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Published: December 27th 2006
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Yasawa Islands
How pretty.... So ladies & gents it's off to the land of Fiji. As I'm sure you all know by now, Wade decided against going to Fiji with all the political problems over there. So of course in true Beano style, I decided to go on my own. Crazy, I know.... But I wasn't going to miss out on Fiji, I mean, it's the part I've been soooo looking forward to.
I must admit first impressions of Fiji where a real eye opener, the poverty is very obvious, like you see in Thailand. I was really surprised, for some reason I expected it to be much more western, which really isn't the case. I mean whilst I was in Oz & NZ, you could just be at home. You still have all the creature comforts if you want them.
I'd booked a Lazy Threesome around the Yasawa Islands, off the West coast of Fiji. No it's not the kind of threesome you’re thinking of! So I jump on the big yellow boat (as it's known here) and head for my first Island, Tavewa. Tavwea is far north of Nadi, so it took me about 4 1/2 hrs to get up there.
Yasawa Islands
How pretty.... Once we were near the Island a small boat comes out to pick us up, and takes you on a rocky and wet trip to your hostel. With the choppy sea, I actually thought I was going to fall out a couple of times. As the captain said, don't worry 'it's Fiji time'. When we were pulling up, the staff came out to give us a big Bula welcome, they sing a song to us and give us flowers, it really is lovely.
After some lunch and all checked in, I'm ready to hit the beach. Only problem is there was an eruption from one of the Volcano’s 2 months ago, which has left the normally clear blue waters full of small pieces of rock. It just floats on top of the water and settle on the 'beach'. The locals find it hilarious when I 'ouch' my way to a hammock. Just have to suck it up.
There were only 14 people staying at my resort, Coral View, on the first night. Seems that tourism has taken a big hit due to the Coup, the locals reckon up to 70% of people are staying away. It's a real
Yasawa Islands
Crazy people. I think they may have had a drink!? shame because there has been no trouble at all whilst I've been there. Just as in Thailand, it's business as usual for these guys, because they need the money.
I knew I was in trouble on my first night as soon as an Irish guy decided to start playing drinking games. There weren’t many of us, and being the only English person there I really had to represent my country... Once we'd been playing Grand Prix, whist also observing the rules of the International drinking game, thumb master & pose master all at the same time. You can only imagine the mess we were in after 4 hrs (11pm). The staff thought it was hilarious, even the owner came and sat with us to try and figure out what the hell we were doing. Grand prix, turned into Beer Goggles (I'll explain when I get home) followed by the guys all disappearing, only to run through the bar/dinning area with nothing on, yes butt naked... the female staff all came running out from round the back to watch the blur of white butt cheeks and chased them outside.
One of the guys from our dorm went out to
Yasawa Islands
Welcome song from the locals do some scuba diving from another Island. Only to find out that all the other resorts were talking about our drinking session... Considering there is only 1 phone on each Island, (if that) I think that's pretty good going.
So on to my next destination, this is Korovou Resort on Naviti. Great weather, staff, and food. It's really nice, because you keep bumping into people that you've met on other Islands. So you’re never alone. The bar shuts and all the electricity goes off at about 11pm, which is mad. So when they had finished up some of the staff took us down to a bonfire further up the beach, basically outside someone’s house. There were about 10 of us sitting round the bonfire, drinking beer, some of the guys playing the guitar. It's so calm, you can see all the stars in the sky, and hear the sea. The guys got out some Kava, which is a root they crush down and make a drink out of. It's supposed to make you mellow, and numb your tongue. I get the impression that this is a daily occurrence for the locals. In my opinion it just tastes like dirty
water, and seen as everyone was sitting around smoking joints before hand, didn’t really seem to affect anyone. We had a wicked night, sharing stories with the locals. They are so friendly, and not in a way like Thai’s, where they just want your money. These guys get paid a pittance to work from 5 in the morning till when we go to bed, which on occasion was 2am. They never asked for anything from us, just our stories, and of course to join in the singing and dancing.
Now on to my last destination, Bounty Island. Now you all know about this one, it’s where they filmed Celebrity Love Island. Oh yes, the love shack is still there and everything, although it’s derelict now. They have moved the main pool and living area round to the front of the Island, and turned it into a big bar & games room. This is by far the most commercial Island I’ve been to, and to be honest it was my least favourite because of this. It’s cool when you’re on the other Islands and you know they only get a delivery once a week. So if you run out of
Yasawa Islands
Another welcome song... Grass skirts this time though something, you just have to wait. You actually feel like your living with them, not just on another holiday where you live in luxury. So what if you find cockroaches in your bag when your looking for something, you use rain water to shower and you have really bad hair from the humidity and no hair dryer. I loved it, and would still call it paradise.
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