Bula Fiji!

I arrived in Fiji as the sun was setting which was at an earlier time than I expected it to be also it happened so fast! (a great view though - oranges and reds and the like). The heat hit me like a warm blanket and there were singers serenading us all as we came off the plane.

Sadly, my first impression of Fiji was bad and that's because I stayed in Nadi for the night (don't worry though - first impressions don't mean anything - I loved Fiji!). Nadi is like any other port or gateway into a country - it attracts the worst elements of society! (notable examples are Auckland, Tangiers and (of course) Plymouth!). The first thing I saw was a McDonalds if that puts things into perspective(?!).

I was staying at the Nadi Bay Hotel which was nice enough but it was full of "Feejee Experiencers" all wanting to get pissed or brag about sexual conquests (I had nothing to say, of course!) - there was one particular girl who made a huge issue out of being a vegan - I hated her with a passion! There was no escape either as there is nothing in Nadi apart from taxi drivers trying to sell you drugs or the possibility of getting mugged or stabbed or............. both, I suppose! The only funny part about it all was that someone told me about sorryeverybody.com in which Americans can apologise to the rest of the world for the re-election of George W. Bush - I haven't checked it out yet but it made me laugh anyhow.

The next morning, I decided to leave Nadi as soon as possible, so I made a reservation to stay for a few days at the Beachouse on the Coral Coast (on the main island of Viti Levu) and work my way around Fiji from there. There was a bit of a wait so I lounged by the pool as the planes whizzed overhead.

The journey was very...............different. It was a privately run shuttle so the driver picked up people on the road as it pleased him. He had decorated his dashboard quite elaborately with tassels, fringes, fake flowers and even a little shrine. He was also playing some kind of terrible techno music (mainly covers of songs like Sweet Home Alabama - you know the sort of thing) - the strange thing was, we (the pasengers could tell that the driver didn't like the music and we certainly didn't like it so it's a mystery why he kept it on! Anyway, after about 90 minutes of techno heaven we arrived at the Beachouse.

The Beachouse is a resort in a coconut grove with it's own beach. It is run by some Fijians who live a small village right next to the resort and most of the people there are either farmers or they work at the resort (The main crop in that part too was the cassava plant of which the root is ground up to make Kava - they were sort of kava dealers if you like!).

The atmosphere there was great and after a few days, I had quite got the hang of "Fiji-Time". However, because of the heat, I had lost my appetite and I didn't eat that much for the first few days.

The days all seemed to follow the same sort of format too - it had become quite predictable:

8am to 9am - Wake up to beautiful sunshine and have breakfast.
9am to 12pm - find a hammock and stay there - read a book/ snooze/ perv - do what you like - the wind starts to pick up.
12pm to 3pm - a little bit of cloud rolls in and it's time for lunch - there is also a chance to make something out of a coconut shell (e.g. jewellry etc.)
3pm to 4pm - the cloud goes away and the wind dies down - everyone plays a little bit of volleyball.
4pm - Someone bangs the drum and the free afternoon tea stampede commences - It can get a bit frenzied - never get between an englishman and his scones and jam!
4pm to 7pm - the locals (having finished work) come down to the beach and everyone plays volleyball until light stops play and everyone stops to marvel the sunset - it's also Happy Hour at the bar.
7pm till late - Dinner is served (which is usually delicious and a slap up feed) and everyone gets pissed up or stoned or.......... both! Of course there is the occasional Kava ceremony as well which just adds to the effect of the drink and/or drugs.

After about a week, I suddenly realised that I hadn't actually left the resort since I arrived! That was definitely a good thing about the place - I was relaxed, tanned and untroubled and I was loving every minute.