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When I was 17 I travelled to Fiji to stay in a luxury resort. At the time of booking, and up until the point at which we arrived in Fiji, I had no idea of the toll which my actions would have on the local people.

Upon arriving at the airport, we travelled via shuttle, to our resort. On the way we saw an impoverished people selling their wares on the road and living in homes constructed solely of corrugated iron, This began to paint the imbalanced picture of this country.

When we were at the resort, my friend and I became friends with the locals, and would talk to them more than we would talk to our families or the other guests. These amazing people painted further the canvas of despair in that country. They worked for a pittance, and even had to walk to work in bear feat so as to preserve the shoes their employers gave them to avoid their wrath. As more and more land was consumed by developments to appease the jet-setting appetites of far-away people, more and more locals were compelled to take up such work in order to feed and clothe their families.

It seemed odd to me, that these people, so calm and appeasing in nature, had to suffer in any way simply to make the western world happy. However, it occurred to me that many travellers may not be aware of this fact. However, when I spoke to others about the local people they were not the slightest bit interested in engaging in that conversation. From that point on my conversations were predominantly limited to talking and drinking with the locals. In respect of the latter, the more I consumed the better I would tip; I like to think I contributed substantially to the economy via this method. This interaction culminated in being invited to a traditional kava-drinking session (I would say ceremony, but it was fairly casual).

While I managed to enjoy myself, this trip, for me, formed the beginning of a harsh realisation that people are willing to sacrifice anything, even human misery, so long as they can get what they want. From that point forward, I always considered where I was staying, who I was staying with, and why I was staying there. When so considering I sought to make sure that my happiness, achieved through travel, was consistent with the obligations, if any, I would place on the local people by travelling.

I encourage all travellers to ensure that their travel is not harmful to the locality to which you are travelling.