanical Gardens and houses a remarkable archaeological collection dating back 3,700 years. The museum also features cultural artifacts belonging to both the indigenous inhabitants of Fiji and those who have settled the island group over the past 100 years. There are excellent trinkets from the past on display in the museum. You will also find some larger objects like traditional canoes on display in the museum. The Cultural Center at Pacific Harbor offers theatrical displays of Fijian culture past and present.
Viti Levu beaches are not good for beaches as we know. The coast is heavily covered with mangrove forests and as the beach appears it is often muddy. The best stretch of beach of all in Viti Levu is the coral coast and some resorts have sprung up that have beautiful white sand beaches lined with palm trees and lagoons.
Among Fiji’s volcanic islands, at Malolo Lailai, you’ll find a long expanse of fine white sand and palm trees, where the view of the yacht club and the bay are breathtaking. You can walk through the shallows to neighboring Isla Malolo, the largest island in the Mamanuca Group, and visit some of the good cove beaches, the pleasant tourist beach, and several local villages where shells are sold.
You’ll find two beautiful beaches on Mana Island, and the beach next to the resort has a multitude of activities with jet skiing, parasailing, bars, and even an underground spot where you can view underwater coral views without getting wet. Mana Island is a place where you can walk for a couple of hours, which makes it a good place to walk on the beach.
Fiji is an exotic destination for its romantic atmosphere, providing a great place for honeymooners and others who love tranquility and the sound of the sea, with the quiet calm of clean nature. The sight of dolphins arching in the air next to your boat is a sight that has its own value. Surfers from all over the world are drawn to the incredible twenty-foot wave found offshore at Tavarua. It is where you would enjoy floating in the calm waters of a turquoise lagoon at sunset or taking a walk through the lush tropical jungle.
When you visit Fiji, you will take your cell phone with you. You would need to stay in touch with your business associates, friends and family, and also be available to people who want to get in touch with you. Nowadays, a cell phone has become a necessity in our daily life. You had made such visits abroad in the days when mobile telephony was not available. You had to make those calls, and you had done it using the phone available in your hotel room. It was quite expensive.
With the advent of mobile telephony, you had taken your mobile abroad in roaming. He made calls to his associates and friends, both locally and internationally, and kept in touch with his family back home. He paid roaming charges for the calls he made and received, which were much higher than what is normally charged. The bill he received at the end of the month was exorbitant and he went beyond the budget he had in mind.
Now there is a way to save on such visits. A prepaid SIM card for Fiji saves up to 80% on your calling costs. When you buy a prepaid SIM card for Fiji, you get a local number and pay for your calls like locals do. All your incoming calls are free and you pay nothing for roaming. You do not sign any contract with any service provider and you will not receive invoices at the end of the month. You’ll get some talktime credit when you buy the Fiji prepaid SIM card, which lets you use your cell phone right away. As your talktime credit runs out, you can always buy coupons or top-up vouchers at virtually any store in Fiji and replenish your talktime credit level. These coupons are available in many denominations and you can choose the value of the talktime credit you want. Since you pay in advance for the calls you make, you can keep track of the expenses you incur with the calls you make. This helps you keep your budget set for such expenses. For more information on the Fiji prepaid SIM card and its prices, visit http://www.planetomni.com/FAQ_sim.shtml
The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is the smart module in your cell phone, which connects you to relevant networks, while on the go, allowing you to make and receive calls and have seamless conversations. The SIM card is slightly smaller than a postage stamp and is a printed circuit board smart card. It has a microprocessor and memory and contains unique information about your connectivity, including your subscription information, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your mobile phone, and other security details. When you turn on your phone, the information is transmitted to the nearest tower of the place you are visiting, whose validity and security are verified by the network. If all goes well, you are connected to the network and only then are you ready to use your cell phone for your intended purpose. The SIM card also contains your address book, where frequently called names and phone numbers are stored. It also records the numbers of incoming and outgoing calls and also those calls that you do not answer. These numbers are recorded along with their corresponding time and date. This is done for your references.
When visiting Fiji, you will need a GSM cell phone that is compatible with the frequency bands of the network operated in Fiji. You may have a GSM phone, but it is highly unlikely that the phone will work in Fiji. Here is the reason why. Networks in North America, Canada and some other neighboring countries operate on the GSM frequency bands of 850 MHz and 1900 MHz, while Fiji works on a single frequency band, which is 900 MHz. This incompatibility in bandwidths it is the reason why a cell phone, purchased and used in the United States, will not work in Fiji. In reality, very few countries in the world use the same frequency bands that coincide with those used in North America, Canada and some countries in the Americas, and this sets these countries apart from others, when it comes to bands. GSM frequency.
Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is the first open-structure digital mobile technology and replaces the old first generation (1G) analog system. GSM was first developed in Europe and is the second generation (2G) of mobile telephony. GSM is used in more than 214 countries and has more than 80% subscribers of the total number of mobile users in the world. It has four sets of frequency bands, 850 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz, and they are distributed in different regions of the world. Some of the bandwidths are common between regions.
To make it easier for subscribers to travel from one country to another with their mobile phones, mobile phones are available in multi-frequency bandwidths. Quadband is compatible with all GSM bandwidths and can work in any country in the world. Tri-band supports three of the GSM bandwidths, 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands and is compatible with most GSM regions. Dual band supports only two of the GSM frequency bands, 800 MHz and 1900 MHz.
The GSM phone you take to Fiji with your prepaid Fiji SIM card needs to be unlocked. In other words, the cell phone should be able to work with any SIM card. A SIM locked cell phone will only work with the SIM card for which it is designed. With a SIM locked phone, you will not be able to use your Fiji prepaid SIM card.
When you sign a contract with a service provider, a clause in that contract may state that you need to use the provider’s services for a defined period of time, usually one year. Under the contract, the service provider will provide a cell phone absolutely free, which becomes yours at the end of the contract period. When you receive your cell phone from the service provider, you also receive the SIM card. Your phone is SIM locked, so it only works with the SIM card you received from your service provider. This is done to ensure that you use the provider’s services and no other. At the end of the contract period, the service provider helps you SIM unlock your phone, which can then be used with any SIM card you want.
Therefore, it becomes necessary that you firstly make sure that the GSM mobile you are carrying with you in Fiji is compatible with the bandwidth and secondly that your phone is SIM unlocked.
If you are a frequent traveler to countries outside the United States, it would be economical for you to buy a cell phone, compatible with the frequency bands of the countries you visit regularly. If you don’t travel often, it will be very inexpensive for you to rent such a phone. For more information on renting or buying a GSM cell phone, visit http://www.planetomni.com/FAQ_gsm.shtml
A prepaid SIM card for Fiji is affordable and also saves you substantially on phone call charges. You are charged the same as locals and all your incoming calls are free. You pay nothing for roaming. Plus, since you pay for your calls in advance, you can keep track of the expenses you incur and therefore stay within the budget you’ve set for them.
