TAVEUNI, Fiji -- When the new millennium comes, it will come first to Fiji. The 180th meridian cuts through this group of islands in the South Pacific, so -- theoretically -- when it's 2000 on one side, it will still be 1999 on the other.
Past and present. Old and new. That's Fiji -- a study in contrasts.It's here where the descendants of cannibals are now gracious hosts. Where indigenous Fijians have at times been outnumbered by immigrant Indians, and where azure blue waters lap against white sand beaches.
And it's here where the most hyped location for the advent of the 21st century is marked by a simple wooden sign that sits next to a dusty dirt road on the island of Taveuni.
As we studied the unimpressive sign that marks the 180th meridian, a group of about 20 children who were playing in the shallow water cast shy glances in our direction. It didn't take more than a friendly wave for the children to come scrambling up the beach, eager to show their hospitality.
Given Fiji's extraordinary natural beauty and tropical mystique, it's surprising (yet delightful) that relatively few travelers have discovered this gem. The 300 or so islands that comprise the nation are sprinkled in a horseshoe formation across 80,000 square miles of ocean -- an area the size of Utah.
The three largest islands -- Viti Levu ("Great Fiji"), Vanua Levu ("Great Land") and Taveuni-- make up 90 percent of the land mass and more than 85 percent of the population.
Fiji's international airport is located near the town of Nadi (NAN-di), on the western side of the island of Viti Levu. After a 10-hour plane ride nonstop from Los Angeles, many people are content to stay in the vicinity. Big mistake.
The Nadi area is home to several large Western-style resorts and golf courses. It is also perhaps the only place in Fiji where you'll be hard pressed to feel the local culture.
Nadi is the jumping off point for one of Fiji's main tourist destinations, the Yasawa island group, a series of palm-speckled islands made famous when they were used as the setting for the first "Blue Lagoon" movie. Most people visit the Yasawas on cruises, since there are not many places to stay.
For landlubbers, a three-hour drive down the Queen's Road heading south from Nadi takes you along the scenic Coral Coast -- so named because of the nearby fringing reef -- and into the capital city of Suva (SUE-va).
Suva is the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the South Pacific, and it's the only place in Fiji where you'll see buildings taller than palm trees. But it doesn't lack charm. In this multiracial city you'll see men from police officers to politicians wearing traditional Fijian skirts called sulus. There are Indian women in graceful saris and ex-pats in T-shirts and shorts.
Suva boasts outstanding restaurants offering Indian, Swiss, French and Korean cooking, and it's the one place in Fiji where the night life rages into the dawn hours. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the country where evenings rarely get any wilder than a cup of grog at a luau-like feast called a lovo.
But without a doubt, the best entertainment in Suva comes on Saturday -- the biggest market day -- when people come from all around the islands to sell their produce, spices and seafood in carefully arranged displays.
Vanua Levu, Fiji's second-largest island, is less developed, with a few resorts and guest houses clustered along the coast. The interior of the island is mountainous and consists largely of villages where traditional ways and customs still reign.
While this makes Vanua Levu a good place to catch a glimpse of real Fijian life, visitors need to be more in tune with local customs -- including obtaining permission from the local chief before entering his village's lands. This asking of permission is a ritual known as "sevusevu," and usually involves a gift of kava for the chief.
Just five miles east from Vanua Levu, across a famous body of water called the Somosomo Straits, sits Taveuni, the third-largest island. Nicknamed the Garden Isle because of the lush tropical rain forest that covers its extinct volcanoes, hikers are treated to beautiful waterfalls that dance down verdant hills and the songs of dozens of bird species, including the elusive orange dove.
Taveuni offers both backpackers' havens and luxurious honeymoon retreats. Our midpriced hotel was less than a mile from the 180th meridian, but all of Fiji shares the same time zone because the International Dateline has been drawn to swing east of the country.
Many of the high-end resorts, including one that charges $1,000 per night per couple, are on small islands in this region. So beautiful is the area that the tycoon Malcolm Forbes asked to be buried on the island of Laucala, where he owned the Fiji Forbes Resort.
Yet, while Fiji is indeed a tropical paradise in many respects, it is also a developing country and not without its problems. Relations between the ethnic Fijians and the Indian population, who were originally brought to Fiji by the British colonists as laborers, have at times been strained. And foreign fishing fleets and mining companies have been quick to exploit the bountiful natural resources and lax environmental regulations; gold mining has scratched huge gouges deep into the main islands' mountainous interiors, and shark fishing has thinned the population to the point that seeing a shark on a dive is more the exception than the rule.
So as Fiji -- with its vibrant history and current challenges -- confronts the future, it's unclear what the new millennium will bring.
Will the recent election that resulted in the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister result in a long-term stable government? Will the dollars of tourists seeking an unspoiled South Pacific retreat outweigh short-term economic demands? The children I met on the beach in Taveuni will know the answers when they grow up.
In the meantime, Fiji is well worth the trip. Its beauty above and below water is enchanting, and the warmth of the Fijians is unrivaled.