Fiji: An Island With Two Views

WORTH A TRIP: Ever notice how two people can go to the same place and come back telling very different stories? Maybe it has to do with your reasons for going there. Consider the impressions of Fiji presented in the June issues of two magazines.

In Islands, David Lansing goes there with his wife to "remember what my heart says I have forgotten." Uh oh, marriage code blue; get me a vow renewal ceremony, stat! Meanwhile, Men's Journal's Kanoa Zimmerman goes there "to search out and surf a perfect, pristine, virgin wave."

The Lansings sleep in luxury; Zimmerman's crew beds down on a beach where "hermit crabs the size of baseballs nibbled on our toes." To Lansing, the natives "sing the way we breathe," and their songs are heartfelt; Zimmerman's Fijians are lovably reckless Pacific paesans. Both authors drink kava, the local ceremonial beverage. Lansing enjoys the ritual of it; Zimmerman finds it "kind of gnarly -- it tastes like dirt water."

The two share an appreciation of the islands' beauty. In fact, we'll let you guess which story ends with "It was the kind of moment you don't even think to pray for."

WORTH A FLIP: Forgive our taste for the sublimely obvious, but we liked The OutTraveler's quick whirl through Lesbos. The Greek island was the home of the poet Sappho and is where the term "lesbian" comes from (although the term for the local residents actually is "Lesvonians"). As might be expected, it's a popular retreat for same-sex sweethearts, but who wouldn't like the "outrageously delicious" but inexpensive food or the unpretentious beaches or "the strongest freakin' coffee you will ever have in your life"? . . . Open National Geographic and step into the world of the Hutterites of Surprise Creek. Bill Allard's sensitive profile of the Montana religious colony shows a highly structured, regulated, patriarchal life where "everyone wears Old World dress" and works hard. The text and photos both are Allard's; both are high-resolution . . .

Does "Are we there yet?" sound any better when it comes from the back of a canoe? As related in Canoe & Kayak , Alan Kesselheim's teenage son, Eli, isn't particularly thrilled about leaving his friends for a 40-day family trip in the northern Canadian wilderness. But the three Kesselheim kids grow to deal with each day's challenge. So well that "it takes a conscious effort to remember that I'm the dad here" . . . By law, you can't tour Bhutan without a guide, so Outside hires a high-profile one: Uma Thurman's dad, Robert, a religion professor at Columbia University and a self-described psychonaut and Buddhaholic. And what is Thurman's message of inner peace? "We are going to die!" Accept that, and feel liberated. Is spiritual tranquility achievable in Bhutan? Apparently so -- the country has only one practicing psychiatrist . . .

Bedouins ride pickups now, not camels, and the Muslim call to prayer may come via cell phone. But Oman and Yemen are still Queen of Sheba territory. In National Geographic Traveler, Bernice Notenboom seeks signs that the legendary beauty was in fact real. What she finds is sand, heat ("Oman's workers get the day off if the temperature exceeds 122{+o} F") and a traditional hospitality that demands everyone dine together ("you eat alone, you choke alone"). And watch where you toss that date pit: You could wound an invisible demon . . .

From Americas , it's "The Justice Boat," a floating courthouse that brings Justice Sueli Pereira Pini and her dispute-resolving skills to the isolated Bailique Archipelago of Brazil. Her day is filled with contention over child support, land titles to Amazon silt deposits and the proper disposition of a pig seized in a payment dispute. (She rejects barbecuing it as a solution; there is no capital punishment in Brazil.) She ends her day by officiating at a wedding. (There's a sitcom in here somewhere -- we see a Kirstie Alley type as the judge.)

WORTH A CLIP: It's Travel + Leisure's special "hotels issue," including the "15 coolest new hotels," where to get the world's best service (Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn.) and monasteries turned into hostelries. And if you've ever thought, "I could live like this," when enjoying a posh hotel, well, T + L profiles some people who do -- real-life Eloises who live at hotels and thus get daily fresh linens and turndown service. And free shampoo? . . . Golfers with a high tolerance for travel cliches ("best-kept secret," "well-polished gem") and an affection for the British Isles might appreciate Travel + Leisure Golf's report on the resurgence of traditional course design in Britain and Ireland. Highlighted are new and renovated courses (even at historic St. Andrews), plus new lodgings and a selection of golf tour packages that start at $1,440 per person. But we'd like to know how the holes at one course "weave their way up and down the headland."

-- Jerry V. Haines