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| The King's Palace in Nuku'Alofa |
Paula standing next to an
enormous Norfolk pine planted along the drive leading up to the palace. |
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| Tonga has an army of 200 men.
Half of them are marching in this parade. I counted! |
The Police band in traditional
dress. |
| This was a parade
following the closing of parliament for the summer. The King was followed by ministers,
justices, and high commissioners from parliament to his palace. Then the commoners joined
in. |
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| The beaches on Foa
island in the Ha'paai group go on forever. There are very few resorts, maybe three
altogether, and they are very discreet. One can easily find totally deserted stretches. |
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| Nomuka horse carts. There are no
cars on this island and only two roads. The carts are used by the farmers to carry produce
from their farms to town. The produce is mainly taro and cassava which are large heavy
root crops. |
A typical store in Tonga. |
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| Tongan dancing is totally
different from Polynesian dance. There is almost no lower body movement at all. The hands
and arms weave intricate patterns to tell the story. The girls cover their arms with oil
and the audience is expected to stick money to them. This is how the girls save up for
their dowries. |
One of the few remaining
archeological buildings in Tongatapu. This is the Ha'amonga trilithon made of coral rock.
Its purpose is unknown, some scholars believe it is a calendar of sorts. |