E vinaka tu na Bula in Fiji (Life is beautiful in Fiji) !!!
(...and since 40% of the population is made up of Indian - Hindi: Gindigi a-chai, now this might be a Fiji-Indian combination???)
Bula! Bula! Everyone,
Welcome back to my blog. A new destination deserves a new blog entry, introducing you to an exciting Fijian culture and my fascination with this exotic destination.
I have longed for a Fiji-getaway since I was 15 years old. Back then, it was the captivating waves and white sands that caught my attention while dreaming that one day I will be ripping through the waves on the beaches of Fiji. (Now that I’m in Oz, learning to surf has been put on hold again since school started but I have a feeling that my travel buddy for Bali will get me started with the basics. My swimming skills are fading so I have to get going on this.)
Besides my fascination with Fiji’s aquatic life I have been curious to see what their culture has to offer, everything from food, family and friends. I knew almost nothing about Fiji’s history before heading over last week (completing school work 4 hours before my flight departure, plus in the last 10 years it was just that, a dream, never actually expecting to go one day. I booked my ticket during a mental break from one of my assignments lol. Planning is over rated these days. The think-and-book –a-trip method has been my way of doing business around here, but back to the story) however, for some reason I had heard about life on the islands before the 19th century. The Europeans visited the islands long ago (may I refer you to Wiki on this subject - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji) but stayed away in fear of being eaten for dinner. Fiji was one of the last islands to practice cannibalism till the 19th century, after that no exact data shows when the English men felt safe enough to mix and mingle with the Fijian crowd and consume their sweet tropical fruits!!!
Side note:
(Let me tell you something: I have never tried heroin before, and never will! Got it? BUT what I did try is sugar cane from a farm field where a nice farmer told us to “have as much as you want kids!” So we did! A guy from the Solomon Islands and a guy from Italy had it before, so they taught me how to peel and eat this stuff straight from the ground. It is sooo addictive. I have never had something so sweet and soooo juicy at once. During the entire trip I was wanting more. And the craziest part was that no other fruit tasted sweet to me after trying the sugar cane near Nadi. I am still craving it!)
So there you have it, at 15 I was dreaming about surfing and meeting people who used to eat humans for dinner. Can’t get more exotic then that! On the other hand, Fiji was one of those locations that felt like it was the farthest place on earth to visit for me, since I always lived near the Atlantic region. (I was a rebel, and to tell you a bit more about my way of thinking during my teen years, the following year - at age 16 - I got my tattoo – sorry Dad and thanks for forgiving me lol). At 17, I started playing rugby and the New Zealand, All Blacks became my role model for this sport however, Fiji’s team also had some of the best players (and still do). (As you can see, this tiny little island somehow always stayed in the back of my mind).
Mom would be happy to know, my plane departed at 9 AM (lucky #9) and I am watching soccer in Fiji by about 2 pm Fiji-time (2 hours ahead of Brissie-time I believe, however in Fiji, people are generally behind schedule aka: ‘Fiji-time’) !!! There are some really cool people in my dorm that evening but generally I was meeting great backpackers throughout my journey here.
Sun is shining and I start my ‘Feejee experience’ (feejeeexperience.com – Hula Loop) 4-day trip the next day at 8am. I could go and list everything we did, and I want to tell you everything, but this blog would run double over-time. I will try to tell you about the trip and my experiences at the same time and hope it will keep ya interested while you read on!
Before starting day 1 you must know: a) during my visit, I am postponing surfing and scuba again due to financial limitations, b) only visiting the main island in Fiji –Viti Levu, as I have been told that it is best of both worlds (mixing the past and present cultures). Oh and on last thing, even before my arrival I am aware that I have changed lots in the past 10 years, but I’m still just as excited to get this show on the road.
Experiencing Fiji through Remi’s skin
Arriving in Fiji, the landscape is just phenomenal from the plane. White sandy beaches, dark green mountains, and the most wonderful blue-green waters I have ever seen. As mentioned before I meet many people who arrived just a few days before me: Italy, Solomon, German, and well me (representing 3 continents). We get along great, watch some soccer (how did NZ score in the last second against Slovakia, still amazes me), learn how to peel and eat sugar cane, and stay up all night chatting.
Day 1 – With a busy day ahead, we are off to explore the south-west regions of Viti Levu. As we ride to each of our destination, the view is just breath taking. Everything from the farm fields to the mountains and the shaggy looking huts in between, create a view that feels unreal to the eyes at first (I have been exposed to exotic destinations through TV shows such as The Lonely Planet, but now I had to convince myself – just in the initial phase of the tour – that this was real and I was in fact trekking through rolling hills and endless fields of sugar cane). Lessons about Fiji’s culture were introduced just after lunch, where we got the full story about cannibalism amongst the people of the islands. Malomalo village during our visit was quiet since everyone was away at work and the children at school. The people have to work in order to put food on the table at dinner time but much different from what we call ‘work’. Farming is the primary income source for the villagers but it is also a way to survive each day. If people do not work then they will have nothing to eat that day, literally. We, on the other hand, have the luxury to pull something out from the freezer, heat up in the microwave and consume in 10 minutes. Way of life in the villages might seem old-fashion compared to our modern ways, but lots have changed over the years. Joe (our tour guide) introduced some of Fiji’s history which made us realize how different things were on this island. He took us to a chief’s house where ‘the rocks' or back then, sculls are half buried. These used to represent each victim consumed and it was also the location where the next individuals were sacrificed. As Joe talks about the traditions, everyone else is stunned and quiet. There was an eerie feeling amongst our group and we were lost for words when Joe finishes his story. He continues to describe each chief with significant stats based on how many human brains they have consumed. It almost felt like discussing hockey trading cards but with a stunned look on my face, the images in my head disturbed me a little. In Fiji, history cannot be changed, but the culture has evolved to represent similar ways to the west. There are no humans being consumed on the island or as we were told, anywhere in the world. I will have to Google this one up later. That evening we arrive to Mango Bay resort, my most favourite place on earth as of right now. The entire resort is located in a valley of a rain-forest that opens into a bay of white sand and teal-blue waters. Thanks to our tour guide, we win the trivia that night and enjoy a massive bucket of jungle juice (aka: sangria). This day/night was just too amazing (shopping, sand boarding, some history lessons, great food and friends, and Cava in my belly), what could possibly spoil this night? Oh, right. Spain losing to Switzerland while dominating the field. Not sure if the Spaniards remembered that it’s not a game of keep-away. To win: you have to score in the net as well.
Day 2 – “Leaving at 8:30am, No Fiji-time”, says Joe the night before, so we can leave and get to the waterfall on time. However, none of us had an alarm, or just did not hear it, because we left the resort after 9:30 I believe. Sega ne lequa (no worries) we will get there when we get there. It is cloudy and a little rainy, but I don’t expect for much sun in a rain-forest. As we start our walk, none of us have been told what to expect. Running shoes are a must but all our tour guides are walking bare foot. (Hmmmm, where are we going?) After crossing a bamboo bridge my brand new runners are stuck in red clay/mud (‘This is going to be one long walk’ - I think to myself). It is now full-on raining, and we are walking through the jungle, wading through rivers, climbing rocks, walking through tall grass (remember this one please), and anything else you can see in my pictures. At first, everyone is careful not to get wet, muddy, etc but within 15 min we realize that this is going to be a long hike and we need to keep up with the guides. I stop worrying about runners and hope that they will stay on my feet till the end of this adventure. (I wish they would let us go bare-foot, but then again, that might not work either) This is where I start collecting my victory scars. #1 – I fall hard as I wade through one of the rivers: bang my camera (stops working for half of the day) and cut my palm on a rock. #2 – at this time we do not know much about this tall grass, but supposedly it “bites back” later (this will be explained on day 3). At the falls, the scene is beautiful and the water is warm. A few jumps later it’s time to head back. Wait what: we are walking back the same way!!!? Half way through our walk back a boat picks us up (shady looking but it beats walking) and takes us back to the bus (we don’t even wait for the boat to stop once we see the shore, we just jump out and run for cover lol). Once we get to Uprising resort, we all attack the showers as we try to warm up and remove 10 lbs of clay from our shoes (Here we get upgraded to the huts ($200/night) b/c the dorm was full, and these showers I mentioned to you are outside of the hut and roofless. Here we had the 'world’s best shower' experience, if you can imagine. I have already decided that I want one in my house.) I then try to find a FirstAid kit in hope to get some gauze and clean my wounded hand. It is deep and filled with dirt. Gauze doesn’t exist in Fiji, so may I recommend taking your own kit when you go. No gauze, Sega ne lequa, I boil water and soak my hand to try and disinfect it (Next morning: my hand is painful, red and swollen but Sega ne lequa). The show must go on ...
(We took part in some activities at Uprising: lessons about coconuts, watched some warrior dances, and met up with some Canadians from Calgary who will be joining our bus for the rest of the trip)
Day 3 – Again, Joe says: “No Fiji-Time in the morning”, and instead of leaving at 7:30, we head out around 9 am. A few extra people wanted a ride into Suva, the capital city, but Sega, no worries! In Suva, unfortunately we cannot stay long; we only drive through the city and see some of the architecture and busy streets. One of the Canadians and I were discussing how much fun it would have been to attend uni in Fiji (the kava might get in the way of our studies though). As we are driving on we stop along the road buying fresh veggies and fruits for our dinner. We have decided to cook our own meal once we get to Volivoli, our last resort. Today we are supposed to do lots: visit a school, attend a kava ceremony and go rafting. But since we are running behind schedule, the school visit is rushed, the kava ceremony is ... well as awesome as the other 2 we have taken part in, and rafting is CANCELLED. Wait, what? We are not rafting? Hmmmm, this day is already a little disappointing. Not stopping in Suva was a little blah, but now we are missing out on another fun event. Oh well, we will go kayaking at Volivoli, as we decide (Nat and I). Back to the kids though, they were so excited to see us and wanted to tell us about everything at their school. Two girls, each grabbing my hand, start taking me away from the group. “Come, come, this is the grade one class!” – as they are pulling me along, but I convince them that maybe we should stick with everyone else. Once we catch up to everyone in the library, I ask the girls to show me their favourite books. The younger one looks at me and frowns and says: I don’t like reading. Hhahah so cute, but when the older girl picks a book, the little one also pick her favourite off the shelf. Talk about peer pressure. By this time we lose the group again, and I find myself in a class room full of boys, learning about Canada. As I walk by, they ask me: Where are you from? I don’t even finish saying, “Cana...”, one of the boys pull out a map and says: “Show us”. So I tell them about Toronto, and Vancouver (that’s what they were reading about at that time). I find the group again and join in for some songs and fun-time with everyone. In no time we are back on the road again. I thought the visit was too fast, but we had to make our next destinations. Kava ceremonies are great b/c once you have some kava, the day becomes much more relaxing. Kava is a drink made from the roots of this plant and consumed for its psychoactive properties: it makes you relax and makes you very happy. After the kava ceremony, we didn’t really care that rafting was cancelled. However, once we got to Volivoli a few of us did go kayaking in the bay, and watched the most amazing sunset. The night ended with our home-cooked dinner and a few too many Bitters, one of Fiji’s most popular beers.
Day 4 – The night before things were a little hectic, people having a few too many Bitter but nothing serious happens. However, the next morning we wake up to security and police waiting outside our dorm to talk to one of the girls who’s ipod went missing. I can hear another lady talking with the police and our tour guide is being questioned. Oh, no. Trip is delayed till they find out who was going through people’s bags the night before. (my ipod charger is gone missing, but I only realize this when I get back home and is already replaced) We are back on the road an hour behind schedule and minus our tour guide. We still have ways to driver, but without a tour guide the bus is quiet and lonely, even with 20 people sitting in the back. We cover each of our destinations and feast on some delicious Indian cuisine. At the end of our trip we head over to some hot springs and mud-baths before we get dropped off at the our final destination. The trip is over and we lost a tour-guide along the way but overall we all had a great time on Feejee-experience ! Now, we (the 3 Canadians) have a few days to chill on the sands and soak up the sun before heading back to Canberra, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Tall grass - I forgot to mention about the tall grass in Day 3. In the forest, there was a type of tall grass that people said it bites back. Sure enough, when we arrived to Volivoli, the girls who went on the trek the night before have developed an awful looking rash on our leg. Sure enough, it's the tall grass leaving a mark on us. It looked a little scary but by this point the journey was almost over and there wasn't much for us to do. I was hoping it will not get any worse in the next few days. I still have marks on my lower-leg, but thanks to the cold Brissie weather, I can cover them with my jeans. Not sure how much longer I will have these spots ... hopefully not much longer as I am going SURFING on Sunday !
My last few injuries - I also scraped off my knee and ankle when I missed a step in Volivoli. Finding gauze was impossible/non-existent, so I just let it bleed and heal on its own. Again, I still have these scars and they are still infected a little but hey, what better souvenirs to bring home than my exotic-scars from Fiji!
I usually prefer to experience new destinations each time I travel, but I have to be back to Fiji once more. I would like to visit the islands near Nadi next time and take advantage of scuba diving. I would also like to get my license for diving in Oz first so at my next visit I can experience the waters on my own !
These pictures do not do justice for the actual colours and experiences but it is better then having nothing at all. Enjoy and if you have any questions please send them my way.
The sunset in Fiji is like no other...it's a must see !
xo
R :-)
