Bula from Fiji!!

What a WONDERFUL place! We love it! And what an amazing difference it is from California! We have managed to spectacularly fall into "Fiji time" and allow the day to just pass us by at a gentle and relaxed pace! Being in LA seems like an age ago, and although we have only been here for three weeks, by the length of this update, it seems a lot has happened!!

Waiting on our last day in Banana Bungalows in Hollywood, Los Angeles we decided that the only fitting last meal for being in the US was a fast food one, and so over the road we popped to Original Tommy's.Tommy's specialise in all that we all associate with fast food; burgers, hotdogs, chips etc, but with one slight difference!They all come with lashings and lashings of Chili, not the hot chili peppers, but the meaty meal of chili con carne!So with our order of a Mega Combo (Double Cheese Burger, with Chili, 44oz Sprite and Large portion of chips (fries), with chili) plus a Chili Dog (a giant hotdog, again covered in chili!) we sit down to "enjoy" the feast!In no time at all it soon becomes apparent that our time in the States has, thankfully, done little to assist us in eating these ridiculously sized meals intended for one person!

Our shuttle to the airport arrived half an hour early which was great, but we had to share it with a pair of extremely rude South Africans who were nothing but vile to the poor driver just trying to do his job.But thankfully we seemed to arrive at the airport in record time, no doubt due to the driver not realizing there was a brake pedal.Once checked in and rid of our bags we decided to head on through to the security gates so that we could have a look at what the LAX departure lounge had to offer us!Big mistake!!LAX departure lounge is just that, seats for you to sit in to wait for your flight!Not a bit like Heathrow or Gatwick, there wasn't a shop in sight!So we then had to spend the next five hours (yep, we got there far too early, and we were then delayed for an hour!) playing games on our iPods.

The flight itself was quite harrowing with 10 hours of turbulence all the way to Fiji! Both of us loving a bit of turbulence, on this occasion felt that at times the plane was about to plunge into the Pacific Ocean below us!Plus, have you got any idea just how difficult it is to hold you glass of wine in those conditions???Thankfully however we made it to Nadi in one piece at just after 6 in the morning, to proceed to passport control where we queued for an hour, only forMr Fijian Customs man to not take a second glance at us, stamp our passports, and wave us on our way!

We had received an e-mail to tell us that once we had collected our bags we should proceed to the arrivals lounge, and there would be our driver waiting for us with a sign saying "Bamboo - Oliver", off we wondered though only to see a white man, with a mass of dreadlocks, waiting with a group of black Fijian taxi drivers, holding a sign saying "Bamboo - Jacob".It seems Henry, our shoe-less, shirt-less, hippy pick up, had forgotten to bring his pen with him to make a new sign, and had decided to hold up an old one and just fold it so it just said "Bamboo".However, Henry forgot to fold it!

Off we head out to the car park where not even 30 cars were parked, only for Henry, bare footed walking across the dirt/stone roadway, to forget where it was that he had parked!Thankfully within a few seconds he remembered, declaring he could see it, followed by his hilarious little giggle that he has, but that seems to operate minutes after you have said anything remotely funny!Yep, Henry certainly has adapted to Fiji time well in the three years that he has lived here, obviously helped by something that he might smoke from time to time too!

Arriving at Bamboo Hostel, we dump our bags and head for a wonder walk along the beach while we wait for our beds to be ready.On the beach we meet a lovely old man who has built a little tiny shelter just off from the beach, and every morning he climbs the trees to collect the unripe coconuts to sell to the tourists.We obligingly sat with him for a while, whilst he prepared us our first Fijian delicacy, and told us all about his family. When coming to pay him, he asked if we had any of our own currency that he could have, upon this request Sasha pulled out a bag of UK coins that she still has in her handbag and offered them to him. "Oh no, I prefer notes, I have a big pot at home full of those coins!!Too many, too many!!"So 10 Fijian dollars it was instead then!

Heading back to Bamboo we decided upon freshening up with a shower.Now this is where logic meets stupidity, or "manly defiance" as Ollie would have us all know it as!!Sasha heads for the shower and sees something that could only really be dangerous and so continues with her cold shower, gets dressed and then heads out.Ollie heads for the shower and sees above him the shower head, attached to which is a cable connected to an electrical switch!!"Ah ha" he thinks, "this must be how we get hot water! No cold shower for me!"So he flicks it on, and with water flowing down over him, he goes to move the switch to hot water, and . . . . . yep, you guessed it, electrical shock!! . . . and not a jot warmer for it either!

Unfortunately, or fortunately for Ollie, it seems that this manly defiance illogical act was not just committed by him, every one of the boys that we were sharing the dorm with had all given it a try!!

Death averted we decided to head out to find somewhere to get some lunch from, and acquaint ourselves with our surroundings.Not five minutes' walk away from our hostel and a car pulls up next to us to offer us a lift to a restaurant down the road, after all, he is just passing there!After much insistence and explaining that he worked for the hotel opposite, we jumped in.Then came the sales talk!"I take you for a tour of the whole island, Yes?", "No thank you, just to the closest place to eat", after many more differing offers, Sasha declares firmly that we "just" want to go to Nadi Town.It seems now that it's no longer on his way and he would like "payment please too"!!

Nadi Town is nothing like all the photos that you see of the beautiful island of Fiji, Nadi Town is the real Fiji!Busy, dirty, and above all else poverty stricken.Finding a restaurant that looked relatively clean, we had lunch and then walk back to the security and familiarity of our basic little hostel.

We spent three nights at Bamboo while we decided on which islands we wanted to visit and how we could get from one to another etc., when finally Henry said that he could book it for us (Oh GOD!!) and gave us a few recommendations.We decided on just two islands to visit, eight nights on each, as the cost of jumping from one to another soon starts to add up, and after being in America and on the move all the time, we decided that Fiji would be our holiday, where we would do nothing but relax!!That is if the rain passes!!After booking our round the world trip we realised that our time in Fiji would be their wet season, and we had arrived amidst a cyclone!! That will explain the turbulence then!! But most of the time it was just short hard bursts, and then sunshine again.

Our nights on the mainland were spent drinking the local beer in the hostel across the road where they had fans and it was cheaper, before we head to attempt to sleep in the highly humid dorm room, where if you turned the air con, someone else was sure to turn it off half way through the night.On our second night in the dorm we were awoken by hushed whispers from a top bunk opposite "You sleep in my bed, Ya?" "You shy girl, Ya?".Oh good god, no, this couldn't be when we are going to experience someone having sex in our dorm could it??Many of our friends have offered up stories of when such things had happened when they were travelling, but really, no, this couldn't be happening now??Really?? . . . . Thankfully in no time at all, German boy's friend comes in to tell him that the girl must leave!PHEW!!!!!!

Then comes the day that we need to catch our speedboat to our first island, and what do we awake to??Torrential rain!!So with rain coats donned we head to the beach to climb aboard the little one engine boat that promises to take us out onto the choppy sea to Mana Island.Joining us for the trip were nine others, including aforementioned Germans, and three Canadians, who had decided to start the party early and start on the Fiji Beer at 9.30 am.Shortly into the trip however, it soon became apparent to one, that this was not such a good idea!!Sea sickness was taking its hold of him and he clung for life to the edge of the boat.Unsurprisingly, he was the first to jump off the boat when we reached their island!

Arriving at Mana island the storm had all but disappeared and we disembarked to sunshine, beautiful white sand and crystal blue water.

There is little to report on our time in Ratu Kini on Mana island as we filled our days with swimming, kayaking (exhausting!), reading and sleeping as much as humanly possible.However during our time there we did get to meet some great people that we hope to stay in touch with!!A great Aussie family were staying at Ratu Kini to get their Open Water Diving Certificates, Cheryl, Brian, Alex, Dale and Eliza, who we hope to catch up with when we head towards Port Macquarie, and Claire from Dorset who will now be Oz and should still be there when we get there! Also two girls from Hampshire, Jacquie and Helen, who we may be able to meet up with in NZ.

Some of our nights were a little more adventurous and story worthy, as of course on occasions they included alcohol!!On one of the first nights, King David (the manager, and self appointed King of the resort) started drinking games, which went down well for one girl staying who was celebrating her birthday.So with many fast paced card games that required you to guess the next card etc, a bottle was then passed around which you had to imagine was a pig, when it reached your hands you had to say the words "This is my little piggy, I love my little piggy, I kiss it on the . . . .", most people opting for body parts such as head, cheek, hand etc.The bottle soon arrived in Sasha's hands and so she declared "This is my little piggy, I love my little piggy, I kiss it on the bum", and passed the bottle to Ollie, who in turn declared "This is my little piggy, I love my little piggy, I kiss it on the . .erm . . testicle!"

With the bottle arriving back safely in the hands of King David, he then declares that you must repeat the song with your chosen body part, and then kiss the person on your left, on said body part!!!!With Ollie to Sasha's left she again sang "This is my little piggy, I love my little piggy, I kiss it on the bum" and kissed him square on the bum, thankfully with his shorts still on!!And then came Ollie's turn!!To his left was a Brazilian girl, celebrating enthusiastically with her birthday friend who roared with laughter when Ollie resang "This is my little piggy, I love my little piggy, I kiss it on the testicle", Ollie squirming in horror as she moved obligingly back from the table so that Ollie could "reach".Thankfully however, she saved him from his blushes by letting him kiss the back of her hand that was covering her below!!That will teach him!!

One other funny night was "International Night" which required everyone to stand up and sing their National Anthem, or a song from their native country.The Germans, andAussies stood up in turn and all did their country's proud with great renditions of native songs.Then came the turn of the only two Brits at the resort that night!Sasha and Ollie!! Shamefully not knowing any of the words to God Save the Queen, and unable to think of any UK "native" song, we opted for a song that we had both sung at Cubs and Brownies . . . . Up we jumped on stage and started our rendition of, with full actions, . . . "The Pizza Hut, the Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the Pizza Hut.McDonalds, McDonald, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the Pizza Hut".Not sure what is more shameful!Not knowing the National Anthem, or singing The Pizza Hut song on international night??!

On two other nights we also took part in traditional Kava ceremonies, which consist of sitting together in a circle on a woven mat, listening to Fijian history and songs, and then drinking the Kava, which is made from crushing the root of the Kava plant and mixing it with water.And tastes purely of muddy water and gives you a numb mouth.This special drink is supposed to help talk flow during tribal meetings, and is supposed to give you a relaxed sleep.However, they recommend that you drink beer after drinking the Kava to take the taste away, so you are never really sure which is causing the relaxed state.

Ratu Kini seemed to be suffering somewhat from the presence of bed bugs in the other dorm to ours, as well as in some of the Private Rooms and so the exterminators were called in.Unfortunately they seemed to have little effect!!Their idea to rid the resort of these little beasties was to remove all the mattresses from all beds and pile them up together outside, then taking apart all of the bedframes they fully disinfected each and every room.Great you may think?!But no, they then proceeded to put all that mattresses back on the bed frames, without treating them!!So spending 6 nights bug free, we then had two nights with different mattresses, which unfortunately seemed to be home to a selection of the bugs!!Thankfully however our silk liners protected us, apart from our arms that we had out touching the bed clothes!!

After 8 nights comes our time to catch the speedboat to our next destination.Just a short 20 mins and we arrive at Walu Beach on Mololo Island, which straight away we can see far out shines Ratu Kini with a pool, free snorkeling gear, free kayaks and buffet style meals instead of the one choice of meal, like it or lump it as we had become accustomed to.After being sung at as we arrived, shown to the reception and then offered lunch, we were then shown to our upgraded bure by "the only gay on the Island".Tiki decided that he would upgrade us to a private Chalet rather than for us to share with others in the dorm!Result!

Whilst at Walu Beach we took full advantage of the free amenities.Knowing that we would have as much food on tap as we liked at meal times, we decided that we would challenge ourselves to 50 lengths in the pool every day, which on the whole we managed to do.

We decided one morning after breakfast to grab one of the double kayaks and head out to a small island about a ¼ mile out from the resort.Battling the waves to get there we finally are able to moor up, only for Ollie to get attacked by a funny turn!!No literally!!The island was covered in small white birds that were obviously guarding nests, and our arrival was nothing short of war to them!!So with a quick retreat we jumped back in the kayak and admired the island as we paddled around it.

Snorkeling gear donned on another day we head into the shallow waters next to the resort to swim on out to the reef just beyond, only for Sasha to freak out completely as soon as she saw a fish bigger than her hand, and then when the deeper water appeared!!However much we loved snorkeling in Egypt, it seems that she needs a big group of people when snorkeling to ensure there are better odds against being attacked by a clown fish, or something equally as harmless!!

So after eight luxurious days of again doing very little, and building up the most fantastic tans, we head on back to the mainland, again on our little speedboat . . . . . .

Knowing that we were only 30 minutes from the mainland we were very much looking forward to getting back just after lunch so that we could have the afternoon catching up on the internet, and starting our research for New Zealand.The little one engine speedboat turns up at Walu Beach at 1:15pm and on we board.We then realise that we are not going straight back to Nadi, but via three other islands to pick up and drop off various backpackers and holiday makers.But working it out, all in all the journey should take around an hour and a half . . . that is of course if there are no reports of another cyclone hitting the region!!!Instead we spent just over three hours making our way around the islands and then back to Nadi being hurled all over the place while the boat crashed into wave after wave and flying through the air!Many a time we wondered if the boat would land upright as we all held on for dear life!Slowly but surely, however, we made it to the beach near our hostel and thanked every god from every religion that we knew as we jumped off the back onto dry land!However terrifying it was though, both of us thoroughly enjoyed the journey, especially watching the shear panic and fear in some of the other passengers, as well as the demands from some of those on board that a bigger boat should be called to pick us all up!!

And so now we find ourselves back in Bamboo Hostel to spend our last nights before we catch our flight to Auckland in New Zealand!