Solomon? PNG? Vanuatu? Film crew looking for exciting ideas!ba

Hi all,

I work for a Chinese television station specializing in travel shows. We film all over the world, but my team mostly films within China, and once last year we were in Switzerland for a while. Anyways we've got the opportunity to travel to just about anywhere in the world and film a series there (awesome, right?). The theme will most likely be travelling with no money. This is something we've done before and worked quite well. Travelling with absolutely no money at all (obviously the film crew is different), so we ended up performing in the streets, learning from locals about food sources, bartering our own clothes and possessions for food/shelter, etc. It creates a lot of interaction with local people and some funny friendships. Obviously its also a real true challenge for the people participating. Think something somewhat 'amazing race' style (but also rather different).

Anyways, what with the choice to go anywhere in the world I'm looking at the Pacific area. I want something that hasn't been seen much on Chinese TV, and this area fits that well... Obviously I see photos of people with unusual outfits, body painting and traditional ways of living. I'm wondering how much of that still exists outside of special for-tourism villages? I've also read about shark-callers, which sounds fascinating.

Basically I'm wondering what everyone would recommend. Does anything stand out as really amazing other than the natural scenery? Beauty and nature are great but only really serve as background, each episode needs a real core about culture or the people living there... Would love to hear some suggestions =) So we can't really use snorkelling or anything unless locals also go spearfishing or something similar.

Past cannibalism: I hear there are locations from the past? Burial sites or something? What exactly are these, has anyone been? Is this a somewhat open topic in the area? Is it offensive to discuss? I really don't know much about it.

Also, we will probably be stuck to one country and a relatively small area, as we only have 3 weeks to film and probably don't want to spend a huge amount of it travelling. Also the show is supposed to be completed with no money, which severely limits transport anyway! No planes will be used. Past methods have included hitching rides on yachts, fishing vessels, exchanging something for a ferry ride, etc.

What I'm looking at right now is Solomon, Vanuatu, West Papua or PNG... Open to suggestions of any sort. Something important is a wide enough variety of culture/stuff to do in the location.

Many thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing back from the experts!!! =)

Liam

Edited by: batesl

The Solomons still has a lot of authenticity, especially the more remote areas in the middle and east. However, you would have difficult travelling with no money, as the people there rely on financial or food contributions from overseas visitors. The are very generous people, but it would not be fair to rip them off.
You would certainly need money for air or sea fares.
Remember, you are talking about "Least developed countries".

Vanuatu, although amazing and different (think: land diving ceremonies, volcanoes from close up, kastom villages, very potent kava, lovely people, black magic etc.) is not easy to get around "without money" either.
The whole thing sounds like a very unrealistic idea to me. And, as Ozziegiraffe states, it's not really fair to the local people too, as I suppose you do get paid to make a show like this.

Not only is it not fair to the locals, burial sites often require a "custom" fee to visit, and sometimes the fees are outrageously high because all foreigners are rich ... As well, Solomons is suffering from a shortage of food right now due to heavy rain, flooding, etc. In and around Honiara at least. Then add the presence of the RAMSI troops which have made prices skyrocket to the point where locals are having difficulty paying for their own food, and the whole idea becomes quite unethical.

The fact that you will be paid at the end of it all makes the venture even more unscrupulous, IMO anyway.

Edited by: Watsoff

It would be most unfortunate if the TV station you represent sets out to exploit another nation - particularly a Pacific one, and far less developed. This is potentially the reality of what you are proposing. Someone, somewhere will stand to gain from this exposure and this will be detrimental to a small nation of people who are giving by nature, and less sophisticated perhaps to understand the implications of such a concept. Longer term it is likely that other visitors will believe that it is possible to earn a free-ride at the benefit of someone else's generosity.

Ask yourselves who stands to benefit, and whether or not the relationship will impact upon poorer yet very deserving people. As for burial sites, please bear in mind that these are sacred to Pacific people and their culture.

Thanks for the info and replies. After re-reading my post I do realize that came off quite badly. I probably should have mentioned some other details, like that we do provide gifts and money when people help us out. We certainly don't try to travel around the world making poor people help us and give them nothing. In the show itself rather than just trying to be a bum and receive food from locals there is an honest exchange. As a simple example if when visiting the people in some mountain the custom is to bring sugar then our 'adventurer' will clearly have to get their hands on a bag of sugar before going, probably by bartering something while in town. Also after filming we would give something to the people that have helped us and the places we have stayed, but we try to keep that separate from the story on camera. Anyways, without going into more detail on that I just wanted to assure you that we are not a group of soul-less people.

As you probably noticed I haven't done a huge amount of research on the area, honestly because it is really confusing. It is substantially harder to work out some simple things than most other places and so I've been a little confused. Thanks very much for the replies, it has made me reflect and think that this probably wouldn't be a suitable place for the whole travelling with no money deal. Certainly if a country is experiencing famine that puts it off the list for sure. That said I would still love to film in the area and so am thinking about another show that we do, where there would be much more of a budget for travel and hiring local guides.

So, with the fees to get around between islands and travel once on them, what do you all suggest? What exactly are land diving ceremonies you mentioned?

The burial sites you mentioned, what exactly would one see there? I realise they are sacred sites and obviously I want to approach this with absolute respect, I just know absolutely nothing about the customs and what is considered acceptable or not. For example, in many places around the world the thought of filming a funeral and airing it on TV is absolutely outrageous, while in some places we've been we were welcomed, the people were honoured to have this important event preserved on film, they thought of it as honouring their ancestors. So again, I don't wish to offend and want to be as respectful as possible, so that's why I'm here asking you guys for some basic info. Even when looking on the internet sources are unclear, often conflicting, and it makes a lot more sense to ask someone with first hand experience!

Thanks again
Liam

Burial sites, in Solomon Islands anyway, are men-only preserves, so I've not been to one. However I do know some of them display bones in various forms of array or disarray. I should think Melanesian and Polynesian burial taboos and customs are quite different, not sure.

Land diving on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu gave birth to bungee jumping. This happens between April and June, and is open to foreigners to watch.

If you have a larger budget for travel and hiring local guides I would think PNG would be more appropriate. They are more used to National Geographic teams and the like, and there are vast areas that are hardly ever visited by outsiders. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the info! Right, I've watched things on land-diving before, I had heard about it under a different name before, but know what you're talking about. I just did a little research and it sounds like they are trying to control the amount that goes on or that is open to watch because of fears of it turning purely into a tourist attraction. Do you know much about that?

Also is that a feeling one gets in the area, that a lot of things are becoming commercialised because tourists find it interesting, but the real traditions are becoming empty?

What sort of costs might you be looking at to hire a guide in those areas? Not considering TV crew and all, just normal rates so that I have some sort of idea.

Thanks again =)

I'm pleased to hear they are controlling tourist attendance at land diving events; I had heard that, just forgot about it. It's becoming more difficult to maintain tradition, a lot due to mass tourism.

Sorry, no idea about cost of guides to PNG. There's quite a wealth of information about that on this tree, maybe a search would help.

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