Last sunday morning, at a ridiculous time of morning, i left for Fiji. Bri's mum picked us up at 6.20am and took us to the airport. Our five hour flight was made a lot more comfortable by the fact that there were hardly any people on board, so we got an entire row each to sleep on. When we arrived, we took a taxi to our hotel on the Coral Coast, the Bedarra. When we arrived, we were pretty knackered. But we were greeted with glasses of delicious chilled tropical juice, which was a plus. We went for a walk up and down the street to check out the other hotels and little roadside restaurants and cafes before having dinner. Dinner was delicious! I had possibly the best chicken burger ever.
On Monday, we slept in late before getting up to explore. We had eggs and bacon for brekkie (yum - Fiji food is so cheap!). We spent monday afternoon by the pool, sunning and swimming. Unfortunately, while it seemed like a good idea at the time to sweat it out in the heat, we ended up burnt. I'd forgotten to sunscreen my tummy. I was so burnt, it was super painful. Bri wasn't much better, she was burnt in patches. Ouchie. We're idiots. Dinner was equally delicious but far more painful.
Tuesday, we met a funny little man at the bar who said that he'd been travelling between Greece, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia since he left the Navy many years ago. He seemed to be very rich, and had yachts and a lush lifestyle. He told us all the tricks about the area. So we used one of his tricks to avoid the hotel taxis and walk down the street until someone stopped for us and offered us a $1 taxi ride into town. Saved us a good $10, so we were happy. In town, there were lots of dirty streets and shops but the people were so friendly that you didn't even notice. There was a market and a handicraft store that were our main shopping destinations. I bought plenty of crap that i probably didn't need. Souvenirs, little wooden figurines, perfume... and aloe vera for our burn! We skipped sitting by the pool and went for a walk along the beachfront instead. Dinner was at the little pizza place down the road, at the Casablanca, and was delish.
The day on the whole was rather stressful. You see, i'd been having a crappy run of luck so far. First, my suitcase was overweight, leading Bri to be pissed off at me for having lots of crap. Although i'm still not sure what was in my case that was too heavy. Then, my phone had failed to work. I'd turned international roaming on in a past trip and it should still have been working... but it wasn't. Finally, my bank cards weren't working and i couldn't get any money out. This was mae far more stressful by the fact that Bri didn't want me using her phone credit to call mum, nor did she want me borrowing any money from her until i could sort mine out. This made it very, very hard for awhile. Eventually, after some major stress, i got money out. Bri wasn't impressed with the whole situation and i was not a happy chappy. But it finally got sorted.
On Wednesday, we went on a tour. There were plenty to chose from - waterfall tours, village tours, island cruises. A few looked fantastic. However, Bri didn't want to spend much money and only wanted to do one... (from the tone of this post, you may realise that there was some friction between us at times). Eventually, we decided on the Robinson Crusoe Island tour. Early in the morning, we caught a bus to a dock, and then a boat out to the island. The island was pristine and white in a way that the mainland never is. Beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, blue skies... We spent the morning snorkelling on the reed. We saw a Nemo fish!! And i saw a lobster. Lunch was traditional and delicious, followed by a walk through the islands forrest to see all the different trees and how they're used medicinally, which was cool. Afterwards, we went to see a 'turtle'. We were quite excited to see the large shell partially buried in the sand... and less impressed when it was a human who jumped out from underneath. Rip off. Next was a crab race. My crab was number 56. When tipped out of the bucket, the crabs fled for freedom. Mine was definitely not the first to cross the finish line, so i didn't get to win a shell necklace. I did, however, get forced to participate in a ridiculous dance involving a conga line, butt wiggling and general embarassment.
Happy hour saw us curling up in the awesome hammocks that they had there. They were called 'Chair in the Air's' and were super comfy! We sipped cocktails and relaxed in the sun until dinner festivities. Dinner was pulled out of the hot coals (lovo) and then firewalkers made more use of the hot coals. Dinner was delicious and we stuffed ourselves full of roast beef, native veggies, and delicious tropical fruit. After dinner came the show; hula girls, traditional dances (fijian, samoan, etc), fire dancing... it was all very impressive and we had lots of fun watching all of the island staff in their costumes. The boat ride back was long and we were happy to get back to the hotel at last and crash into bed!!
Thursday saw us head back into Sigatoka (sing-a-toe-ka), the nearest town. We did some more shopping and then had coffee at the Fiji Markets. The iced coffee there was divine!! We were practically drooling. While we sat there, the store was fairly quiet. So, the employees picked up their guitars and bongos and serenaded us for awhile. They sang some Jason Miraz, some ancient classics and all sorts. It was awesome!!! They loved us. We went to another little shop and got braids put in our hair with beads on the end, and henna tattoos up our arms. I love getting things like that when i'm on holiday. It's part of the culture. So that was very exciting! The woman who did our hair had pictures up in her shop of when Britney Spears had come to visit her and get massages! It was quite cool, we were in the ex-presence of famous people... In the afternoon we smeared ourselves with coconut oil and sunscreen and lay by the pool for some sun. It's possible that we then did even more shopping, buying pretty dresses and cheap pandora beads (woot for the exchange rate!!). Ugh, money burns a hole in my pocket!
On Friday we went up the road to the Outrigger Hotel. The Outrigger was crazy fancy. Enormous lagoon pool, countless restaurants and bars, lush grounds and even their very own shops! The handicraft store in town, the chemist and another little store all had outlets at the resort. We did a little more shopping!! The rest of the day was spent by the pool. At some point one of the staff cut us down a fresh coconut and we drank all the juice and ate the flesh. It was yum! The man hit on Bri when he found out i was taken and she was rill single. Apparently, Fiji boys are the way to go. Bri managed to get pretty burnt again, oops. For dinner, seeing as it was our last night, we splurged. We had a traditional fish dish for our entree (Bri didn't finish hers, so i got it) and then hamburgers, yummy!!! The fries were delish - we decided it was the Fijian novo potatoes that made them so good. We went for a walk after tea before dessert, because we were pretty stuffed! Half way down the road we ran into the bongo drum boy from the markets the other day! He ended up walking with us the entire time, keeping us company and chatting. We took photos and had a laugh... and convinded him that we rode kangaroos to school in australia!! It was fun running into him. We came back for dessert and had bananas in lolo (coconut milk), which was also super yum. We figured we should have some good Fijian food on our last night!!
We got up fairly early on saturday, as we had to be out of our room by eleven. With nothing else to do, we went into Singatoka and had some more coffee at our favourite shop. Our little drummer boy gave us free shell necklaces (woo!!!) and everyone gave us hugs goodbye. We were clearly very loved. It was lots of fun! We headed back to the resort to get photos with the lovely staff who knew us by name and were so very friendly, and to write in the guest book. We sunned ourselves by the pool, then had delicious hotel pizza for lunch. The taxi ride was long (over an hour), and the wait in the airport dragged, but finally we were on our way home. Bri was cranky and i was itchy with sunburn, so we weren't super happy buddies!! This plane was stuffed full, so we were squished up on our little chairs. Business class was empty, but we weren't allowed to sit there, which is so stupid! I don't like flying Virgin... no free food or TV - we even have to pay for water!! Six hours later we were home. A very cranky Bri left me with most of the bags and a few snide comments (i'd had enough by now) and we struggled through customs. Bri's lovely mum picked us up and finally we were home!!
The holiday was lovely in that there was just so much sun!! I love the tropicality of the place. Granted, if i'd been alone i'd have done more trips to see more of the awesome things and would've done some things differently, but on the whole everything was good. The food was divine, the people were lovely and the sky was a crazy shade of blue. I definitely want to return to Fiji at some point in the near future. I have islands to explore!! For such a cheap price, i definitely reccoment you pack up and head over there for a week. Despite low costs, our hotel was one of the bext in the area. I love Fiji!!
Tomorrow i'll tell you about the proposal i recived while i was over there, but for now i need sleep. I've got so much to do already and have been crazy busy since i got home!! I'll go to sleep with my head full of beautiful Fijian thoughts.
*saturday trip to town
*sun
*lunch
*flight
On Monday, we slept in late before getting up to explore. We had eggs and bacon for brekkie (yum - Fiji food is so cheap!). We spent monday afternoon by the pool, sunning and swimming. Unfortunately, while it seemed like a good idea at the time to sweat it out in the heat, we ended up burnt. I'd forgotten to sunscreen my tummy. I was so burnt, it was super painful. Bri wasn't much better, she was burnt in patches. Ouchie. We're idiots. Dinner was equally delicious but far more painful.
Tuesday, we met a funny little man at the bar who said that he'd been travelling between Greece, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia since he left the Navy many years ago. He seemed to be very rich, and had yachts and a lush lifestyle. He told us all the tricks about the area. So we used one of his tricks to avoid the hotel taxis and walk down the street until someone stopped for us and offered us a $1 taxi ride into town. Saved us a good $10, so we were happy. In town, there were lots of dirty streets and shops but the people were so friendly that you didn't even notice. There was a market and a handicraft store that were our main shopping destinations. I bought plenty of crap that i probably didn't need. Souvenirs, little wooden figurines, perfume... and aloe vera for our burn! We skipped sitting by the pool and went for a walk along the beachfront instead. Dinner was at the little pizza place down the road, at the Casablanca, and was delish.
The day on the whole was rather stressful. You see, i'd been having a crappy run of luck so far. First, my suitcase was overweight, leading Bri to be pissed off at me for having lots of crap. Although i'm still not sure what was in my case that was too heavy. Then, my phone had failed to work. I'd turned international roaming on in a past trip and it should still have been working... but it wasn't. Finally, my bank cards weren't working and i couldn't get any money out. This was mae far more stressful by the fact that Bri didn't want me using her phone credit to call mum, nor did she want me borrowing any money from her until i could sort mine out. This made it very, very hard for awhile. Eventually, after some major stress, i got money out. Bri wasn't impressed with the whole situation and i was not a happy chappy. But it finally got sorted.
On Wednesday, we went on a tour. There were plenty to chose from - waterfall tours, village tours, island cruises. A few looked fantastic. However, Bri didn't want to spend much money and only wanted to do one... (from the tone of this post, you may realise that there was some friction between us at times). Eventually, we decided on the Robinson Crusoe Island tour. Early in the morning, we caught a bus to a dock, and then a boat out to the island. The island was pristine and white in a way that the mainland never is. Beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, blue skies... We spent the morning snorkelling on the reed. We saw a Nemo fish!! And i saw a lobster. Lunch was traditional and delicious, followed by a walk through the islands forrest to see all the different trees and how they're used medicinally, which was cool. Afterwards, we went to see a 'turtle'. We were quite excited to see the large shell partially buried in the sand... and less impressed when it was a human who jumped out from underneath. Rip off. Next was a crab race. My crab was number 56. When tipped out of the bucket, the crabs fled for freedom. Mine was definitely not the first to cross the finish line, so i didn't get to win a shell necklace. I did, however, get forced to participate in a ridiculous dance involving a conga line, butt wiggling and general embarassment.
Happy hour saw us curling up in the awesome hammocks that they had there. They were called 'Chair in the Air's' and were super comfy! We sipped cocktails and relaxed in the sun until dinner festivities. Dinner was pulled out of the hot coals (lovo) and then firewalkers made more use of the hot coals. Dinner was delicious and we stuffed ourselves full of roast beef, native veggies, and delicious tropical fruit. After dinner came the show; hula girls, traditional dances (fijian, samoan, etc), fire dancing... it was all very impressive and we had lots of fun watching all of the island staff in their costumes. The boat ride back was long and we were happy to get back to the hotel at last and crash into bed!!
Thursday saw us head back into Sigatoka (sing-a-toe-ka), the nearest town. We did some more shopping and then had coffee at the Fiji Markets. The iced coffee there was divine!! We were practically drooling. While we sat there, the store was fairly quiet. So, the employees picked up their guitars and bongos and serenaded us for awhile. They sang some Jason Miraz, some ancient classics and all sorts. It was awesome!!! They loved us. We went to another little shop and got braids put in our hair with beads on the end, and henna tattoos up our arms. I love getting things like that when i'm on holiday. It's part of the culture. So that was very exciting! The woman who did our hair had pictures up in her shop of when Britney Spears had come to visit her and get massages! It was quite cool, we were in the ex-presence of famous people... In the afternoon we smeared ourselves with coconut oil and sunscreen and lay by the pool for some sun. It's possible that we then did even more shopping, buying pretty dresses and cheap pandora beads (woot for the exchange rate!!). Ugh, money burns a hole in my pocket!
On Friday we went up the road to the Outrigger Hotel. The Outrigger was crazy fancy. Enormous lagoon pool, countless restaurants and bars, lush grounds and even their very own shops! The handicraft store in town, the chemist and another little store all had outlets at the resort. We did a little more shopping!! The rest of the day was spent by the pool. At some point one of the staff cut us down a fresh coconut and we drank all the juice and ate the flesh. It was yum! The man hit on Bri when he found out i was taken and she was rill single. Apparently, Fiji boys are the way to go. Bri managed to get pretty burnt again, oops. For dinner, seeing as it was our last night, we splurged. We had a traditional fish dish for our entree (Bri didn't finish hers, so i got it) and then hamburgers, yummy!!! The fries were delish - we decided it was the Fijian novo potatoes that made them so good. We went for a walk after tea before dessert, because we were pretty stuffed! Half way down the road we ran into the bongo drum boy from the markets the other day! He ended up walking with us the entire time, keeping us company and chatting. We took photos and had a laugh... and convinded him that we rode kangaroos to school in australia!! It was fun running into him. We came back for dessert and had bananas in lolo (coconut milk), which was also super yum. We figured we should have some good Fijian food on our last night!!
We got up fairly early on saturday, as we had to be out of our room by eleven. With nothing else to do, we went into Singatoka and had some more coffee at our favourite shop. Our little drummer boy gave us free shell necklaces (woo!!!) and everyone gave us hugs goodbye. We were clearly very loved. It was lots of fun! We headed back to the resort to get photos with the lovely staff who knew us by name and were so very friendly, and to write in the guest book. We sunned ourselves by the pool, then had delicious hotel pizza for lunch. The taxi ride was long (over an hour), and the wait in the airport dragged, but finally we were on our way home. Bri was cranky and i was itchy with sunburn, so we weren't super happy buddies!! This plane was stuffed full, so we were squished up on our little chairs. Business class was empty, but we weren't allowed to sit there, which is so stupid! I don't like flying Virgin... no free food or TV - we even have to pay for water!! Six hours later we were home. A very cranky Bri left me with most of the bags and a few snide comments (i'd had enough by now) and we struggled through customs. Bri's lovely mum picked us up and finally we were home!!
The holiday was lovely in that there was just so much sun!! I love the tropicality of the place. Granted, if i'd been alone i'd have done more trips to see more of the awesome things and would've done some things differently, but on the whole everything was good. The food was divine, the people were lovely and the sky was a crazy shade of blue. I definitely want to return to Fiji at some point in the near future. I have islands to explore!! For such a cheap price, i definitely reccoment you pack up and head over there for a week. Despite low costs, our hotel was one of the bext in the area. I love Fiji!!
Tomorrow i'll tell you about the proposal i recived while i was over there, but for now i need sleep. I've got so much to do already and have been crazy busy since i got home!! I'll go to sleep with my head full of beautiful Fijian thoughts.
*saturday trip to town
*sun
*lunch
*flight
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