Fiji is the first third world country I have been to and I did not know what to expect at all. I have never felt out of my comfort zone while traveling until I got to Fiji where I immediately felt like I was in between two places. You get of the airplane and are in a semi-rundown airport where men in Hawaiian print t-shirts are playing guitars and ukuleles and singing to you while another man puts a seashell lei around your neck and says "welcome home". Then, you are seated in a van and driven out into the dirty city. My first thoughts were, "What are we doing?" as we passes groceries, dilapidated buildings that would be condemned anywhere but are still open and fully functioning in Fiji and piles of trash all along the roadside.
Our hotel, The Grand West Villas, was about 5 minutes outside of downtown Nadi (pronounced, Nandi) and a short walk to Wailoaloa beach and several other backpackers and small hotels. Grand West Villas is a budget hotel, but is actually quite nice for the location. They had a fantastic swimming pool, decent restaurant (decent meaning prices were a bit much but the food was good) and very friendly staff. After dropping our things off in our room, Eoin and I got a taxi into to town to see what Nadi was like. Let me just interject for a second here and say that we were running on about 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours or so having spent the night in the Auckland airport. Not comfy. Anyway, half awake and definitely unaware of where we were and what to expect we got out of the taxi outside of a big gift shop called Jacks.
After poking around in there for a few minutes we walked down Main Street and took it all in. Downtown Nadi is not a place you want to be on 4 hours of sleep at 11:30 in the morning on an empty stomach. It is dirty and a bit sketchy and every single shop employee is trying to get you into their store with "good deals for you". One man came up to us and said "Bula", the Fijian word for hello and brought us to his shop. I'm not sure how it happened but we ended up sitting down for kava with this strange man and his friend. Kava is a drink made from kava root and is said to be tranquilizing, mind clearing and relaxing. Did I know this at the time? No. I thought I'd just be polite and go along with the Fijian tradition (I had read about kava before our trip and knew that in the villages it is customary to partake in the kava ceremony, never read about partaking in the ceremony in a shop though). Eoin opted not to drink the kava, as he was at the state of sleeplessness paranoia and thought it was drugs that would make us die. Silly Eoin. We clapped three times, said Bula, sipped some kava and clapped some more. The kava was a bit spicy, almost like ginger, and gritty. After the kava the shop keepers tried to get us to buy things, and we managed to sneak out and find something to eat. For about 9 Fiji dollars (which would be something like 4 USD) we got fish and chips and fried rice and some cokes. Delish.
Our hotel, The Grand West Villas, was about 5 minutes outside of downtown Nadi (pronounced, Nandi) and a short walk to Wailoaloa beach and several other backpackers and small hotels. Grand West Villas is a budget hotel, but is actually quite nice for the location. They had a fantastic swimming pool, decent restaurant (decent meaning prices were a bit much but the food was good) and very friendly staff. After dropping our things off in our room, Eoin and I got a taxi into to town to see what Nadi was like. Let me just interject for a second here and say that we were running on about 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours or so having spent the night in the Auckland airport. Not comfy. Anyway, half awake and definitely unaware of where we were and what to expect we got out of the taxi outside of a big gift shop called Jacks.
After poking around in there for a few minutes we walked down Main Street and took it all in. Downtown Nadi is not a place you want to be on 4 hours of sleep at 11:30 in the morning on an empty stomach. It is dirty and a bit sketchy and every single shop employee is trying to get you into their store with "good deals for you". One man came up to us and said "Bula", the Fijian word for hello and brought us to his shop. I'm not sure how it happened but we ended up sitting down for kava with this strange man and his friend. Kava is a drink made from kava root and is said to be tranquilizing, mind clearing and relaxing. Did I know this at the time? No. I thought I'd just be polite and go along with the Fijian tradition (I had read about kava before our trip and knew that in the villages it is customary to partake in the kava ceremony, never read about partaking in the ceremony in a shop though). Eoin opted not to drink the kava, as he was at the state of sleeplessness paranoia and thought it was drugs that would make us die. Silly Eoin. We clapped three times, said Bula, sipped some kava and clapped some more. The kava was a bit spicy, almost like ginger, and gritty. After the kava the shop keepers tried to get us to buy things, and we managed to sneak out and find something to eat. For about 9 Fiji dollars (which would be something like 4 USD) we got fish and chips and fried rice and some cokes. Delish.
Here I am drinking kava.
We were still feeling slightly unsafe and extremely tired so we got another cab back to the hotel and took some much needed naps. That was the extent of the excitement for day one in Fiji, and the next morning we felt much better. We woke up at 6 AM and caught a bus to the pier. There, we boarded a boat to South Sea Island, a private island where you can spend the day laying in the sun, snorkeling, kayaking, swimming, and scuba diving (for an extra charge) as well as free drinks, a buffet lunch and afternoon tea. It was by far the best day in Fiji and perhaps the best beach vacation I have been on. The beach was pristine, the water clear and warm and the sun was out all day. Eoin and I went snorkeling once with a large group out by a coral reef and once by the beach of the island. While out with the group we saw sea cucumbers, several types of tropical fish, and apparently there was an octopus but I didn't see it. Another thing I did not see, but definitely felt was sea lice. They are little critters that love to bit/sting you while you swim through the ocean. It hurt, and Eoin said he could hear me whining under water, but I seriously thought it was a jellyfish or something, those suckers hurt! Eoin went out a second time with another group to another reef afterwards and I took the opportunity to relax in the sun. During our buffet lunch, some of the Fijian's did a bit of a song and dance for us. It was somewhat like the Haka we saw in Rotorua, but not as theatrical and more focused on the singing. It was a really enjoyable day and I would totally go there again if given the chance.
South Sea Island as seen from the boat.
The performance during lunch.
Eoin and me on the beach at South Sea IslandThe next day we had a lazy start and hung out at the pool for a while before going on a tour of Nadi. First, we went to the oldest/first village in Fiji. It was not what we were expecting because it is also the richest village, and all of the tours stop there so it is very modern and the locals have tables set up with things to sell. Our guide told us not to buy anything there though, because they go into town and buy their trinkets there and then up sell us in the village. Tricky! Anyway, we learned that the village owns several of the small islands tour companies use for day trips (much like South Sea Island) and gets a percentage of money from them. Our tour guide then brought us to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. The Sleeping Giant is what the locals call one of the mountains outside Nadi as it looks like a sleeping giant (creative, eh?). There is a garden at the base of the mountain filled with all different types of orchids, ferns and other interesting plant life. We wandered around the garden for about half an hour before heading back to the main hut for some fresh mango nectar, delicious! From there, we went into Nadi town and stopped by the oldest Hindu temple in Fiji, the market, and did a quick round of shopping for souvenirs before heading back to the hotel for dinner. It was a nice relaxing day but we also got to see more of the real Fiji which I don't think many vacationers get to see when they stay at the resorts.
Part of the village.
Orchids in the Garden of the Sleeping Giant
The market in Nadi
For the rest of our time in Fiji we mostly stayed at the pool side and occasionally wandered into Nadi town for gift shopping. We also checked out Wailoaloa beach which was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We were expecting the same sort of beach as South Sea Island, but were let down when we got there and saw a trash covered beach with no stalls of any kind (ice cream, snorkel gear etc). however, we made the best of it and read our books and watched the locals fish and ride horses, which was actually really cool to see. We had a quick lunch at one of the other hotels and made it back to Grand West Villas right before the rain started pouring.
Our last day in Fiji was spent sunbathing by the pool and drinking fruit smoothies. Can it get any better?
We are now back in Whangarei and I have found myself a job! I am a nanny for two little girls, Frida (3) and Zita (15 months). I work MTuThF and the occasional Saturday if needed. Not bad at all! They are very easy kids and I am glad I found the job. Eoin is still looking, but hopefully he hears back from a few places soon!
That is all for now, hopefully something exciting happens soon so I can update you all again!
Bye!
