day 3 in fiji: quick post here. i am about to head to the airport. (yay!) i cannot wait to get back.
today was great really, but i am so ready to leave. i spent today on this beautiful (calebra-esque) island spec called south island. it was all you can drink and there was a buffet lunch and a 20 minute back massage provided. still, it drove me friking nuts and i could not wait to get off.
one major problem is that there are "couples only" islands, (which i am not eligible for) but no child free islands and those little buggers just scream and scream. i hope there are none in business class. grrr!
on the up side, snorkeling was even more incredible today. the island is completely surrounded by a reef (does that make it an atoll?). i saw huge bright plum starfish at least 16 inches across (inches are back! bye-bye metric system). also heaps of sea cucumbers over a foot long. i also saw bright blue fish and swam through a school of large fish with every fluorescent color on their body at once. incredible. the weirdest bit is that you can hear the large fish when they eat, when they take bites off the coral it makes a loud "chomp!"
lynn: i took out a sea kayak called a 'peekaboo' with a clear plastic floor. i had fun and saw lots more fish. i also got beached on the reef several times as it gets right up to the water level quite suddenly. (i know it's bad to touch the reef but this one is pretty much gone as it literally has children climbing on it all day and there are no warnings or restrictions. i decided to be part of the problem...)
i also went for a ride on a glass bottomed, and sided boat and saw even more of the reef and the diverse fish population. beautiful. crowded with humans.
i am still quite sick of taking multiple ferries everywhere you want to go and the requisite 30 minutes for loading and unloading. and all the honeymooning couples. and all the college backpackers. and the families. and basically anyone but me!
happy 4th of july. see you in nyc. anyway i am about to miss my plane.
(ps: does anyone remember how to make it rain in gaston hall?)
Showing posts with label fiji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiji. Show all posts
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Bula! (Proud Mary)
so "Bula!" is what Fijians say as a greeting and i hear it here about 200 times a day. Proud Mary is what the Fijean 3-piece acoutsic guitar group is playing right now by the pool in my hotel. of course.
today was better. i did one of those package tours. i know what you are thinking: 'how touristy'. i know, but there's no hiding it really and i'm here for 2.5 days on my own and hardly about to dive in to the real fiji. i think i will be back for a proper trip for that. it's just easy to be taken care of and to have so little expected of you (because you are a tourist). i like not worrying if i am getting lost or if i am in a strange place for a single woman to be. a lot of the island (>50%) is hindi and their women seem to be expected to stay put and act specific ways i don't really know.
today at 8 am a bus picked me up at hotel and drove to 5 or 6 other hotels before taking me to (no joke this is what it is called) robinson crusoe island. a 30 minute skiff ride to a tiny spec of sand with an eco hotel. i spent the day on the island, snorkeling, eating grilled fish, watching fire walking, fire dancing and drinking fiji gold. if you are ever here, do not miss the turtle viewing. the snorkeling was the highlight. i swam through a large school of bright blue fish and saw fish of every other imaginable color near by. also heaps of coral. it's a bit surreal and i lose track of time. i could do that all day.
special to lynn: i tried to do a little shelling and got you a pretty one, i was carrying back to my bag when it bit me. i guess it was a hermit and i hadn't noticed. in typical suave-courtney fashion i screamed and threw the shells everywhere and everyone looked at the weird american girl there on her own. anyway, you won't be getting that shell. (neither you, mom.)
amy: thanks for the tip on the indian food. dosis! naan! curries of all varieties. and for cheap. oh dear!
all fijian women seem to have the same hairstyle, one like oj simpson had during the naked gun films. come on ladies. diversify....
lots of men here still wear skirts or whatever the right name is for man-skirt loincloth things. security guard? skirt. taxi driver? skirt. handicraft dealer? skirt. school boy? skirt.
there was a bus strike today. the government imposes a fixed bus fare, but the buses are privately run and have to buy their own fuel, the price of which has increased 7 times this year. the bus fare can't increase to match the fuel price, so the buses operate at a loss. the bus strike stopped the city of nadi in it's tracks. school children use the private buses to get to school so they were just milling about in their school uniforms (all skirts, the boys with ties). by the time i got back from robinson crusoe island my driver told me the strike was over, but it wasn't clear if the bus fares would increase. that would be hard on school children and most of the workers who rely on the system... i'm a free market fan. whizzer? what's a libertarian to do? what about the school kids?
the soap in my hotel smells exactly like grape hubba bubba. exactly. even though i know it is soap i have considered eating it. (just a little piece...)
my hotel tv gets three channels: the national geographic channel, a fijian news & soap opera channel and espn. i am in heaven and have not had any trouble finding something good to watch. also, there are no commercials for some reason, so when sports center goes to break they just show one of those 'on this day in sports' bits and come right back.
i went into a supermarket and there was a huge display of canned mutton. hundreds of cans. must be all the rage here.
speaking of espn, i just heard that favre is coming back. again? maybe i should just go back to australia. please. what a fool. he had the unexpected chance of a lifetime to go out on a high note after 6 bad seasons and he wants to come back again? i hope he goes down in a steroids probe.
i'll be back in nyc soon and am already looking forward to tournaments in ottawa and a wildwood! i can't wait to get home... see everyone soon.
today was better. i did one of those package tours. i know what you are thinking: 'how touristy'. i know, but there's no hiding it really and i'm here for 2.5 days on my own and hardly about to dive in to the real fiji. i think i will be back for a proper trip for that. it's just easy to be taken care of and to have so little expected of you (because you are a tourist). i like not worrying if i am getting lost or if i am in a strange place for a single woman to be. a lot of the island (>50%) is hindi and their women seem to be expected to stay put and act specific ways i don't really know.
today at 8 am a bus picked me up at hotel and drove to 5 or 6 other hotels before taking me to (no joke this is what it is called) robinson crusoe island. a 30 minute skiff ride to a tiny spec of sand with an eco hotel. i spent the day on the island, snorkeling, eating grilled fish, watching fire walking, fire dancing and drinking fiji gold. if you are ever here, do not miss the turtle viewing. the snorkeling was the highlight. i swam through a large school of bright blue fish and saw fish of every other imaginable color near by. also heaps of coral. it's a bit surreal and i lose track of time. i could do that all day.
special to lynn: i tried to do a little shelling and got you a pretty one, i was carrying back to my bag when it bit me. i guess it was a hermit and i hadn't noticed. in typical suave-courtney fashion i screamed and threw the shells everywhere and everyone looked at the weird american girl there on her own. anyway, you won't be getting that shell. (neither you, mom.)
amy: thanks for the tip on the indian food. dosis! naan! curries of all varieties. and for cheap. oh dear!
all fijian women seem to have the same hairstyle, one like oj simpson had during the naked gun films. come on ladies. diversify....
lots of men here still wear skirts or whatever the right name is for man-skirt loincloth things. security guard? skirt. taxi driver? skirt. handicraft dealer? skirt. school boy? skirt.
there was a bus strike today. the government imposes a fixed bus fare, but the buses are privately run and have to buy their own fuel, the price of which has increased 7 times this year. the bus fare can't increase to match the fuel price, so the buses operate at a loss. the bus strike stopped the city of nadi in it's tracks. school children use the private buses to get to school so they were just milling about in their school uniforms (all skirts, the boys with ties). by the time i got back from robinson crusoe island my driver told me the strike was over, but it wasn't clear if the bus fares would increase. that would be hard on school children and most of the workers who rely on the system... i'm a free market fan. whizzer? what's a libertarian to do? what about the school kids?
the soap in my hotel smells exactly like grape hubba bubba. exactly. even though i know it is soap i have considered eating it. (just a little piece...)
my hotel tv gets three channels: the national geographic channel, a fijian news & soap opera channel and espn. i am in heaven and have not had any trouble finding something good to watch. also, there are no commercials for some reason, so when sports center goes to break they just show one of those 'on this day in sports' bits and come right back.
i went into a supermarket and there was a huge display of canned mutton. hundreds of cans. must be all the rage here.
speaking of espn, i just heard that favre is coming back. again? maybe i should just go back to australia. please. what a fool. he had the unexpected chance of a lifetime to go out on a high note after 6 bad seasons and he wants to come back again? i hope he goes down in a steroids probe.
i'll be back in nyc soon and am already looking forward to tournaments in ottawa and a wildwood! i can't wait to get home... see everyone soon.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
quick fiji update
i am here in Nadi. my resort, the smuggler's cove, is safe and clean. i think they kill drug smugglers here so the name seems a bit ironic.
the island seems pretty nice. it is 27 Celcius today and sunny.
service is quite sloooooow and casual. no one is in a hurry.
all the fijeans are are SUPER friendly which makes me think they are trying a scam or something but i think they are just like that. they won't accept tips. even when they carry your 38 kilo suitcase up two flights of stairs.
it is pretty quiet here and i think most people just come for honeymoons. i will take a tour of the outer islands tomorrow and do some snorkleing. i am glad i only have a couple of days here as there is not a ton to do in Nadi. i think Suva is where it's at, but i'm not driving or bussing to the east side of the island in the next two days.
i'll fly to nyc on friday night, arrive sat morning. i am looking forward to that.
food seems not so great so far, reminds me of puerto rico, lots of bland fried fish, but i actually think they are just trying to pander to what british tourists want. today i'll try to find some more authentic food.
just wanted to let you know that all was well.
the island seems pretty nice. it is 27 Celcius today and sunny.
service is quite sloooooow and casual. no one is in a hurry.
all the fijeans are are SUPER friendly which makes me think they are trying a scam or something but i think they are just like that. they won't accept tips. even when they carry your 38 kilo suitcase up two flights of stairs.
it is pretty quiet here and i think most people just come for honeymoons. i will take a tour of the outer islands tomorrow and do some snorkleing. i am glad i only have a couple of days here as there is not a ton to do in Nadi. i think Suva is where it's at, but i'm not driving or bussing to the east side of the island in the next two days.
i'll fly to nyc on friday night, arrive sat morning. i am looking forward to that.
food seems not so great so far, reminds me of puerto rico, lots of bland fried fish, but i actually think they are just trying to pander to what british tourists want. today i'll try to find some more authentic food.
just wanted to let you know that all was well.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
this just in
so, the great american pack-off is complete. it nearly killed me, but most of my belongings are now en route to NYC. i do hate packing. when the movers came today, i couldn't watch. dierdre is gone baby gone. she is better traveled than most schwinns.
i only have 5 more days in melbourne. panic! panic! what have i done? i am leaving a pretty good set up here. i am telling myself i can always come back. (clicking the heels of my ugg boots...)
my good friend gil (accenture florham park) talked me off the ledge. thanks gil! i was double plus stressing about going home and didn't want to fit in a side trip. too much stress to sort out the details. hassle, i said. gil slapped me upside the head and said, "go to fiji". so i will. he's right. why not. i'll be in fiji from july 1-4 which should be long enough to figure out what is up in fiji and maybe have a fruity drink or too, but not long enough to fall into a pit of existential single traveler angst. on ontic anxiety in business class. on discordant situations. oh ennui.
what's left: leaving drinks rager, palmer's birthday. my farewell pick-up game at albert park followed by a trip to the gun island hotel to watch footy and eat 'parma' and one last day of work and league. hugs and tears and then i fly to fiji.
also, i already packed my camera, so don't expect any pics of figi from me. if you want to see figi, look on flickr for much better than i would take anyway, like this:
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