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Another blog within a week? We must have too much time on our hands!

Seeing as we've got a couple of days left in Nadi, with very little to occupy us except sunbathe, I thought I'd leave Clio on the beach and come inside to write about our Feejee Experience.

The 'Feejee Experience' is very similar to the Magic Bus, in that it provides travellers with a flexible bus service around a country, taking you to both the popular areas, as well as places off the beaten track. The thing that attracted us the most was all the activities included in the ticket price, hopefully creating a fun few days of culture, Fiji style. It was definitely an experience!

We started on a Monday morning, from our resort. The FJE (for short) vehicle, is a 15 seater mini bus and, manned by a crew of 2 - Rafa, the guide and Arwin, the driver.

Rafa is a local Fijian guy who used to work in a souvenir shop and knows the island really well. Arwin is a Hindu-Fijian (constantly referred to by Rafa and himself, as 'that bloody Indian!) who welcomes us by asking us if we're going to the airport? - this is a joke he carries on throughout the 4 days!

We pick up our fellow FJE gang on the way to Nadi Town - there's only 5 other passengers - 2 English girls, 1 Ozzie girl, a German girl and a guy called Chris...who is Swiss (Clio and I are the only ones who think this is pretty funny!).

We stop in Nadi town center to pick up some supplies for the day, including a sulu for the village visit and a pair of shoes for hiking. Rafa and 'that bloody Indian' offer to cook a BBQ for lunch so we all chip in a couple of dollars. The bus then continues to Natadola Beach, where we have an hour to relax, whilst the BBQ lunch is cooked.

After lunch we head to Malomalo village, where Rafa takes us on a guided tour, ending up at the chiefs hut where he tells stories about village life and how Fiji used to be a cannibal country! The last person to be eaten was a missionary from Ireland. I asked how he was cooked and Rafa said it was in a massive pot of water. 'Like Irish Stew?' I say...everyone else groans!

We also get to try on a sulu, which is a traditional piece of clothing in Fiji (its basically a skirt). People have to wear it in the village as a sign of respect to their culture.

Next up is sandboarding - an extreme sport I never knew existed! The bus goes across bumpy terrain, through the middle of nowhere, finally stopping next to an extremely steep and ominous looking sand dune. Rafa pulls a couple of body boards from the back of the bus and tells us to follow him to the top. Some local kids give us a demonstration and they go pretty damn quick down that dune! The hardest part is the climb up - we arrive at the top completely shattered and dizzy from the heat and vertigo! I volunteer to go first and find myself flying down the dune at about 200 mph - nobody warns me to keep my eyes (and big gob) shut at the end and I get a full face full of dirty, hot sand! It's good fun though and we even run up for a second go!

We arrive at our overnight stop, Mango Bay Resort. After a dinner, we go to bed quite early as I'm feeling a bit funny. This is where....everything....goes....wrong!!

I've picked up food poisoning (maybe from the BBQ) and am up all night being sick (and Clio is awake looking after me!). At 7am, after no sleep and feeling like death, we get back on the bus. I explain that I'm not very well and won't be able to take part in today’s hike (which is upsetting as I'd been looking forward to it). We drop everyone else off at the site for a fun day in the jungle before Clio and I are dropped off at the resort.

The receptionist isn't even going to let us check in, until I explain that I may be sick in the reception area unless I can lie down somewhere! We decide to upgrade from a dorm to a private bure (which is waaaaaay more money than we can afford), as I don't wan to subject anyone else to my illness.
Incidentally the bure is the best we've stayed in!! It's massive, with a living area and outdoor garden shower - not that we get to enjoy it. I spend the day sleeping, sweating and wishing I could eat. One bite of a sandwich is all I can manage. Poor old Clio can't even sit in the sun as the weather has taken a turn - she must've been so bored as I am rubbish company!

After our un-scheduled hibernation, we re-join the gang the next morning. I still feel a little bit tender, but as long as I don't think about BBQ food, I'm ok. However our journey has been hit by another setback. The road to the capital city, Suva, has been wrecked by the weather during the night so we can't go there. It also means we can't partake in our planned billibilli rafting activity either. It's all going a bit wrong!

So, we have to go back the way we came. This turns out to be a 5 hour journey, with Rafa's music collection giving us a headache. I've never been subjected to so much UB40 and 'Fijian Reggae' in one sitting! (sample lyric from Rafa's favourite song, 'Fish and Chips' - 'I'll give you fish and chips, if you swing those hips...I'll give you bacon and eggs, if you shake your legs)

We stop at another village along the way. This time the whole community comes out to perform for us and show us a pottery demonstration. We're then invited to walk around and check out all their items which are for sale. We snap a couple of bargains.
Lunch is in a hot, sweaty 'greasy spoon' style cafe...I manage about 2 spoonfuls of my egg fried rice before admitting defeat! Our final overnight stay is at Voilivoili Beach Resort at the North of the island, and the weather has gone mental. It's raining so hard, that we take shelter in the bar and only run up to the dorm, when it's time to go to bed.
Rafa tries his best to get us playing party games, but Clio and I aren't too enamored by 'pass the lemon under your chin game! Our team lose and the winners give us a dare as punishment. They decide that we should (and this is word for word) 'pretend to have an orgy, with noises'. When we politely refuse the dare, they're not sure how to take it (maybe no ones refused before!).

After another alcohol free night, we go to bed pretty early again (I reckon if we were on 'Coach Trip' we'd be voted off!!).

The next day we both feel back to full strength and make up for the last 48 hours by getting involved in everything! We stop at an Indian run resort for lunch and have a chance to make our own roti bread to eat with our meal. The next stop is definitely a highlight, the hot mud pools. It's exactly how you'd imagine it -a big hole in the middle of a field, with a hot, murky water and a couple of make-shift steps. We both get swim suited up and jump in.

It's such a strange feeling, your body sinks into the mud and it's scalding hot towards the bottom. Everyone gets into the spirit of things and we cover ourselves in mud for photos. It's a really good laugh and surprisingly relaxing.

The final stop is at a local orphanage in Nadi. It's a peculiar visit as no one really show us round or organises any games with the children, so everyone stands awkwardly in the garden. The kids are really fun though and it's sad to think they were abandoned at such a young age. We wave goodbye and set off to our resort, and the end of our trip.

All in all, it's been an odd experience. There was highlights on the 1st and last day, but weather and illness hampered the rest of our time. Oh well, it's made for some good stories and we feel like we've seen and done things we'll never do again.

So, in 2 days we fly to Australia where we'll be spending almost 5 months. Fiji has definitely been a highlight and will hold fond memories for us both.

Bula everyone!

Ali and Clio x

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