The happiest place in the world: Fiji/South Pacific

If you're going to the other side of the world - as reported last week - you should write the South Pacific on your bucket list. The South Seas are known for consistently ranking at the top of the world's happiest people. And we can confirm these studies, because as soon as we set foot on the island of Malolo Levu, one of the islands of Fiji, our stress level dropped to 0 and our happiness quotient to 100 out of 100. We were immediately helped with a crisis of orientation at the airport and taken to the bus by locals. When we arrived at our accommodation, we were greeted with singing and cocktails and for a whole week we were able to get to know the wonderful people in the resort, take a look into their often not so easy lives and attend their traditional kava ceremony. We were able to taste the wonderful island food that was cooked underground and we sang and laughed together until late into the night.

We also had the best massage so far (and we've tried a lot) and we would like to thank the team at the Tropica Island Resort in particular for that. We've always had prejudices about resorts and parallel societies/exploitation, but here at least an attempt was made to make it an equal encounter for both sides. In any case, we went home against our will and in tears, and vowed to visit the South Seas again and to continue to be inspired by the perception of these special people who see you from the heart level instead of their mind.