BULA!!
Fiji day (night) 1
Sa kamalasmalasan nga nga naman, at sa dinami dami pa ng araw.. nahulog ang iphone4 ni jon sa taxi!!! panic mode pagkarealise n
We flew with air pacific for this trip to nadi,fiji. The airline is actually better than what i have expected it to be. Cabin is a bit old but it is spacious and even have an in-flight entertainment system. We were served supper and the drinks were overflowing ;) they were so generous with their wine and beer :) food was nice (i dont really fancy plane food) and serving size was good. The flight is about 3hr and 20mins.
It was uber hot when we landed fiji! Feels like manila although not as humid. There was music in the air only to realise 'ay live pala yun!'. Customs were a bit out of date, but the processing was fast. We were approached by this lady while we were looking where to board. We did not even got a chance to look around the airport (not that there is much to see...) but we learnt why she did it (story later on)
The lady told us that taxi ride from nadi to denarau was about $25fjd. It was so freaking hot! No airconditioning on the taxi..just windows.. Quite old car... But the driver was nice.
It was surprisingly clean in this country! Really old and backwards looking butnot a rubbish in site! The driver said that the country is safe now (few issues with the government and martial law a few months back...). They really look after their tourists well.
The ride to denarau island was almost 30mins (it was a continuous ride, not much cars in sight). We saw kfc and mcdonalds along the way... But passed this kinda remote looking area for a while.. Apparently land was so expensive, hence the emptiness of inhabitants!
And we thought thats why the lady assisted us straight to the taxi..we will have no idea how to get back if we rode the wrong transport!
At last we arrived at Denarau Island! It looks so exclusive with lengthy landscaping of the whole island! Along the way was the 4-5 star resorts of hilton, sheraton, westin, radisson, and sofitel. All almost equally breathtaking!
At last, we have arrived at our "home" for 3nights. It is our first time to trial our worldmark (well jon's) timeshare overseas. We checked in and the staff were really nice. We were escorted to our unit and the resort was huge! And oh my.. The unit was extremely huge for the 2 of us! We booked a 2bedroom unit because they ran out of smaller units..not much difference in points.
2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, lounge, full kitchen, dining area, and a balcony later... We were so impressed with how big the unit is. Very clean and everything we need is here! We even have our own washing machine and dryer!
We were starving so we decided to head out to their shopping centre. We rode the 'bula bus' (it's like a jeepney but people are sitting back to back, i love the privacy!). The ticket costs $6fjd for the whole day! They start from i think 7am-11.30pm. It goes through all the resort lobbies to pick up passengers.
And so we have reached the town centre.. It was of good size. Shops are closed by 9pm but there are still a few restos that are open till late. Hardrock nadi is there also.
Hubby was craving for some rice...so we ended up in an indian resto. Food was great! A lot more spice compared to sydney...sarap! It cost us around $60fjd for the meal (denarau aint that cheap...)
And so we headed back down to wyndham..cracked our epic red wine from hunter valley..God this is holiday!
Day 2...
We woke up late .. Well jon woke up late (as he always does).. I opened the windows to have a glimpse of what fiji looks like in sunlight.. I was in awe! Our unit was facing the waters.. First time ive seen the pool that stretches a few metres! Bar in the middle :)
It is so peaceful and nice.. Away from the exrremely busy life of sydney.. The only sound you'll here is the ocean waving.
I must admit, i havent done much research about fiji compared to the other places that we've been to. And so ive spotted a market trip on wednesdays organised by the hotel..
We were hungry again.. And so we went to the hotel's resto as there is no other choice... Food was not that great.. And of course, at hotel price :(
And so we headed to our bus trip for the day. Our guide dropped us off at this "first fijian owned handicraft shop". They did a traditional welcome ceremony.
We sat down on a 'banig' (woven mat) and did some rituals... They let us drink "kava" or shall i say, there's no other choice but to drink it because it is rude not to(and mukha akong loser if hindi ako iinom kse lahat pati bata tumungga!). They put this dark brown powder on a small sack of cloth..rinsed it with water (of course with bare hands).. Kinusot kusot..piniga..kinusot ulit...
May palakpak factor and tribal sound (ung parang sa crash bandicot ung kinukuha ni crash para makatakbo ng mabilis) tapos ung tubig na brown sa bowl, un ang pinainom samin.. Papalakpak ka muna ng isang beses, tapos sasabihin mo "BULA" tapos shot ka nung kava in a coconut shell..tapos palakpak factor x3 tapos sasabihin mo "VINAKA" (thank you) tapos magwoworry ka na baka madedead ka na in a few minutes.. But hindi naman ;)
Syempre first time in fiji... We have no idea how much ang mga souvenirs..si manong sabi "we'll give you a good price" sabay ukit agad ng name namin sa kahoy!
Ng makita kita namen sa town..leche ginto ang binayad ko sa souvenir na un!!although sabi nalang ng isang tourist na kasama ko.."think of itas we're helping the less fortunate.." sige na nga..keri na...
Pagdating sa town..parang maynila..although it is 100x cleaner!may mga karinderya sa tabi, but i wont dare eat there.. So hanap kme ng fastfood,mccas is 10mins drive away pa daw! So we ended up in chicken express.. Dapat sisiw express sa liit ng mga manok..sabi ni hubby baka daw organic ;) hmm... Sige na nga.. Healthy!
Si ate sa souvenir shopped asked if we have tried traditional fijian massage.. Eh di naexcite kami kasi sa hotel it will cost us $120fjd an hour! Kakalerky! So si kamag anak ni ate mag go daw sa room namin for $45/hr lang.. Bargain! We booked her for later that night.
Sa town, nagshop kme ng mga tubig and other treats .. Parang panic buying kse mahohold up na naman kme sa hotel lol
When we came back at the hotel, its happy hour! We thought it would be much cheaper...unfortunately not.. Less $3 for cocktails and less $1 for beer.. Luge parin.. So cocktails are still around $16fjd and beer for $4fjd.
Gutom na naman, pizza lang ang panalo sa resto $23fjd, keri na.. Busog naman... Swim swim sa pool..sarap ng tubig!sakto lang ang temp!
Eto na si ate mere "mary". Tagal na pala naghihintay sa door namin..mejo malaki si ate so we're looking forward to her massage...
Nadenggoy na naman kami... Himas lang ang ginawa.. I guess if you're used to thai and chinese massage, incomparable yung 'harder' ng iba.. Mga 42million kong ulit sinabi na harder..ang soft parin.. Massage session failed.... $100fjd for 2 (may tip si ate for her effort na magcommute).
Day 3... Island hopping!
Aga gumising this day kse ang aga ng pikup namen 8.20am. We booked a combo island tour with south sea cruises. It is $105fjd per person. It includes about 3hours at south sea island (smallest island at mamanuca's),snorkeling gear, buffet bbq lunch, unlimited drinks (thats the selling point!) and then island tour of the rest of the mamanuca island group.
So after our bacon and eggs at the hotel (masarap kaso may garnish na mala-indian flavor for $23fjd ang dalawa).. We headed to the reception where our bus will pick us up. Walang check check sila manong kung nakasakay na lahat ng nagbook..so bahala ka talaga pag ayaw mo pa bumangon at naiwan ka!
We checked in at port denarau and boarded the vessel. In fairness, maganda naman ung boat. Airconditioned at may sundeck if you want to see the view. The island that we're going to is about 15mins from the port.
Ang liit lang ng island. Kaya mo ito takbuhin paikot in 5minutes ;) ang ganda ng tubig! Blue, light blue...super linaw! Un nga lang macoral ang sands, so you reallyneed go wear your thongs although may maaapakan ka parin.
There was a short briefing about the activities on the island..sayang na miss namen ung glass bottom boat, kse busy kme kakasnorkel. What good about fiji resorts is that they have set of activities that you can join if you have nothing else to do.
Snorkel snorkel kami ni bengkoley! Syempre naka life vest ako, i dont know how to swim! HHWUTWSS (holding hands while under the water snorkel snorkel) kmeng dalawa for at least an hour. Ang saya! Ang ganda sa ilalim! Beautiful coral fishes! Iba ibang kulay! Kaso parang may kumakagat sakin.. Mega pantal ang arms pag ahon. I was addicted to snorkeling! Kaso its time for lunch!
Ok lang ung lunch, bbq meats tapos gulay and rice... Not too special.. Dinumog ko lang ung bar for drinks..nagbeebeer na kme ng mga 10am! Kaya si manong bartender hindi na nag bu'bula'! Wala na siguro sila iinumin mamaya! Hehe
Nagboard na ulit kme ng boat mga 12.45pm. There is this small boat that transfers us in the middle of the sea. I think because mejo mababaw ung dagat, sasabit daw ung propeller sabi ni bebols.
Ikot ikot sa mga islands for 2hours.. Hindi naman bumaba, sightseeing lang talaga.. Sayang tulog kami nung andun na sa island where they filmed "castaway" with tom hanks. Its called malolo island. There are so many islands! May mga pacute,, may mga bonggang island na maraming helicopter and maraming activities.. We'll definitely go back dun sa merong parasailing!
So balik na kme sa hotel, free bus transfers parin kasama sa package. Sulit for the tour! Mejo nagpapanick na kami pagbalik ng hotel coz we dont have any accommodation for our last night. Full na ung worldmark and we really wanted to be in radissons pero full narin (something to look forward to when we go back here...mukang uber saya sa radissons!)
Plus wifi was down so hindi kami makacheck ng prices online... No choice, baka maging homeless kami so we checked if may available pa sa sheraton (i love my bebe so much! So class! Hehe). And yes there is! Pagbaba palang namin ng bula bus sa lobby nila we were stunned! Massive lobby, massive ceilings, world class furnishings! Uber ganda!
The price is reasonable for a 5star hotel. $350aud with brekky! Sakto! Nagikot ikot muna kami.. And bebols said "our holiday has just began!" super ganda ng mga amenities! Few restos around! May adukt pool na may hammock sa gitna ng tubig! And im really looking forward to their bar na may "tower drinks!" just like pinas!They have everything in sheraton! They even have jacks's (fijian souvenir shop) so you dont really have to go to town anymore, andun na lahat! They even have souvenir market where the locals sell their crafts. Island prices, not hotel prices! Which really upset me coz i bought mum pearl set from the first souvenir shop that we went to and compared to the markets, i think i was ripped off big time! Oh well... I have to get over it! Pang asar ni jon, he bought pearl earring for $10 pero wala naman sya pagbibigyan lol
Afte being mesmerised by sheraton and uber looking forward to staying there, we went to port denarau for dinner. As per my tradition, my tradition talaga eh no! We dined at hardrock. Happy coz i bought limited edition pin for my hardrock oin collection ;) i love the food! Sarap sarap! Reasonable for $60+fjd for 2mains and 2beers ;)
Aboard the bula bus, we passed by 'the terraces'. Meron silang spa..ive been seeing the ad on bula bus for days and did not really paid any attention... Kainis! They have uber cheap massages! $55fjd an hour for shiatsu! $40fjd for an hour of reflexology!! Asar! Fully booked na for the night! So we'll go early morning... Sarap sarap!!!
Day 4... :( lapit na umuwi...
Early morning brekky for bebs- bacon and egg roll with a fijian twist! Plus proper brewed coffee :) aboard the bula bus once more (which has a poor service in the morning) and we arrived (late) for our massage session.
Again...disappointed with their massage :( at least a bit better than the home service lady... Jon's masseuse was coughing and sniffing most of the session! Not at all impressed..
We went back to wyndham to check out..
Aboard the bula bus once again and we checked in at sheraton resort. The front desk guy escorted us to our room..bit far from the lobby.. Disappointed again :(
garden view + 2 twin beds = not worth our $550fjd a night :(
I was starving and cant be bothered to go anywhere else...so we ate at hotel's resto...again..bad bad move! Had 1entree, 2mains, 1 desert , a coffee and bottled water for $135fjd! Whoa!! Too much for lunch :( food was good but nothing so extraordinary... A bottled 500mls water for $8 is just too much! Holdap bawat kagat at lagok!!
Ilang araw ko na gustong magkayak... After freshening up, we went back to the beach..ayun, nasaraduhan na kami! Malakas na daw yung waves and so it is not safe to kayak... Sad...
Happy hour na naman! Mahal parin ang drinks! Not too happy hour... Lasing much and so balik na kami sa room..siesta!
We woke up before midnight and had a walk around. The hotel got free use of internet sa business hub nila.. Patapos narin ang party scene sa bar.. Maaga natutulog ang mga tao..
Gutom kami pero wala ng bukas...OA ang charge ng room service! Imagine, younstill have to pay $12fjd for delivery of your food plus taxes pa on top of that! Ridiculous!!! Natulog nalang kami and woke up early for buffet brekky :)
Day 5.. Last day....
Surprisingly, super aga nagising ni bebe! We were up before 6! buffet brekky was ok.. Walang bacon! Ham lang :( pastries were nice.. Pero quite limited selection of food...
Finalky! We were able to kayak! Ngayon naman super aga namin sa harap ng stall ni manong kayak! It is complimentary for guests :) it was my first time so excited naman ako mamangka...yun pala nakakapagod!! Ang hirap magsagwan ha! Effort kung effort! Hehe
Swim swim kami saglit afterr kayak then we have to pack up to go back to sydney.
Badtrip kami when we checked out..was checking the hotel bill... 2 taxes! One for hotel tax, other one was government tax! Whoa! Next time, book online! And eay ahead of time!
We rode a taxi (van) to go to the airport. Nagpadaan kami sa mcdo to take away some lunch (and naiintriga ako what mccas is like in fiji!). Cheap enough ang price, they have chicken also on their menu (hindi masarap...kadiri yung lasa ng oil :( ).
Fiji airport is not that big..sakto lang.. They are a bit strict on checking the hand carries... Pati lipstick ko and lip balm, i have to put on the clear bag.. Which costs $1fjd..walang katapusang bayad!
Duty free was ok.. Reasonable prices...
We board virgin atlantic on the way back to sydney..and i must say, they are pretty impressive! The attention to detail was outstanding :) inflight safety procedure was in animation! Great inflight entertainment.. Bagong bago yung aircraft. Very spacious! Food was good..love the desert!
And so ends our 5 day adventure for our 2nd year anniversary. It was so much fun not only eith visiting a new place but with enjoying it with someone i love :). I was saying to myself that i must have done something good in my life to deserve someone to share these wonderful adventures with. Until our next trip!
Vinaka!
