Hello Fiji

I arrived in Fiji and it had a very familiar feel, very similar to the Philippines. At first I couldn't figure out what it was, especially since I've been to other humid countries. Later on I realized it was the humidity mixed with burning garbage. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't smell like garbage, just like something burning.

So they lost my luggage but I didn't really care. About 30 people lost their luggage and they were all on the LA flight, I figured they forgot to put on a container. I had planned to store my luggage at the airport while in Fiji but it turns out they were about to save me 16 bucks.

I waited for my ride to the Octopus Resort and did panic when he did not arrive at 8:30-9am like they said he would. I was reminded that we were on Fiji time and he would not forget me. So I stopped to get a bite to eat. My experience travelling is to never get American food but always get the local food. There are a lot of Indians in Fiji after the British brought their ancestors here years ago to work in the sugar cane fields. So I figured samosas were a safe bet. They were filled with lamb and vegetables and really good. Also really cheap for $2 when an omelet would cost you $10.

Thirty minutes later he did come to take me to the marina, we had a 45 minute wait for the boat so I took a few pictures of local flowers.

I also ate at the restaurant and here is what you get when you order a ham and cheese roll. Remember when I said not to order American food. This is why, it's never what you expected and always has some weird thing in it. This ham and cheese roll was a sandwich with bright yellow cheese, weird ham and chili sauce in it.

Fiji was great and very humid. Octopus Resort was really nice with lots of people my age and very seasoned travellers. Also, I met a couple from Halifax - see we're everywhere. Below are a few pictures how they greet you when you come off the boat, the island and the dorm I stayed in for $20 a night.

Although the relaxing was great I have to say the best part was walking to the village. They had a welcoming ceremony with Cava which is a drink that is not alcoholic but apparently is a narcotic, basically it just makes your mouth numb. Then they had a performance which was really interesting. All the people are so friendly and you spend so much of the day saying Bula (hello) and Tanaka (thank you) because they are such nice people.

The village was pretty rustic as you can imagine, except for the satellite TV to watch rugby and the solar panels that the government installed.

The village was very nice, the next day I headed to the city...