Bula, Fiji!

Happy Thanksgiving over there in the US!!  I can't say that there is any turkey or stuffing here to enjoy...(Sniff, sniff)  I could have bought a chicken or something, but I was too lazy.  ; )

On to Fiji...  Where do I start?  When we arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nan-di), we "hired" a car and found our way to the Coral Coast where we stayed at the Pearl South Pacific.  There is basically one main road all the way around the main island of Viti Levu.  One way around is Queens Road, and the other way around is Kings Road.  Along the way, we saw a number of locals walking along the main roads to the next village, school, resorts or just waiting for the open-air buses.  We noticed the local farm animals also, except there's no fence to keep them in.  So, you might see a cow or boar up closer than you might like.  It's amazing at how different the towns and villages are in comparison to the resorts.  (Link to PicasaWeb)

And I must say that stopping here was a great idea as a place to get over my jet lag.  The people are very friendly and all about enjoying Fiji time.  In addition to the local Fijians, there is a rather large Indian population there.  Actually, I work with a number of Fijians of Indian decent that have left Fiji for better work opportunities in Australia.  There has been some unrest in Fiji now and then when the governments change over.  We actually experienced how serious things are when we accidentally ended up in front of the Presidents house in the capital of Suva.  We needed directions and were promptly motioned to move our car by a militant guard armed with a machine gun.  Needless to say, we got out of there pretty quickly.  I guess it is no different than if someone approached the White House unannounced.  I certainly wouldn't make that mistake again though.

Back to the beauty that is the Pearl, there was a great view of the ocean and the Beqa Island (pronounced Benga).  I thought it was pronounced the Becca Island until someone burst my bubble and said the name.  The hotel had boats to take you there for snorkeling, but we weren't able to go as the winds made the water unsafe.  Then, we decided that we'd take a river cruise that takes you to a local village for a lunch and the local tribal dancing, but it rained that day.  And that's when we decided to drive an hour into Suva for some sight-seeing in the capital.  The last day, we drove back towards Nadi and the airport, and we stopped in Denarau Island to see some of the other resorts.  Denarau was a completely different world.  It was a gated community of resorts with a Hard Rock Cafe and everything!  After a final island drink at the Hilton, we headed back to the airport for our final plane (there were 8 over 3 wks) back to Sydney.