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Published: December 16th 2006
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Room View
The view from room 221 Flight
Flight was on time from Melbourne despite that the internet departure times said that the plane was due to depart at 1:55am 2 hours late, so we rang the phone service which reported that it was leaving at the usual time of 11:58pm. The flight was quite full - all seats seemed to be taken with the exception of the two exit rows immediately behind us. So after take-off I grabbed one of the empty exit rows and set up camp and managed to get a few hours sleep after watching a few TV shows.
Fiji
Nadi is a strange airport, we’re used to landing in unusual airports but this seemed to resemble a freight forwarding centre more than a passenger terminal, large packing boxes seemed to be more the norm than suitcases as we watched one girl and her friend manhandle no fewer than 16 “suitcase-sized” boxes through the xray machines. As one queue seemed to evolve into 2 or 3 then merge back into one again we made our way through the sea of friendly smiles and “bula’s” through to our awaiting car transfer.
Drive
We decided to spring $100 each way for a private car
Lauren's Spot
This and the restaurant was all that Lauren was interested in. transfer - a bit steep considering that you can get a bus for $7 per adult. But after knowing that we’d probably get no sleep on the plane, be totally groggy, not know what to expect as far as the coup situation - the $100 seemed the safest and no-fuss option. We were ushered into a nice white 90’s model Mercedes limosine and set off down the “main” road for the Shangri-La Fijian.
The road in town is pretty bad…you would be hard pressed to find anything of such a standard in suburban Melbourne..in fact, we couldn’t even name anything like it in Melbourne…the closest approximation is the road to Mount Hotham…before they sealed it!
Once you get down the road a bit, it gets better. They have signs on the road nicely asking drivers to “Please Drive Slowly” in sections. You have to remember that they do say Please as if you do not slow down, the significant speed humps have these massive “up” arrows to indicate the direction your car will go if you don’t.
The driver was very nice and gave us a full run down of current affairs as we returned the waves
Flowers
All the trees were in full bloom. We're told that they only bloom around Christmas time. and smiles we got from the soldiers at the military checkpoint as we drove through. He said that it seems we get more news about the coup in Australia than they do here in Fiji and they’re a little upset that the tourists are scared away by the media reports.
Shangri-La Fijian Resort
The Fijian gets glowing reviews in all areas except reception, and I had been advised to bolt from the bus and check-in first before the others get a go, but as we had the car to ourselves, it was a civilized affair and I give the reception full points for their charm and efficiency. The only blemish on a near-perfect check-in, was the lack of a free first breakfast…but as they let us check in at 7:30am and didn’t make us wait until 2pm I can hardly grumble.
After breakfast, Jane headed straight for the bed, whilst Lauren and I lathered up the sunblock and headed straight for the pool. I tried doing laps in the lagoon pool, but as it’s a free form pool and the tiles are in some weird mosaic pattern, I kept losing my way and running into the side of the pool.
Scuba Lesson
Before lunch I went for the free scuba lesson in the pool. It was very popular and I had to put up with sharing the course with 10 girls…average age - 16…average amount of clothing - 28 square centimeters….but I digress At first I was really keen to try scuba, then a little nervous as they launched into the briefing, there’s a lot to remember in one quick chat. Then they wanted first victims…er volunteers…everyone seemed to have become a little more reserved after all the talking, so I jumped in first and suited up. It’s all good until you put your head under water and have to remind yourself to continue to breathe….it’s not easy! I managed to get my breathing uncoordinated by trying to be smart and breathe out through my nose and was rewarded with a lungful of water and a quick coughing and spluttering return to the surface. I kept a good grip on the regulator with my lips after that and I was fine. One quick lap of the deep end of the pool fully suited up and it was all over too soon!
Lunch, Flashbacks and Summoning Demons
At lunch, I tried the Club Sandwich that I had read recommendations on in the Tripadvisor website. At F$10.90 it is great value! Massive egg and bacon sandwiches with a side of fries and salad. You can also order the exact same thing in your room…but it’s F$22.00 (must be the courier fee?). We were served by Luisa who has been working at this resort for 25 years and would have started about the same time I first came here back in 1981!
The rest of the day was one great snooze-fest. Back in the room we managed to lose water pressure, then that came back and we lost power instead - I had the exact same thing happen when I stayed at this resort 25 years ago! Jane was amazed when Lauren and I both produced torches - why do we bring torches on a holiday??? Lauren has the valid reason of wanting to be able to get to the toilet in the dark… I brought mine in the off-chance that there could be some nighttime geocaching going on. Power was restored quickly and then Jane killed the TV by pressing 6 on the remote….maybe she pressed it 3 times and summoned some anti-movie-watching demon? That ended our movie watching for the evening.
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