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Published: April 21st 2007
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Kick-Ass Coral!
Near South Sea Island. You know, all this backpacking, this going around and exploring the world, seeing new things, experiencing foreign cultures first hand, meeting people, drinking beer... I'm sick of it! Get on the bus, get off the bus. See the sights, take a picture, move to the next sight. Talk, swap travel stories, drink beer. Book a hostel, get some food, go to sleep, repeat. BOOOOOOOORRRRRING! I tellin' you, it's beginning to feel like I'm working or something! You know what? I need a VACATION!
OK, OK, so I'm not getting tired of backpacking - that's a steaming load of bullshit. But I have been getting the itch to go somewhere tropical for a while now, so booked a flight to Fiji way back in February. My first choice was actually Samoa, but the flight was expensive and there's over 300 islands in Fiji to bounce around on, whereas Samoa's got five. So Fiji it was! I spent two days in Nadi (on the main island) and travelled through the Yasawa island chain, going to Nanuya Lailai and South Sea Island. I also took a cruise around the island of Naviti onboard the Wanna Taki.
This turned out to be
Bug Bites on My Back
What the hell did that??!!! a great decision - Fiji is definitely a tropical paradise, but nowhere near as touristy as many other similar places in the world, like Cancun or Ibiza. It's also easy to see why this country is such a popular destination for films and TV.
Castaway and
Robinson Crusoe were both filmed here, and apparently so was one of the
Survivor seasons (sorry, I guess I don't watch enough TV). The beaches are great and the snorkelling and diving's phenominal - most people told me it's better than the Great Barrier Reef!
Fijian culture is really interesting. First of all, the lifestyle is very relaxed - there's no deadlines here. Everything goes according to 'Fiji Time,' which means sometimes early, but usually late. The villages seem to be self-sustaining: the people grow their own crops, catch their own fish. In fact, they tend to sell a lot of their ware to one of the many nearby resorts. The chief is like the mayor of a city, but with a better cut of the action - at least according to Fijian standards. He also has final say on all community decisions.
Fijians themselves are very, very laid back. In fact,
many of them have never even left their native island! This is probably due to living on 'Fiji Time' and drinking kava. Kava is a local drink, made from powdered kava root, which they claim has many medicinal properties. Not sure about that, but it can fuck you up, that's for sure! A couple of cups will leave your tongue and lips feeling numb. Not sure what more will do, but I intend to find out - I'm bringing some home. Most likely, I'll end up passing out on a burning stove or something. Wheeee!
So what's life like on the islands? Well, it depends on what resort you're staying. There's lots of choices, depending on your budget. I purchased something from Awesome Adventures Fiji called the "Lazy Threesome." Sounds sexy, doesn't it? That got me to the destinations I mentioned previously, and also gave me a good range of accomodation, from very comfortable to 'I paid how much for this place?' and 'What the hell kind of bug bites are those??!!!'.
But regardless of accomodation, there's always plenty to do: snorkelling, swimming, sea kayaking, drinking beer, drinking kava, and of course, relaxing. My idea of relaxing was
Evil Ronald McDonald
C'mon, he looks evil, doesn't he. OK, evilER! lying in a hammock while reading a book and/or scratching my balls. And in the end, isn't that why everyone goes to Fiji?
Random Musings:
-Nayuya Lailai was a beatiful island, but the resort I stayed at, Sunrise, kinda sucked ass. The mosquito nets kept touching my head (rendering it useless), they didn't change the the mattress cover whenever guests left, and didn't give us a sheet to sleep with either. And once I left the island to go aboard the Wanna Taki, another guy who was at that same 'resort' got really sick. Like, "is he gonna die?" sick. He had to get an IV drip and everything! I've since found out that two or three more people who stayed there had since gotten sick. So for anyone going to Fiji, stay away from the Sunrise resort!
-I didn't get violently ill in Fiji, but I did pick up something there. A head-cold/stomach combo, I think. All I know is the world was a little wobbly for a while, at least when I wasn't sitting on the toilet. And talk about shitty timing: I had just met this drop-dead gorgeous English girl at South Sea Island, and
I totally had a chance with her. Then this bug hit me. FUCK!!! Very funny Lord - so when do I get my orgy at the playboy mansion, anyway?!!
-Now I finally see what the big deal about cruises is. My cruise boat was essentially a backpacker boat and really small, not anything like fancy cruises. It was a blast though! You could go handline fishing over the edge of the boat, or jump right off for a snorkel, swim, or kayak. We played a lot of games too, including musical chairs - which
I WON!. That's right, me. I won. Because I. Am. A. Winner. And that's what winners do - they win! And let me tell you, I was amazing; I was like... I was like sex on chairs! You know it!!!
Chow for now, people!
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Nine & Stella GTH
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Worried!!!!!!!
HEy! You take care! ,Are you hurt?....Ha ha Good to reading your story go on your story Man!