Bula, Bula - Night 148

12:15 local time an Air Pacific Boeing 737-300

rumbles down the tarmac at Brisbane International Airport bound for Nadi, Fiji thus ending the passenger in seat 32A’s time in Land Down Under. As we lift through the clouds I look back at the verdant landscape of Moreton Island and wondered silently to myself if I will ever return to this place. The answer… I honestly don’t know. This uncertainty in life is both strangely upsetting and spiritually liberating at the same time.

Air Pacific is the way to go. Free beer and friendly service…the only two things I really need on a flight. We touched down in Nadi just prior to the six o’clock hour. The air is thick and warm, the atmosphere jovial. Customs is a breeze, the man didn’t even so much as look up at me. Quarantine was just as simple. The Aquarius resort sent a van to pick me and shuttle me off to their hostel for my one night stay prior to the Awesome Fiji Adventure Tour that I will be starting tomorrow. Rolling through the streets of Nadi, I am reminded of the poverty and squalor that grips Jamaica. To be honest, it isn’t half as bad as Jamaica, but the dichotomy of the glitzy Oceanside resorts and the rustic homes of the local people still exists.

My First Fiji Beer and Sunset

The Aquarius Resort is a small, quiet, clean little place directly on the beach. Occupancy was well below 50% and after dark I had the pool to myself. The waitress kept my table well stocked with Fiji Bitter, a local beer that would pass for quality only in the Midwest. The sea itself is as warm as bathwater and laps softly at the white sand beach. Vicious mosquitoes attacked my feet as I lay in a hammock and stared up at the stars through the swaying palm trees. I packed up a bag to leave in the long term luggage storage and headed to bed early.

What I Learned Today: It appears that the Fijian people are as advertised…the friendliest in the world.

written by

exumenius on March 6, 2008 from Suva, Fiji

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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