SUVA, BEACH HOUSE,  AUSTRALIA, THAILAND, DENTIST

After my shenanigans in Suva with very little sightseeing achieved, though there are some great tours available, but far too expensive as all these extra flights etc had pushed the budget a bit thin.  I always talk about not wanting to be one of those traveller’s that go everywhere but can't afford to do and see what is on offer in those places, not normally an issue for me, but Fiji is definitely for the short term holiday maker to really get the most out of it. 

Though there were a few guys basically 'living' at Beach House just for the surf every day, but the living arrangements were minimalist and they were definitely doing it on a shoestring budget, but it can be done if that's your passion.  Speaking of Beach House, I decided to break up the bus ride back across Viti Levu with another couple of nights there, it really was such a great place.

I was expecting to see Ben, but my 2 Scottish buddies were back also, they had been on a 9 day tour around Vit Levu and the smaller islands, i was going to join them but rolled my ankle pretty badly a few days before we were going to leave!  Another country, another injury!! 

So it was 2 more nights here of the usual fun and late night story telling amongst travellers, then the Scottish lads and myself split a cab to the airport.  They were flying to Sydney to continue their Tour of Australia (great travellers, they had really been some places, way out bush too!) and I was stopping in Melbourne on my flight back to Perth.  

As luck would have it, my Dad was in the city and picked me up from the airport sometime around midnight, a few hours sleep and we were in the car the next morning heading north for home.  A fishing trip pre planned that coincided nicely with my return home! 

A few weeks back home with the folks and seeing friends again was great, though after the fishing was done I was actually put to work!  My mum and her cousin had been renovating a house together, so I jumped in everyday to help out, it was nice to be doing something constructive again, though a bit of a shock to the system!!

Another fishing trip was organized but I had already bought my cheap flight online and my departure date was set, I would get a last couple of days fishing in with the old boy and his mates from down south, then I was off.  Back to my other 'home', Thailand, where i was going to finally get some major dental work done, it had been a long time coming, but a huge chip out of my front tooth after biting into an olive on the yacht finally sealed the deal!

Danca was hitting Thailand the same day as me, so we headed for Pattaya and caught up with all our mates for a week or 2, then it was 3 weeks of dental work for me.  2 crowns, a root canal, a 3 tooth bridge, 1 cap, clean and xray all came to the grand total of.....  around $1740 Au!  Ridiculously cheap, a fraction of the cost back home and the work was outstanding, absolutely painless.

 Anybody considering major dental work should look into Thailand, even with flights etc you will still save money and get a holiday!  I used Hollywood Dental in Pattaya after being referred there by friends and can't recommend them highly enough.

  In between all the visits to the dentist, i had to make my first ever 'Visa Run' which involves sitting in a mini van all day and going to the Cambodian border for a whole 10 minutes to 'exit Thailand and come back in again' thus extending the time you are allowed to stay in country.  I had planned on being gone before that became necessary, but the way things panned out with getting my teeth fixed, plus I was a little slow in booking an appointment, it had to be done.  

Oh well, another one of those things that I have now done, the Thai government is really cracking down on those foreigners that are living here and continually doing visa runs or working illegally.  I see it as a good thing, but unfortunately it will make it harder for guys like me and those doing the right thing, to stay longer.


Ok a few recent fishing photos to at least keep some pictures coming

But I let them all go and paid a whole $3.30 for this huge plate of fish and chips later!

BOATS AND BUSES WITH BEN TO BEACH HOUSE BACKPACKERS RESORT

A couple of cute young backpacker girls had just come from a different part of the mainland and recommended that I visit, as I had no other plans and since they were going back also, figured why not!  So I teamed up with another young Aussie guy named Ben and we made our way back to Viti Levu via fast boat and hopped a local bus along the south coast to Beachhouse Resort, a boutique backpacker place with upmarket rooms also.

Now I have never really stayed in backpacker dorms before Fiji, except 1 night on Koh Ta Kiev at Ten103 Treehouse, but I would assume and it seemed to be the general consensus, that Beach House was one of the nicest backpacker places you are likely to find, especially at the price.  From memory we paid around $25 au per night for a dorm bed but that included a free light breakfast and afternoon tea daily, plus they have a kitchen if you want to do your own cooking.  

It was a beautiful, sprawling, absolute beachfront 'resort', tucked away in a bay with no neighbours to be seen, you felt as though you were on your own island it was so peaceful.  The people here were amazing, staff and travellers, and everybody that turned up just simply never left!  People were changing flights and plans everyday here, just to continue living in such a cool environment.  The food was also amazing, they had possibly the best fresh baked bread I have ever eaten, and I was a baker for 8 years! 

 I was amazed at how many vegans I met in Fiji, I’m not normally spending so much time with other western backpackers but it seemed to be a common trend, with a lot of girls and guys also being right into yoga.  There was a definite new age vibe with a lot of these younger ones and although I may not agree with all their philosophies, the themes of living simpler, reducing waste and looking after the environment was great to see.

In a really bizarre twist of fate, I bumped into Pete’s (who I met and went riding with in Vietnam) housemate that lives in Phong Nha who I had hung out with a few times while there in February this year.  If I had of ran into him in Thailand or Cambodia etc it still would have been a little weird, but in some random backpacker joint in Fiji??!!  What are the odds….

There were a ton of activities to do every day,  kayaking, surfing, fishing, jungle walks to a waterfall, weaving, diving, snorkelling, SUP boarding, nightly pool comps, swimming in the resort pool, watching amazing sunsets….  The list seemed endless, check out their website for all the details, for anybody stopping in Fiji, you would be crazy to miss out on this place.  Ben and I stopped in for a couple of days and stayed for 2 weeks, with him changing his flights to extend, he actually stayed over 3 weeks, but I chose to move on for a while as it was just too easy to spend your whole time there and not see anything else.

 I knew I had to move on or get stuck there, so again hopped a local bus and made my way to Suva solo.  I booked into the cheapest place I could find, City Private Hotel, still pricey at $35 au a night, but not bad for Fiji, plus it was in a good location.  I had to change rooms for my last night  in town though and it turned out to be a much nicer place and  better value.  I'm pretty certain the place was Sunset Motel, if I ever find my way back to Suva I will certainly stay there again.

 I explored to the town thoroughly (had a beer in nearly every watering hole) and absolutely love the Fijian spirit, they sure know how to have a good time.  Through some social networking media I made contact with some locals and we went out a couple of nights, otherwise I rolled solo and made friends along the way!

When I told the local contacts where I had been going on my own the previous nights they were shocked!  They have never been to some of them and couldn’t believe I had no trouble, especially in one place in particular, Golden Dragon.  I just laughed ‘no worries, I got a few funny looks for the first half hour, then they accepted me after we got chatting’ especially having been to the Solomon Islands, as there are many SI living and going to school here. 

It is still recommended to take a taxi everywhere late at night though as it can be a dangerous place.  I had an absolute ball in Suva and met some great people, but I wouldn’t recommend for everyone to just head out alone like that.  Bad Dog Café, O'Reilly's and Traps are the main foreigner bars but don't be shy about mingling with the locals in other places, you would be hard pressed to find a friendlier bunch of people.  But enter Golden Dragon at your own risk!  haha

Beach House Resort

 

RATU KINI RESORT, MANA ISLAND

 

FISHING WITH TUI

 

 

We are blasting across the beautifully calm ocean that simply gets bluer the further we get from the mainland, on our way to Mana Island and Tui’s place, Ratu Kini Dive Resort.  The island is amazing, one of those settings straight off a post card, there are maybe 4 other resorts around but the island is certainly big enough to accommodate them all while still feeling like you have the place to yourself.

Part of the island is closed off though as there is a Television show being filmed around the other side, on our first afternoon out fishing in the boat I see a massive wooden structure in one of the bays and get really excited, maybe they are filming Survivor here, my all time favourite show!  I’m sure there will be a few raised eyebrows over that, but I love it!  Unfortunately that theory proves to be wrong, apparently it is an Australian and New Zealand production, ‘The Great Big Adventure’.

Over dinner and a couple of beers I end up sitting with the production crew of the show,  who were all staying in the other resort but they reckoned the food was better here!  Some of these people had worked on some major Hollywood productions, they definitely didn’t mind a bit of name dropping!  We then all entered the crab races, where you choose a hermit crab and give it a number before turning them all loose in the centre of a circle on the floor.  First one to the edge wins!  I have done this before with beetles at the Gascoyne Junction Races where we gamble on it over a few beers!

The night kicked on with young backpackers from all over the world, I had no idea there was even a traveller scene in Fiji?!  But there certainly is and I found out more as I went along.  So here I was after I weird series of events, my second night in Fiji, on a tropical island, hanging with TV producers, getting to go fishing for free with the resort owner, racing crabs, meeting fellow travellers and scratching my head wondering how I end up in these situations.

I stay a few more nights, fishing with Tui every morning and afternoon, plus walking the island for an explore and casting from the shore.  On one such walk, I was followed by a couple of cute dogs that seriously stuck with me the whole way, even as I clambered over rocks and ledges looking for somewhere to fish, by the time I got back to the bar in the evening I had a pack of about 7 loyal followers scampering along behind me!

The food here was good and you could buy a package that sorted out all your meals every day and was pretty good value.   If you’re a diver  you won’t be disappointed, they have all the gear and expertise you will need to either enjoy what you already do, or get your ticket from instructors while there.   A great place to stay, with many new friends made as well, I highly recommend a trip out to Mana Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOFO A MO E MALO NUKU'ALOFA,  BULA FIJI 

( GOODBYE AND THANK YOU NUKU'ALOFA,  HELLO FIJI )


 

Ok,  so it’s been a long time since I posted, very slack of me.  Now where were we..?

Oh that’s right, stranded in Tonga after I mutinied off the yacht and wondering where to go, what to do and how to get home again.  A little bit of online research and I was off in a taxi to check out some accommodation for the week, there were some real shitholes… I mean ‘simple, rustic….’   Na  they were shitholes.   But a place I had looked at online turned out to be a winner, Winnie’s Guesthouse. 

 

Being the sociable guy I am, I had made some friends already and ended up going out with some locals a couple of nights, the Tongan’s are extremely friendly and sociable.  But it was soon time to head for Fiji, where I had absolutely no plan of attack and would be going in blind, a backpacker place booked for my first night in Nadi was the only certainty.

 

As always I get chatting to people at the airport in Nadi, trying to find somebody to split a cab with.  I get lucky in no time as there are 2 guys travelling together, a $15 cab fare now only costs me $5.   Soon enough I am checking into Bluewater Lodge, located near the beach and in the backpacker hub of Nadi, a nice place with friendly staff, around $10 a night for a bunk bed in a dorm room.

 

As I’m travelling solo, the owners soon invite me to join them for a drink, we are barely into our first beer before a massive bowl of kava is prepared and the procession of kava bowls being handed to me over the course of the night seems endless!   They were amazed I could handle it so well as we chatted into the night.  A friend of theirs, Tui, arrived bearing gifts of some nice red wine and we were soon talking fishing.  Turns out the guy owns an island resort and invites me out there to stay for a few days and go fishing with him!  Hmmm,  let me think about that one….   ‘Hell yeah, I’m in!’

 

So having barely landed in town, without a clue as to where I would end up in Fiji, I suddenly have a plan and we are to leave early the next morning.  I rearrange my bags and leave a heap of stuff at Bluewater to lighten the load a little and seemingly before I even have time to realize it’s happening, my new Fijian adventure has begun!

some helpful links for travelling the pacific

www.tourismsouthpacific.com

www.pacifictourism.travel

www.gotours.com.au