Fiji Final Chapter: Last Fiji time experience

Back to the story of my tour and Fiji Time, this time after my walk in the village and the Kava Ceremony I went back to the resort ready to take my shower and have good dinner and good night of sleep to go through my third day in Fiji.

Got my cloths ready and walked to the shower, oooops no water. Ok, I walk to the receptionist explained my problem, she called one of the workers there who walked with me to check the issue. After few minutes he came to me and said I need sometime, so I said OK, I can wait no problem, by today I'm used to Fiji time. 30mns after, everyone went for dinner and the guy is still not back, so I decided to go back to the receptionist, who talked again to the guy to find out what was done and the answer was: because of the hurricane, water is in low pressure. Ok I asked when it could be fixed, as my skin was itching from the swim and the sweat of the day; and the answer was: come back to check in 1,5h. I thought she was joking, but she did look at me with a very serious face of “ lady, please, it’s not like I have nothing to do here but take care of your shower problem, you are in Fiji so you can wait” ohh my! I couldn’t believe it, this is the second time in Fiji I ask for a service and I'm asked to wait 1h or 1,15h.

 Do they really mean to wait that much time or does it mean "get lost"? 

Well I figured it does really mean "get lost". As the first time, it was about trying to charge my laptop as I didn’t have any battery left, no plug to charge anything in the hostel anywhere but at the reception so I Was asked to wait 1h, when I came back to the receptionist after 1h, she was laughing and asked me if I Was really waiting for an hour. The second time was the shower problem, remembering my experience with charging the laptop, I kept checking the water and far enough within ½ hour the water was back and I was able to take my shower and enjoy the rest of the night and last few hours of my tour as well, as it turned out my tour will end in 2 days and not in 2.5 days.

Fiji time was hell of experience.

I finally made it to the airport on time of my flight to Noumea, New Caledonia,. Checked my luggages and as I become a bit paranoid, I waited to see my luggage going through the belt but funny enough the girl who registered me waited for  15mn, with no exaggeration, after I left to get the luggage through, it’s like she was telling me again: It’s Fiji time! No hurry, No worry J

Vinaka, for hearing the Fiji story and if you ever plan to go to Fiji, bare in mind: No Hurry, No worry in Fiji. 

Fiji Chapter: Part III

The second day where I discover that 1.5h really means 30mn :) 

The day finished in another nice Resort: Upraising where I deposited my backpack and took off with another traveller to the Village next to the resort.

Waidradra Village, a typical Fijian village. 

Quiet and kids playing all over to shorten their day. 

Found a group of kids playing volleyball. Boy the Fijian love their volleyball and Rugby! We stopped to play with them, it was fun, some spoke english some not but we had great time. 

The game ended with an invitation from the parents and a welcoming to their house with a Kava Ceremony, very friendly one but nice.

The Kava (or yaqona) Ceremony goes like this:

_  Everyone must sit down and remain seated during the ceremony.

-       The Chief of the tribe (or the house for my experience) strain the bare root of a pepper tree, pounded into a fine powder, through a cloth to keep out the grit, then mix it with fresh water in a large hardwood bowl, called a Tanoa.

-       The kava then served in a halved coconut shell, men drink first and then the women.

- Clap once with a cupped hand making a hollow sound

- Yell: Bula!

- Drink in one gulp

- Clap three times

- Say: Mathe

It tests like muddy water, literally, with a bit of bitterness. 

But the gathering, watching the process of making the Kava, the ambiance is unique, of course without knowing how the ceremony could’ve been developed to in the older days.

As my second host in Fiji explained to me later that in the old days Kava Ceremony was also a sort of welcoming visitors in the Cannibal tribes, and at the end of the ceremony of the chief or the tribe eat them. I was thankful that I wasn’t an adventurous traveller in the 19sJ

I found out later that Fijians adopted  cannibalism from their long voyage at sea.  The lack of adequate nutrition forced these sailors to consume the dead in order to survive. During wartime, the skull of the defeated chief was used as a kava bowl offered to the relatives of the defeated.

The ambushed of English missionary Reverend Thomas Baker was the last cannibal act known in Fiji (1834-1907).

Today, there is no more cannibals in Fiji and it’s even used as a joke, a Fijian joke of the national rugby team that visited Scotland back in the 1980’s.  During the half time break, a Scotsman asked a Fijian player how they would treat the loosing team playing against Fiji.   In reply he said, “We eat them.”

Fiji chapter II: 2.5 days means 2 days

The 2 and 1/5 days means 2 days

Got to Fiji at 1 am, quiet late and because of the hurricane, there was no electricity, meaning no phone call, no internet and no banking. Had no plan to stay in Fiji, and have no choice but to stay another 4 days to check my flight to New Caledonia. How nice! the adventure only about to start.

Lucky enough to ask for some recommendations of a hostel from a friend before I leave the US, after a long time waiting inside the airport for my luggage, I passed security and curious to see if the driver of the hostel is there or if I will spend my night at the airport J Annnnnd, he was there, great sometimes the Fiji time can work on my advantage J

Got some sleep and woke up in the morning to make my phone calls: to the airline, to see if there is a way I can get to New Caledonia before, to my family and let them know I’m well arrived.

No, no electricity, which means no phone no internet, no nothing. I played calm and stayed at the reception thinking on what to do and waiting for the receptionist to charge my computer?

After 1hour waiting and talking with people next to me who were sharing their Fiji experience as well, I decided to join this group of people who are taking a tour of the island.

Packed and joined the tour forgetting about the hustle and worry about what to do tog et to Noumea before the 22^nd, after all I’m in Fiji, I should take advantage of it.

The tour of 2and1/2 days started. Made first stop at one of the nice beaches of Fiji, except after the hurricane nothing was nice about it. 

From there, our second stop was the unexpected adventure of Sand-boarding, amazing experience. 

For the rest of the day, we drove through the Coral Coast of Fiji and stayed in Mango Bay, the resort that inspire relaxation and calm, except for all the frogs I came across my walk from the room to the dining area. Ahhhhhhhhh!  

Well it’s also part of the adventure J

The second day of the tour starts with a hike in the rain forest. It looked like we’re the first to walk in the forest after the hurricane. Green, calm, active and arouse. Tropical plants, water falls and juming from rocks into waterfalls (2 shots from the bucket list done in one day awesome.)

One more thing done from the bucket list: cruising the Navoua River on a small boat and coming across wild indigenous Fijian kids cruising the river hunting in their kayak, and when they saw us they started singing, shouting and dancing in the water: Authentic and unique experience.  It only happens in Fiji.  

Fiji Chapter I: Fiji time: No hurry, no worry!

The 4 hours means 24h and the 24 means 45h

The 2 and 1/5 days means 2 days

1 and 1/2h means 2 and sometimes it just means 30mn. 

First day of the journey, December 15, 2012; excited, curious and impatient for what I am going to experience, people I will meet, pictures I will take. 

Initially I wanted to tell the stories in photographs but after all words can express more than pictures in some instants, such as the “Fiji time experience” J

The Fiji time started with Air Pacific in LA.

My flight was scheduled for 9:00 pm, Dec 15th. from LA but Air Pacific knew how to put me in Fiji mood before I even get there. “You're in LA relax, take advantage of it”  

Eventually I did, I don’t have a choice after all. A friend picked me up from LAX. Took me to a tour in LA.

24h after, I was at the airport all excited, finally I will start my journey and will still make it to Fiji on time to catch my flight to New Caledonia.

No, not yet, you are in Fiji time: No hurry, no worry still not time to get there yet. The flight is again delayed another 8 hours. Left the airport for another night.

The flight was scheduled for 4:30 am, this time I decided to keep calling the airline before I leave the house.

Even though the waiting time was 30mn before anyone picks up the phone, but worth it as the flight kept getting delayed over and over until it finally was set to 14:30pm December 17^th.

Ok, this time it sounds like we will be leaving. 

But not really, as the crew were not there; Air Pacific, must be a joke, even Ryan air is better.

Finally we took off at around 4pm. So it wasn’t as much the weather fault but Air Pacific one, or I should say, it’s no ones fault it’s just Fiji Time.