What you need to know about Samoa Beach Fales...

I am just dipping back into the South Pacific branch briefly because I feel this information needs to passed on to all travellers who are thinking about going to Samoa and full filling a beach hut dream... Many travellers and tourists coming to Samoa are interested in staying at a Samoan beach in a beach fale. This experience can be wonderful or it can be hell... for either the guest or the hosts.
Please try to be compassionate and empathetic here, folks... especially to those people who are trying to rebuild not only their beach fale operations at Lalomanu and Salapenga beaches, BUT ALSO THEIR LIVES.
I don't think any of us have any idea what these people have gone through... Let's try to prepare you for the experience if you are going to partake..

The reason I am posting this is because I could not believe the number of grumbling, bitching guests who did not do their homework before coming the a beach fale operation and had expectations of Aggie Grey's Lagoon Resort floating about their heads.... Many of these guests were not only disappointed, but they were rude to their hosts and to other guests and totally thick to the magnitude of the disaster that occurred on the shores of Upolu island 6 months ago...

Please read on, gentle reader.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SAMOAN BEACH FALE

*You are in a 3rd world country... don't forget this.
*There are only a few beach fale operations up and running on the south shore.
*Staying at a beach fale is like camping in a really good tent... it is NOT a 5 star hotel experience... And not a 2 or 3 star one either.
*You will be very aware of the weather at all times.
*You are going to get a mattress on the floor, a mozzie net, a pillow and a top sheet. There are no Serta mattresses, dressing tables and reading lamps.
*If you are really lucky, you will have an electric light, but probably not. Bring a good torch.
*If you are lucky, you will hear only the waves at night... If unlucky, you will be up all night with traffic noise, barking dogs, crowing cocks, lovemaking neighbours or partying guests... Good earplugs are a MUST.
*The beach fale operations here are ALL under reconstruction... There is going to be alot of noise during the day... power saws, hammers, vehicle noise... be forwarned.
*There is no AirCon.. Get over it.
*Yes, you are going to have wildlife in and around your fale... At the very least you best be willing to make friends with your new 6 or 8 legged friends...There may also be feathered and 4 legged visitors.
*If you have food or medical issues, PLEASE let your hosts know BEFORE you arrive.
*Sanitation may be rudimentary.
*Be prepared for water interruptions (or sometimes NO running water for long periods)
*Bring an extra roll or two of toilet paper... The toilet paper the host supplies will be made in China so be forewarned.
*There will be no dispensers at the sink with aloe vera vanilla custard coconut hand soap.
*Your hosts may run out of basic supplies like bottled water, beer, and snacks... Bring some from town.
*Telling your hosts off, yelling at them or general rudeness and loss of face will get you into a GREAT DEAL OF TROUBLE....If you cannot forward your concerns in a quiet, adult manner, then keep your mouth shut or leave.
*There is no WiFi.
*The beer will often be warm.
*You are going to have lots to eat... It may not always be what you want.
*Please secure your personal items... Anything of great value (cash, card, passport) should NEVER leave your personal body... EVER.... YOU ARE TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS.. DON'T BRING OTHER FOLKS INTO THE EQUATION.
*Bring your shoes into your fale at night.

Samoa beach fales can be a wonderful opportunity to experience a lovely beach, fantastic Samoan hospitality and friendship. I encourage all visitors to Samoa to please go to these fale operations and support their businesses... especially in the wake of their horrendous tragedy last September.

Please travel gently, dear readers,

.

Edited by: islandboi321

Edited by: islandboi321

Ok, islandboi is back on the branch finally! :-)

So with the competition reduced, what is the going rate for the average basic beach fale these days?

I loved the "no AirCon" warning - could anyone really expect that in the OPEN fales???

I still think owners could (and should?) be responsible for security on their premises, but of course I fully agree with the warnings.

Did you really see guests yelling at fale-owners?
That could result in some interesting responses on occasion, I guess... ;-)

Overall, I think the need for the above warnings is a good example of the sad fact that most locals in the South Pacific remain (relatively) poor and only have resources to provide simple accommodation for tourists.
Yet most tourists who can afford to go to the region are wealthy and expect a more luxurious paradise for their money.
So in the end the big resorts make much of the cash, and the cheapies, which would be very popular if they were in say SE Asia, get the complaints, and in most countries (in less "resorty" Samoa actually as bit less so) stand empty most of the time.

Hi Laszlo.... Nice to see you again.

Just to answer a few of your questions:

So with the competition reduced, what is the going rate for the average basic beach fale these days?

Prices in Samoa have risen dramatically in the 2 years since I last visited. Standard fales that were 50Tala 3 or 4 years ago are now 90Tala. Some places like Virgin Cove are now totally out of backpackers reach as the standard fale there are now 130Tala and you no longer get dinner with that. Some of the less popular and remote operations still may be had for 50Tala.

"I loved the "no AirCon" warning - could anyone really expect that in the OPEN fales???"

Some of the fale operations have "enclosed" fales... Some folks expect them to have all amenities. Most don't even have fans, so as far as I am concerned the "open" fales are still your best bet.

I still think owners could (and should?) be responsible for security on their premises, but of course I fully agree with the warnings.

Agreed. A lot of subjectivity is in play here. It depends on how professional the operation is and how comfortable you are with giving them your "life" whilst staying there. I personally would never put anyone anywhere in charge of those 3 life items I mentioned.

Did you really see guests yelling at fale-owners?
That could result in some interesting responses on occasion, I guess

Yes. And some extreme rudeness. Some of the people involved in one of the incidents could be somewhat understood because they were obviously too young to be travelling out of their own country and had not developed life skills and maturity to be doing so. In the other case, the couple (from a European nation noted by uncouthness) should have been thrown to the sharks on the outside of the reef. It is jaw-dropping how some people's behavior can be.
In all cases, the owners of the fales handled the situation with dignity and class, even though it resulted in tears for one of the owners once the offensive parties had departed the premises.

Things have really changed in Samoa... Even the lowliest backpacking hippy seems to have money and means these days (or daddy's Visa card)

Good to see you again, Laszlo

$1 Canadian = 2.4 Samoan Tala.

Given the descriptions of accommodation as supplied Samoa no longer fits the budget destination classification of the past.

Good one, Islandboi. These things should not have to be stated, but they do. I hope to get to Samoa one day - and being used to Solomon Islands, I may be a bit more realistic about what to expect.
Incidentally, someone stole 3 weeks supply of powdered milk, and my toilet paper, among other things, on an inter-island ferry in Solomon Islands the week before Christmas. The milk was unobtainable anywhere in the area, so I had to have 3 weeks of black instant coffee (I was lucky we had put a bottle of that in a different bag). Fortunately the village stores stock toilet paper for the town dwellers home for Christmas.

I'd love to hear the other side of that story.

Pre-tsunami I didn't experience hospitality and friendliness from those in the tourism business in (Independent) Samoa.

I found the negatives of SE Asia without any of the positives. It's the only Pacific island nation/territory that I've visited with an us vs. them attitude toward visitors. They seemed to be fed up with tourists and it showed. Many people around Lalomanu seemed openly hostile.

It would serve the (Independent) Samoans better if you offered them suggestions on how to be gracious hosts.

Number # 1 on my list of what to tell the Samoans is: Drop the "Where you go?" if someone is not trespassing or doesn't appear to be lost.
#2 Raise your prices if you have to, don't skimp on the food. Don't watch the buffet line like a hawk to see who is eating too much. Don't cut off the jam if people take a lot of bread. Raise your prices to where you can make a profit and be a gracious host.
#3 Don't shove or push in front of foreigners. We may not say anything but we'll remember and counsel others not to go there.

Curious about this threat:
"Telling your hosts off, yelling at them or general rudeness and loss of face will get you into a GREAT DEAL OF TROUBLE.."

Do troublesome guests get beaten up? I find the above sentence so bizarre in respect to American Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Palau and Yap (the other Pacific island nations/territories that I've been to). I mean why would someone tell their host off or yell at them elsewhere? I've been to a couple of places where I would recommend only on location but can't imagine blowing up. However, I can imagine such a scenario in Samoa.

It's a beautiful country. It would be lovely to see more of it but then I think there are other places where the people will be friendly and kind.

Thanks, mods, for knowing when to throw out the trash.

"It's the only Pacific island nation/territory that I've visited with an us vs. them attitude toward visitors.+ +They seemed to be fed up with tourists and it showed.
Many people around Lalomanu seemed openly hostile."

Yes we hear that over & over & over on the net.

It's sure a beautiful looking place but why bother?

Maybe they trained at the Fawlty Towers School of Hospitality.

Gosh, I must have missed out on some interesting stuff that warranted moderator action! ;-)
But that's the price to be paid for often off-line travel in China.

Greg, I recall standard fales costing 25 Tala without food, 50 with food.
So I dearly hope your prices are with all meals!
Still, it is a 100% increase - maybe I should no longer recommend Samoa as one of the cheapest countries in the region. Though I guess transport costs are still minimal, which helps.

Like sc, I could also imagine some violent reaction from Samoans when tourists shout at them. And as I have spent so long in Asia that I find public shouting highly irritating myself, I could kind of understand it IF the tourists are really THAT bad. Mind you, I also had the Samoan Air NZ staff threatening to beat me up (in the office!) just for telling him (answering his Q) that I was trying to rebook my flight to leave earlier due to bad experiences (theft) in their country. I thought that was "a bit" odd though, to say the least.

I also found Samoans more jaded by tourism than other Pacific islanders, but I still did meet some nice people there. Sure not all of them were of the ever-friendly, ever-welcoming Polynesians some other TTers seem to find them though.

"Where you go?" would be a common greeting in the local languages in Indonesia (which often don't have phrases like "Good morning" or even "Hello"), pretty much like "How are you?" in English. So locals often just translate it into English and ask tourists the same, without actually answering a real answer ("Over there." will do). Maybe it is the same in Samoa.

As for "enclosed fales" - well, those are just not fales any more IMHO.

As for Lalomanu, it may have the nicest beach in (western) Samoa, but otherwise I have always had a pretty poor opinion about it. I left the place after 30 minutes or so, and it would be the last place I'd ever want to stay in Samoa.
The Saleopaga area to the west of it was my local favourite though - any idea how it is these days? All but one (foreign-run) fale operations there were of the cheap and even friendly type.

Indeed, backpackers are changing - pretty much everywhere.
But I still think that even of backpackers, the South Pacific tends to get those with more cash (due to high airfares).

I recall standard fales costing 25 Tala without food, 50 with food. So I dearly hope your prices are with all meals!

Yes, this would still include breakfast and dinner in all cases. I remember on some of my first visits...You would get THREE meals for 50 Tala.

I could also imagine some violent reaction from Samoans when tourists shout at them.

If you heard how abusive this particular couple was to the owners of the beach fale I was at, you'd be tempted to an explosive reaction as well. I still cannot get over some people's behavior when they travel.

I also found Samoans more jaded by tourism than other Pacific islanders

Really? I guess you haven't been to Tahiti, Rarotonga or the Yasawas in Fiji.

The Saleopaga area to the west of it was my local favourite though

Saleapaga area was as wiped out as Lalomanu...

"Where you go?"

I don't think in my 7 times to Samoa, I have ever, ever heard anyone say this... To me or anyone else for that matter.

"Taxi?", "Malo", "Good Morning" were common greetings... Never "Where you go?"...

As for "enclosed fales" - well, those are just not fales any more IMHO

Agreed. The only thing I can see that would be beneficial would be having your own private toilet and shower... I suppose if you're elderly, infirm or precious these would be for you... I have many times seen guests come take an enclosed fale only to find the stiffling, breezeless interior too much and then move to a regular open fale.

Haven't been to Tahiti or Raro indeed, but I did find Fijians friendlier than Samoans even in the touristy areas. Or at least more outgoing. Which of course might just mean more "hassle from the inquisitive locals" to others! ;-)
BTW, have you been to Fiji by now?
The Yasawas (only) would be unfair to compare with Samoa (as a whole) as they are basically tourist enclaves, with either no locals at all or at least with the resorts away from the villages on those islands that have them. I think the Samoan counterpart of Fiji's Yasawas would be Lalomanu. But when I said "jaded", it referred to Samoa as a whole. Given that there are only 2 sizeable islands for them to roam, tourists are not exactly a novelty anywhere in Samoa, I think. In Fiji, tourism is much more spread out, with many islands getting none of it, and the main islands/cities being too big to have an impact of it everywhere.

I figured Saleopaga was as wiped out as Lalomanu, I was wondering how much it has been rebuilt, taking into account that it had always been MUCH quieter, meaning less profit made from the fales. Though the ultra-basic type of beach fale wouldn't take much work/expense to rebuild, I think.

I can't recall hearing "Where you go?" in Samoa either, but then I am so used to hearing that in Indonesia that it wouldn't be something I would remember anyway. Well, maybe ladies just attract more interest/questions...

"A'e alu ifea" - "Where are you going?" was a very common traditional Samoan greeting. David Stanley (South Pacific Handbook) lists it in his small dictionary of Samoan words and phrases. "What did you get for a meal?" would traditionally have been the next question. However only kids were supposed to tell the truth here.

Nowadays it is more common to ask "O a mai oe? - How are you?" with the answer in reflex "Manuia faafetai - Fine, thank you". Kids learn "How are you - Fine thank you" as one single phrase in kindergarden. That is adaption to the outside world only as normally Samoans would never be that unpolite and inquisitive to ask how someone is feeling, lol.

Quite frankly I heard and saw more rude and inappropriate behavior from tourists than by locals here. Always as a real exception on both sides though. I do not think that Samoans are jaded by tourism (yet?). There might be fewer smiles nowadays but on my part I am glad that a smile does still usually express a genuine feeling here in Samoa and is not a trained-on behavior from the last 'hospitality course'.

Rates increased sharply as prices did as well. Fares, fees and cost of living went up at least by half in the last few years. So did wages though - the Public Service had a 40 percent pay raise within two years. High ranked positions get better paid here now than in New Zealand.

In contrast to that air fares in the region went down so we see quite a few people coming to Samoa now used to real mass tourism (beach, booze ...). That was not common before at all. Very few Europeans coming on the other hand anymore (their airfares almost doubled) and those are often quite spoiled, to say it politely.

BTW - 568 dogs have been speyed or neutered in the last four weeks in a remarkable effort by the Animal Protection Society together with the Tourism Authority. Let us see if nature answers with a higher fertility among the other dogs.

I heard the "Where you go?" around Lalomanu. Walking down the road everyone was asking me that. It wasn’t friendly, it was tourist baiting mostly by kids and young men. (You have to be nice and answer us even though we are only asking to annoy you or express hostility.) Finally instead of saying "Down the road" or "For a walk" I just pointed in the direction I was going when a lady yelled from her house. She flipped out, started cursing me in Samoan. I didn't understand what she was saying but she sure was mad. I'm laughing as I write this.

I found French Polynesia and the Cooks not jaded by tourism at all (5 visits).

Back in November I was at the Raro airport. I inquired of a local woman if the Saturday market was open yet. She responded by offering to drive me - on the back of her motorcycle - and then waited while I shopped and drove me back to the airport. She and all the other locals, sadly, then declined to partake of the bag of warm donuts I had purchased for everyone waiting for the early flight.

Last time I arrived in Tahiti I was waiting for the bus to town. A couple stopped and offered to drive me where I was going. I witnessed a cheapA$$ European hold up a whole bus full of locals, as well as traffic behind the bus, complaining that he was poor student (he looked 30) and could not afford the two Euro bus fare; a local woman offered him drive him to his destination instead.

Apia, Samoa on the street – “Buy sarong?” “No thank you” “Go F&%# yourself!”

"Apia, Samoa on the street – “Buy sarong?” “No thank you” “Go F&%# yourself!”

LOL!!

Sounds like Tunisia!

I thought it was well expressed that nudity in villages is a no-no, silvano...

Glad to see some of the old repartee back on here!!! Hey Islandboi, how's the frozen north doing? :)

Raro

#13 Students in Western countries should try living in Fiji and trying to study at USP before the government allowance from whatever country you come from arrives.
While I was living in Solomon Islands, I let my house in Australia to some Australian students, who took some liberties, as I was too far away to react, and then complained when I took cleaning costs out of their bond that I was a nasty land-lady trying to rip off poor students.
They tried to target the wrong person - I told them I had spent the year as an unpaid volunteer in a developing country (I was helping set up a women's refuge), and they didn't know the meaning of poor.

Hey, Raro... Nice to see you, too.

It's like old home week... Nice to see some of the old, smiling faces here to offset the miserable, taunting, caustic ones that now seem to be de riguer.

"they didn't know the meaning of poor."

Yeah, I also find it really ridiculous when tourists in a developing country try to convince locals that they are not rich.
They must have spent more on just their airfares to get there than most locals make in a year.

However, I wouldn't actually think of French Polynesia as a developing country.
Fiji, Samoa, the Solomons - for sure.

"Sounds like Tunisia!"

I thought that was Morocco... ;-)

Hi,

I'm curious: the theft you talk about is violent theft, or someone taking things left unattended? Did it involve destroying your backpack to search for things inside? I'm going to Samoa and I wanna be prepared.

If I have my valuables on my person, is there real risk of violent crime (beating me up to steal my money)? I know there is always a risk, everywhere in the world, but is it high in Samoa?

Thank you for any info on the subject.

In my case it was pilfered from my backpack that was next to my bed while I was sleeping in the home of the village chief I stayed with (at LP's recommendation in a supposed "ecotourism" village).

Then when I related the story to 2 women I happened to share the same dorm with back in Apia, it turned out that both of them separately had part of their money stolen just a few days earlier as well.
It happened the same way to both: They handed over their moneybelt for safekeeping to the operators of the fales they stayed at (this would seem logical to do as Samoan fales are usually open-sided and such far from safe to keep your valuables in), and while their money and valuables were supposedly kept "safe" with their Samoan hosts, some of the cash and TCs were taken.

I haven't heard of an violent muggings but as for petty theft, 3 out of 3 people meeting randomly all experiencing it certainly confirms to me that it is a very real risk.

No violent crime, no hold-ups. Don't worry. But keep away from drunken youths at night. However I agree having taken things left unattended is certainly not unheard of.

But to help get records straight - please be so kind to tell us here on TT what you're experience was and how many victims of theft you randomly met while being in Samoa. If any.

.

Thank you very much for your replies.

I've got waterproof bags, as well as dry bags in different sizes and I'll take my valuables with me at all times.

My netbook, however, stays in my padlocked baggage (a tinny trolley) and I was wondering if they'll destroy the padlock to steal the netbook, or cut the baggage open (with a knife, for instance). Traveling alone for 7 weeks without my netbook would be sad, as I'm a chronic insomniac...

What would they do with a netbook? If at all, they might be a lot more interested to get that tiny trolley ;-) Food might be getting taken, sweets, cookies, things like that. Or things that look nice and fancy, i.e. a towel, a T-Shirt, a pen. Cash, of course. Booze or smokes, especially. By opportunity and rather spontaneously. Not with a plan in mind or that someone would bother going to get a knife or a tool to break a padlock (only to get to the booze, maybe).

Petty theft, really. And, of course, it is still much more likely that it does not happen at all.

The way you plan to do things sounds as safe as possible.

All thefts I heard of in Samoa were done in a way that makes it obvious they were hoping to avoid being noticed at all (hence stealing part of, not all money or TCs) so I doubt they'd destroy locks and bags to get to your things.

Thank you again for the replies!!

Good to "see" some of the old faces here again. I've met disgustingly rude tourists like that in Fiji, and an ex-pat or two like that in Solomons; makes my blood boil. And I find that the locals usually don't react, which makes the insults worse (IMO only I suppose). Like wksamoa says, I found less smiles in Samoa than elsewhere, but I just attribute that to fa'a Samoa.

Edited by: Watsoff