When you visit a big city, regardless of where it is in the world, you have certain expectations of what it will have to offer in terms of comforts of home. The smaller the city you visit, the smaller your expectations naturally become. By the time you’re visiting very small towns, you’re aware that the lack of things such as traffic lights or even paved roads may or may not be the norm.
And when you visit a small, unspoiled island in the Pacific, all bets are off.
Case in point, Tuvalu
Part of the British Commonwealth until 1978, Tuvalu is a remote island nation in the Pacific Ocean. Located just south of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and the northeastern coast of Australia, the Polynesian country is best known for its marine environment, coral reefs, peaceful atmosphere and friendly inhabitants.
Tuvalu consists of nine islands and atolls, comprising three true islands and six coral atolls. The main one is Funafuti, an atoll that has the country’s only runway. But with just the one runway, and a handful of cruise ships, on top of its distance from virtually everywhere (Fiji is the closest place – a 2-hour flight away), it’s little wonder that Tuvalu is, as per the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the world’s least-visited country, with less than 2,000 visitors per year.
Here’s a little more about Tuvalu:
Despite being so small and isolated, Tuvalu does have some modern conveniences such as motor vehicles (the larger roads of Funafuti were paved in 2002) and internet. However, they don’t have some things that are taken for granted in larger communities. There are no “chain” establishments anywhere on the islands (yep, that means no McDonald’s or Dollar General, y’all) and, as a cash-only society (they use Tuvaluan dollars, which is pegged to the Australian dollar), they don’t take credit cards anywhere.
However, CNN recently reported that Tuvalu recently took a giant step into the late-20th century, and on April 15th, the country unveiled its first-ever ATMs.
Tuvalu’s Prime Minister, Feleti Teo, said that having these ATMs was a “significant milestone.” He presented the new machines to the country last week, surrounded by local dignitaries. They cut a massive chocolate cake to celebrate.
Prime Minister Feleti Teo (wearing a jacket) and dignitaries celebrate the installation of ATMs in Tuvalu // PC: Tuvalu Government/Facebook
Siose Teo, general manager of National Bank of Tuvalu (a subsidiary of Barclays Bank), which operates the machines, said it was a “great achievement” and “transformative switch” that will “open doors for economic empowerment of the people of Tuvalu,” which has a population of around 11,200.
So for those who plan to visit Tuvalu (while they can – as you saw in the above video, it’s extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels. Its highest elevation is about 15 feet above sea level and it’s one of the countries most threatened by climate change), you won’t have to bring all your money with you – you can use one of the country’s new ATMs to get cash as you need it.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
