FIJI!!! Holy MOLY!
Well, its been an interesting experience so far in Fiji to say the least. Lets just say i came with very little preconcieved notions of Fiji, and it has still completely surprised me. First of all, after hearing how everybody comes to Fiji for holiday or honeymoons or stuff like that I was expecting a decently built up country. It is quite third world, however. Maybe not 3rd, it might be 2nd or 2.5ish, but its certainly not First like the States, Oz, or NZ. As this is my first experience with a 3rd world country i found things to be quite unusual.
After landing we went through immigration and customs and got to the main terminal of the airport. We then asked around (to anyone we coudl find) where we'd get a way to the Raffles Gateway Hotel, where we would spend our first night. We had to spend a night there as our flight from Oz got in too late to catch the island hopper flight to get us out to Savusavu. Well it turns out that the hotel is only a short 5 min walk from the airport, but we didn't know that. Also, we had a quite heavy bag without wheels, so it would have been not much fun to lug it to the hotel. After standing waiting for the shuttle for close to 90 minutes, workers at the airport told Dad to go to the information desk and ask the person there to call the hotel requesting the shuttle. No sooner did Dad leave than it arrived.
This was not a savior however as he couldn't fit all of us, so he told me he'd come back to get us. But, this does not negate dad's experience. He went to the desk where the clerk told him to go back down and wait. After explaining thath we'd been waiting and wanted to call he said "ok, call" Dad asked if the info desk guy would call for him, he said he could not (despite there being one or more perfectly good phones on the desk not in use). Then dad asked if he coudl use the phone to call and he said "no." Dad asked about a pay phone and the guy said it would be a 30cent call, BUT dad would have to go to the shop and buy a $3 phone card (smallest denimenation) to make the call. Phones here work on phonecards rather than change. Well, $3 was the same price that a cab driver had already offered us SEVERAL times to drive us to the hotel, but we said no on the principle that there was a free shuttle.
Eventually dad came back and then the shutle came and we made it to the hotel. Well, our flight left the next morning at 6:45 meaning we shoudl be at the airport by 5:45 meaning leaving around 5:30 to be safe (checkout takes a while sometimes and they can run late) meaning getting up around 4:30 (so much fun after getting up @ 3am the previous day to make a 5:30 flight out of Cairns). So we get to the airport, and check in. Have to pay $100Fiji for being overweight with luggage (limit is only 15kg though he gave us 20kg but our total weight was 46kg over :) ). The flight was suppose to leave at 6:45 probably didn't leave until 7:45 or so, maybe later. After all of that, it was only a 20min flight, couldn't we have bussed over just as quickly?!?!
So now we're in Suva (the capital) in this TINY airport (supposedly its international!). Well our flight is supposed to leave there at 8:30 for Savusavu.... doesn't happen. They tell us there is a technical difficulty and shoudl be an hour. 9:30 rolls around and we get another announcement, another hour wait. 10:30 rolls around and no announcement. 12pm comes and there is an announcement for dad and I to go to the Air Fiji desk. The flight is going to be cancelled as it will be another 2-3 hours minimum. So they are going to transport us to a hotel and put us up for the night, then transfer us back to the airport to make a 5:30 flight out of Suva bound for Savusavu. Sounds like fun, eh? So here i sit in the hotel writing this entry, giving the brief overview of my travels so far in Fiji.
Driving from the Airport to the hotel was VERY interesting. Quite honestly it looked like the road driving scene out of Good Morning Vietnam. There were cars all over the place, no defined lanes. Some stopped in the middle and sides of the road. The driver weaving in and out of traffic. We passed a REAL market at one point, with piles of Muscles on the floor for the buying and tons of fruit and other produce. It was very interesting. I think the most noticable thing was the smell, as we drove the entire place had this perfume of very poorly tuned engines and heavy exhaust mixed with the unmistakable smell of a burning clutch from a manual transmission.
Its an interesting place to say the least. Hopefully the trip only goes up from here and we have a great time in Savusavu, but regardless i remain chipper. Heck, laughter is the best way to deal with most problems, especially those which you have ABSOLUTELY no control over :). We'll see what further adventures await. I think i might start a GBR post while i wait. (these posts will be posted mucho later when i have real access to the internet again). That's why i'm writing now, there's not much to do. We have VERY few channels on the TV (in english) and after making the drive here, dad and I are very wary of walking around. It IS the 3rd world, and we stand out like SORE thumbs against the rich colour of the Fijians. I'm sure we a VERY easy mark.... So, LJ entries it is and checking my e-mail.
After landing we went through immigration and customs and got to the main terminal of the airport. We then asked around (to anyone we coudl find) where we'd get a way to the Raffles Gateway Hotel, where we would spend our first night. We had to spend a night there as our flight from Oz got in too late to catch the island hopper flight to get us out to Savusavu. Well it turns out that the hotel is only a short 5 min walk from the airport, but we didn't know that. Also, we had a quite heavy bag without wheels, so it would have been not much fun to lug it to the hotel. After standing waiting for the shuttle for close to 90 minutes, workers at the airport told Dad to go to the information desk and ask the person there to call the hotel requesting the shuttle. No sooner did Dad leave than it arrived.
This was not a savior however as he couldn't fit all of us, so he told me he'd come back to get us. But, this does not negate dad's experience. He went to the desk where the clerk told him to go back down and wait. After explaining thath we'd been waiting and wanted to call he said "ok, call" Dad asked if the info desk guy would call for him, he said he could not (despite there being one or more perfectly good phones on the desk not in use). Then dad asked if he coudl use the phone to call and he said "no." Dad asked about a pay phone and the guy said it would be a 30cent call, BUT dad would have to go to the shop and buy a $3 phone card (smallest denimenation) to make the call. Phones here work on phonecards rather than change. Well, $3 was the same price that a cab driver had already offered us SEVERAL times to drive us to the hotel, but we said no on the principle that there was a free shuttle.
Eventually dad came back and then the shutle came and we made it to the hotel. Well, our flight left the next morning at 6:45 meaning we shoudl be at the airport by 5:45 meaning leaving around 5:30 to be safe (checkout takes a while sometimes and they can run late) meaning getting up around 4:30 (so much fun after getting up @ 3am the previous day to make a 5:30 flight out of Cairns). So we get to the airport, and check in. Have to pay $100Fiji for being overweight with luggage (limit is only 15kg though he gave us 20kg but our total weight was 46kg over :) ). The flight was suppose to leave at 6:45 probably didn't leave until 7:45 or so, maybe later. After all of that, it was only a 20min flight, couldn't we have bussed over just as quickly?!?!
So now we're in Suva (the capital) in this TINY airport (supposedly its international!). Well our flight is supposed to leave there at 8:30 for Savusavu.... doesn't happen. They tell us there is a technical difficulty and shoudl be an hour. 9:30 rolls around and we get another announcement, another hour wait. 10:30 rolls around and no announcement. 12pm comes and there is an announcement for dad and I to go to the Air Fiji desk. The flight is going to be cancelled as it will be another 2-3 hours minimum. So they are going to transport us to a hotel and put us up for the night, then transfer us back to the airport to make a 5:30 flight out of Suva bound for Savusavu. Sounds like fun, eh? So here i sit in the hotel writing this entry, giving the brief overview of my travels so far in Fiji.
Driving from the Airport to the hotel was VERY interesting. Quite honestly it looked like the road driving scene out of Good Morning Vietnam. There were cars all over the place, no defined lanes. Some stopped in the middle and sides of the road. The driver weaving in and out of traffic. We passed a REAL market at one point, with piles of Muscles on the floor for the buying and tons of fruit and other produce. It was very interesting. I think the most noticable thing was the smell, as we drove the entire place had this perfume of very poorly tuned engines and heavy exhaust mixed with the unmistakable smell of a burning clutch from a manual transmission.
Its an interesting place to say the least. Hopefully the trip only goes up from here and we have a great time in Savusavu, but regardless i remain chipper. Heck, laughter is the best way to deal with most problems, especially those which you have ABSOLUTELY no control over :). We'll see what further adventures await. I think i might start a GBR post while i wait. (these posts will be posted mucho later when i have real access to the internet again). That's why i'm writing now, there's not much to do. We have VERY few channels on the TV (in english) and after making the drive here, dad and I are very wary of walking around. It IS the 3rd world, and we stand out like SORE thumbs against the rich colour of the Fijians. I'm sure we a VERY easy mark.... So, LJ entries it is and checking my e-mail.