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Published: June 20th 2005
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Safe Landing Resort.
Where I learned how to make a hat out of a coconut leaf...compliments of a Yasawa Islander. The longest day of my life was Thursday, May 19th 2005. It began as any other day in the life of a backpacker. Beep, Beep, Beep, Bee.. It’s your watch alarm going off in the early morning hours warning you that if you want breakfast, then you have to beat the crowd or you might just face another bowl of wheatbix. Brekkie in Fiji, however, was different. No cereal or toast…only what the village prepares for the morning-often unidentifiable to the common American. Fortunately for me, I am not shy asking other country representatives about the selection of food presented.
The longest day of my life started at 9 am, when I tossed my breakfast and dinner from the night before. Maybe it was something I ate or perhaps my only supply of hydration-rain water from the local village. Whatever the case, my body rejected that and the bottled water I bought off of another couple on the island moments after I lost the medication Rachel (one of the village women) handed over. For four hours I laid in my bure, alternating between the bed, bathroom and the outside corner of the building where I went when feeling nauseous. It
was almost the roughest four hours of my life-falling second behind my deep sea fishing seasick trip in 2002. The village women aided me until 2 p.m. with a variety of options (cold/flu medication, fanta soft drinks and more food-of which I gracefully declined) when I faced my only way back to the main island- the yellow Yasawa Flier. I had been dreading it all day- the 5 hour ferry ride on frequent rough waters back to the international airport located on the mainland. For 5 hours I sat outside in the back of the boat near the crew dozing in and out of sleep thanks to the aid of a fellow backpacker. Only while backpacking would one ever trust another backpacker to give appropriate medication/drug without hesitation. At that point I would try anything to avoid hospitalization in a foreign medical facility. Around 730 pm I finally arrived back on the mainland faced with people swarming around the port where we docked. With every step I took, there was a Fijian taxi driver asking me if I needed a cab. After weighing my options, I decided to take a 20 minute cab ride back to the airport for $20.
Seems pretty pricey, heh? Well, that's the life of a backpacker-relying on public transport and with as many flights as I have taken (25 since January 4th); I have needed heaps of rides to and from the airport. I had to learn to roll with the punches.
I slowly re-hydrated and boarded my plane at 10 pm on May 19th 2005 followed by a direct landing into LAX at 1 pm that same day. From there, I left at 5 pm to arrive in Austin TX at 10 pm. So, to recap, on May 19th 2005 I was in two places at once for the first time in my life. At 9 am I was fighting a stomach bug in Fiji and also in route somewhere over the Pacific to LA. Then, at 2 pm I boarded the Yasawa Flier in Fiji and roamed around LAX waiting to board flight. At 5 pm I was dozing in and out of sleep on the Yasawa and also catching a flight out of LAX to Austin. Finally, at 10 pm, I departed Nadi, Fiji and landed in Austin, Texas.
And that's the end of my journey as a backpacker...no
more restless nights in shared dorm rooms (anywhere from 4 to 16 beds)!
Culture Shock 101
Bula! "Bula" has to be one of the warmest greetings in the world. It's Fijian for "hello" and everyone you pass, old and young alike do not hesitate to greet strangers with a warm "Bula". One of my favorite things about Fiji was walking past village children and hearing their little voices greet me with "Bula". It always put a smile on my face.
Fiji Time is slower than the normal passage of time. That means that when you are booked for a ferry at 2:00 pm it may not arrive until 330 p.m. Bula time on the other hand, is the time that villagers off of the mainland use to track time. It's always one hour later than normal time.
Travel Tips
Don't drink any water in Fiji unless it comes from a bottle-rain water off of the island is often contaminated.
If you do leave the mainland, make sure to pack extra water bottles and food. Some islands rarely receive packaged goods which means there is no food or bottled water to purchase. You must rely on
the 3 meals a day offered at the resort.
When you pay for a nights stay on the islands, you also pay for a meal package. It's quite reasonable for 3 cooked meals but that is ALL it includes.
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Margei
non-member comment
poison rain
dear tanya bula bula girrl I was wondering how you heard that the rain is contaminated. I thought it was funny because the bottled water fiji, is said to come from fiji, and cannotes an image of tropical purity. So anyways is this somthing you heard? read in the newspaper? thank you, MAAAAAGE