Things we learned while traveling the south Pacific

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When you travel, you learn something new almost every day. My wife and I traveled the islands of Tonga and Samoa for seven weeks.

Here is a list with the most interesting things we learned:

Yes means anything. From positive to neutral yes can mean pretty much everything. Sometime it even means yes.
Smile, stay calm, talk. There are just so many reasons thing can be as they are and not as one would expect. Especially in remote areas. Only ask why if you can cope with an because I can.
Hot water doesn't necessairily mean usefully hot. More than often it means boiling hot. So you can either jump squares in your shower or revert to cold water. Which isn't really cold after all.
A bathroom can have a mirror, but can also do without one. During our stay almost one third of the bathrooms we used hat a sink, but no mirror. The same is valid for other pairs like bread and spread, canoe and paddle or mask and finns.
You can shave with your eyes closed. If you don't have a mirror, or it is too dark, just close your eyes while shaving. It's just as good.
After two hot days of not washing, you feel clean even after a salt water bath.
A machete is the alround tool for almost any problem. We have even seen people looking a car engine with a machetes in their hands. Or maybe they were just waiting for the coconut man.
An over-water bungalow or an open beach fale is a very romantic idea. Until you hear the waves crushing at the shore at night right under your bed or it gets windy and rainy (in your bed). The same applies for sleeping on a mat like a local. It's ok for the first half hour. After that, you need to be a local to cope.
Nothing beats sitting at the beach and watching the waves. Only maybe watching the southern cross rise over the horizon.
If you need something that stretches the boundaries, it's better to ask a man. If it is important, better ask a women.
On time can mean up to 30min later or even 15min earlier. And don't expect the other to wait. You need him, not the other way round.
Get a prepaid card for your mobile. In these times mobile communication and WiFi have become ubiquitous and close to be a human right.

Of course, there is also some more serious learnings:

It's about the people you meet, not the pictures you take, the trails you walk or the sunsets you see.
Having drinkable tap water is the real luxury. You'll realise, once you try to rinse your toilet with botteled water.
You only know how important a regular and reliable public transport is (even if it's only 2 or 3 times a day) is, if you waited for that bus in the sun for hours.
Always bring a hat, a towel, a knife and a first aid kit.

But the biggest learning of them all, and probably oldest, and the one that you do almost every day: If there is people, there is always a solution. Even if it's simply not being alone. I guess that's why travellers all over the world go out of their comfort zone. To experience that moment of humanity and life.

Cu out there somewhere,

George.