Malo e leilei

Malo e leilei

Have had a busy week in Tonga - starting with royal wedding & sighting humpback whales on day 1. Dressed up in traditional dress for church on Sunday with King & Queen, newly wed crown prince & fantastic choir. The rest of the week has included a display of bodybuilders competing to be Mr Tonga & a Miss Heilala festival which had all generations out till midnight at a street party - including preachers & Christian hiphoppers, Japanese exchange students, & charming old men playing ukeleles & WISE women (women in sustainable enterprises) sizzling sausages. Checked out a Tongan coffee plantation, a nearby island, & more amazing voices from an array churches singing anything from Harlem gospel to a Chinese-Tongan compilation. Corned beef & other imports flood the supermarkets - still lots of coconuts, taro & fish... 'ota ika' (a delicious raw fish dish) being my favourite so far. 

Toki sio