Travel to Samoa: Enjoy the sea view on sunny days, enjoy the tropical rain forest as a rare guest and enjoy the food easily.

Samoa, formerly known as "Western Samoa", is located in the South Pacific. It consists of two big islands, Ubolu Island and Savai Island, and seven other small islands, with a land area of 2,934 square kilometers and a population of about 1.7 million. Ninety percent of them belong to pure Polynesian race, and a few are mixed-race Europeans and China.

At present, China people can apply for visas on arrival as long as they hold valid passports for more than half a year.

There are usually three routes to Samoa:

1. Fly from China to Auckland, New Zealand, where you will transfer to Samoa (flight time is about 4 hours). This route doesn't have to stop in Auckland, but you must apply for a transit visa for New Zealand in advance.

2. The second route is to fly from Shanghai or Hong Kong to Hawaii, then transfer from Hawaii, and then go to Samoa (about 3 hours' flight), but again, you need an American visa to transfer to Hawaii.

3. The third route is to fly from Hong Kong to Fiji, and transfer to Samoa in Fiji (the flight time is less than 2 hours). This is our route. However, when connecting flights in Fiji, it is often impossible to leave immediately. You need to stay in Fiji for one night and leave the next day. However, the advantage is that the procedures are simple. China people do not need a visa to travel to and from Fiji, and they can also visit the beautiful scenery and eat seafood in Fiji, so there are more people on this route.

This trip to Samoa left a very good impression on me. To sum up, there are several aspects of this island country that readers should not underestimate:

First, primitive and modern coexist.

Although I often go home and abroad before and after retirement, it is the first time to go to such a remote and primitive island country.

There are various assumptions and speculations before departure, worrying about whether the five-star hotel service arranged by the travel agency will pass the customs. Fortunately, after arriving at the hotel, the situation was better than expected. Not only is the environment and conditions first-class, but some details are also impressive.

I paid a deposit of 100 when I checked in at the hotel, which is the practice of most hotels, but the hotel front desk didn't give me a receipt after receiving the deposit, which made me a little puzzled.

The tour guide explained that this is a local practice. They are honest, and will refund all the money to the guests when they check out, which proves to be true when they check out.

There are water basins in the lobby and corridor of the hotel. There are Samoan flag patterns in the water basins, which are made of local flowers, which is a bit of a combination of modernity and originality.

Strolling through Samoa, you will see modern five-star hotels juxtaposed with indigenous primitive villages.

Samoans live a very leisurely life, with a slow pace. The concept of time is not necessarily as sensitive as that of modern people living in big cities, but the travel schedules in various places are very clear and they will leave when the time comes.

Although the local people still live in houses made of primitive trees and banana leaves, it is also a landscape for taxis to shuttle between the tropical rain forest and the primitive villages.

Second, the tourism industry is developing rapidly and the currency is strong.

Tourism is one of the main economic pillars of Samoa. At present, the currency used in Samoa is Tara. At that time, RMB in 2.7 yuan was convertible to 1 Tara. Samoa has several tourist attractions that attract tourists from all over the world all the year round. That's why we are here.

Le Sua Trench is said to be a world-class landscape, which is formed by the trench on the Pacific coast. It attracts young people all over the world to take risks all the year round. There is only a steep straight ladder to go down. The straight ladder is very narrow and can only accommodate one person. The water below is sometimes cold and sometimes hot. The manager's requirement for tourists is to pay attention to safety, and he is not responsible for any fall or sprain. In fact, there are many trenches like this nearby, but this one is bigger and you can go swimming.

Another Samoan sight is the wind tunnel on Savai Island. If you want to see the wind tunnel, you have to get up early and take a ferry from Sapia Island to Savai Island.

These wind tunnels on the island are all formed by the impact of waves on the Pacific coast, and the rocks on the shore are very hard.

Unfortunately, when we went to see it, the waves from these wind tunnels were not high. If the wind tunnel becomes empty at low tide, the waves will set off waves more than ten meters high and look spectacular.

At that time, I just took a video with my mobile phone, but I missed the best time to take pictures. I'm sorry.

Besides, there are many waterfalls on the island. The water under the waterfall is crystal clear, and tourists often jump into it to feel the coolness of the Pacific coast.

If you are careful there, you will also find that these waterfalls are surrounded by all kinds of tropical plants, lush and fruity. However, you must pay attention that these plants are poisonous. You can only look at them, but you can't touch them If you eat them, you may not go back.

Stevenson is a famous Scottish writer and one of the representatives of neo-romanticism in English literature. He has written works such as Treasure Island. He used to live in Samoa, so his former residence is kept here for tourists to visit.

Everything in the former residence is as old and well preserved. There are full-time management personnel to explain. The way of preservation is a bit like the way of preserving Hemingway's former residence in key west, Florida, USA. It is a must for experts and scholars who love British and American literature.

In Samoa, people openly admit that their ancestors were cannibals, and they ate people 300 years ago. But later, there were different views on when to stop eating people and why not.

When visiting a museum, a person in charge of the local museum told us that there is such a legend in Samoa. There is also an oil painting in the museum, which records the cannibalism of their ancestors.

The story goes like this. ...

Legend has it that there was a king who ate one person every day, and the local village head was responsible for arresting people and offering sacrifices. One day, the king and the prince were walking in the village outside. They heard crying nearby. As they approached, they saw two men crying.

When the king saw this, he asked and learned that this was a pair of brothers. The two brothers didn't know that the king was standing in front of them, so they said that the chief informed his family today that he would dedicate one of them to the king for dinner.

Before the king could speak, the prince next to him took the two brothers aside to talk, and then walked away with the king.

At dinner time, as usual, a human body wrapped in banana leaves was placed in front of the king as his dinner. When the king opened the banana leaf, he was surprised to find that this time it was his son who served as his dinner.

The king was angry and annoyed. At this time, the prince persuaded the king not to eat innocent people like this, and let him think about how he would feel if his son was eaten. Then the king suddenly repented and cannibals stopped eating people.

Such legends are very popular in Samoa. When you hear these stories during your trip, although cannibalism is cruel, listening to them as legends can also broaden your knowledge.

Samoa has unique customs, beautiful scenery, leisurely life and delicious food. In addition, an indispensable part of Samoa's tourism is to visit the home of the local chief.

This may be the happiest part of any tour group's itinerary, and it is also the best opportunity to learn more about local customs.

According to local standards, the welcoming ceremony is very formal. When you arrive at the Sheikh's home, you will be welcomed like a hero. We went to the chief's house this time. He has seven sons.

At home, the chiefs' sons each say welcome words in the indigenous language, and then the chiefs say welcome words. After the welcome speech, the children will give each guest a local drink called lava.

After drinking lava drinks, I went to the Sheikh's house to watch and participate in the whole process of killing pigs and chickens, and finally had lunch.

During the dinner, every prince in the chieftain's family danced a local dance. The music is beautiful and the process is interesting.

Thirdly, Samoan customs, society and future.

Samoa has a unique style and has become one of the world-famous tourist attractions.

Samoans are generally tall, fierce and smiling. Samoan men are strong. I also have a feeling that Samoan women's social status is not high, and there are social conditions everywhere, so I don't need to elaborate.

Samoa is also one of the global offshore financial centers, with a relatively complete offshore judicial system. And in about 20 14, it officially launched its own special trust bill SISTA-Samoa? Island Special Trust Act.

Our government has announced that seven South Pacific island countries, including Samoa, have been listed as overseas tourist destinations for China citizens, and the Samoa Tourism Bureau is also taking measures to target the China tourism market.

China citizens who intend to travel must choose qualified travel agencies to ensure their legitimate interests and provide passports and other relevant documents.

In short, this trip to Samoa left me with the impression that the sea is beautiful, the people are simple, the food is delicious, the weather is a little hot, the status of women is not high, and the travel is endless.

If you want to know more about tourism, you can pay attention to the parade in the official account of WeChat (search for "youxingji888").

Weibo: Parade route.

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