Bula Fiji!

Departing Christchurch for Fiji became confirmed again how much I have changed since travelling. Having had a welcomed lie-in, I took the rest of the morning quite easy. I ate breakfast and made my final packing adjustments. I’d already posted items home to clear up some room in my bag and my postcards were written and ready to be dropped in the post box.

Even though I had plenty of time, I decided to jog to the post box. Partly to warm up but mainly to lull myself into a false sense of security that it would help burn off some of the Fergburgers demolished in Queenstown.

With everything organised and ready to go, I sat around and waited for my shuttle to the airport. A friendly receptionist told me to wait in the dining area and she would come and get me when it arrived. I distracted myself with the giant map of the world attached to the wall. I waited…and waited…and nothing. I moved to reception in case I’d been forgotten about.

Receptionist was shocked to see I was still here and thought I’d left already. Hmm, clearly not. It turns out that my driver had been sat waiting for me at the airport for the past half hour. Oh dear. I found the whole thing rather funny and wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Receptionist panicked and said I could call the airport if I needed to.

In my eyes I had plenty of time and I wasn’t that bothered because the shuttle was free for those staying at the hostel. Why get angry at a service that’s free anyway?

Soon enough my goofy driver turned up and bashfully apologised. We sped off to the airport. I felt like I was in a car chase scene. Witnessing everyone’s nervousness, it dawned on me that I used to be like that.

Granted, I still get stressed and frustrated at things – hell, you read my blogs about Australia – but in day-to-day life, I don’t tend to worry about things. I always get where I need to be and things have a way of working out even when it might not look that way. Maybe that’s the reason for my newfound laid back nature. As I’m not stressing every second of the day like I was in England, it’s not an instinctive reaction to have to occurrences.

Moving from country to country I’ve realised that I’m capable of a lot more than I thought. It’s brought about a subtle air of confidence in myself which helps me breeze past most problems I used to halt at and think of every possibility and outcome before making my decision. Going with the flow is so much easier! Getting annoyed at things that are out of your control is another thing that I’ve eased off from. Of course, there’s nothing like a good moan and I also have the occasional rant that surfaces but hey, I never said I was perfect.

To get back on track, I boarded the plane and found I had plenty of leg room but no television screen in the seat in front of me. To make matters worse, I had babies to the left of me, babies to the right of me…and toddlers galore. One demon was sat behind me punching my seat. But I somehow tuned it out and rested on the knowledge that it wasn’t a long flight and it’d soon be over. I had a film called Sophie to distract me on a drop-down screen. It’s about a girl and her pet elephant. Meh, it was alright.

Cries and screams were replaced by elated greetings. “BULA!” sounded from every worker I passed and when I made it to arrivals, a group of men in brightly coloured attire sang and played instruments. What a welcome.

After I collected my luggage, I made my way to the exit. I’d sent an email to the resort I was staying at for the night with my arrival time. An airport transfer was included with my stay which was good. Everyone goes on about “Fiji time” and how everything is so laid back and slow-paced. I was prepared for a wait but was pleasantly surprised to find a lady holding up a piece of paper with “Bula” and my name on in big thick black letters.

Bula is a Fijian greeting which translates as life or to live. It is quite fitting as Fijians have such a zest for life but there will be more on that later.

As I was driven back to the resort, I stopped off at a shop to pick up some kava. This is the name of the plant but it’s the root that is used to produce a drink commonly consumed by Fijians. I bought it in powdered form so it can be added to water to form a drink. I will hand this to my hosts who I will be staying with in a small village called Namatakula. I just hoped that I got the good stuff and not some dust out of the vacuum cleaner!

It was already starting to get dark. There didn’t seem to be much activity going on in the surrounding area of the resort, nor inside for that matter. This suited me just fine as I wanted a good rest before my bus journey to the village the next day. I had the dorm to myself too which was perfect. I took advantage of the wifi and left a message on Facebook letting everyone know that I was abstaining from all internet activity including my blog. I wanted complete rest and relaxation during my two weeks in Fiji. It was to be my holiday from travelling. I didn’t want to worry about where the nearest plug socket was to charge my laptop or seek out a free wifihotspot (non-existent on the islands!).

Sleep came relatively easy to me that night as my final thoughts of complete disconnection from the world relaxed me.

*****

Free airport transfer, free wifi and now free breakfast. The world is a better place when stuff is free. Poached eggs on toast with a reasonable cup of tea certainly hit the spot.

Once my free breakfast was devoured I made my way to reception for another free transfer back to the airport. The bus to the village where I was going to stay departed from there which was handy.

There didn’t seem to be any bus stop signs so I asked at the information desk. They kindly pointed to a vague area outside and said the bus will stop outside. Yes, but outside where? Never mind.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a clue where to wait as one German girl and two Brits joined my club of confusion.

An airport staff member waited to one side and said he’d point out the bus to us. He says it’s a good quality vehicle with air conditioning. Just as he said that, a bus drove past without any windows and I laughed. I guess that’s what is classed as air conditioning in Fiji.

But surprisingly I was about to eat my words as a top-notch coach rolled up. Our bags were placed in an underside compartment and we took our seats inside. It was a little cramped but there was definitely air con.

One of the girls sighed and said she wanted to go on the bus with no windows. For a three to four hour journey, are you crazy? Yes I want to see the real Fiji, but right now I’d like to get to Namatakula with the hair on my head still attached!     

As the bus pulled away from the airport, a sizable television screen dropped down from the front of the bus. I didn’t realise we got entertainment too!

First up was the superbly acted Bring It On: All or Nothing followed by Rush Hour. It was only as I came closer to Namatakula that I noticed I’d barely looked out the window. I’m a sucker for a dance movie. Chris Tucker on the other hand…

So I happily looked out as we passed tiny village after tiny village. Some had cement houses whilst others were populated by simple metal huts. Finally it was my turn to get off. Waiting for me at the stop was a guy who knew Sake and Tupou, my hosts. He kindly carried my bag to the main house. Tupou greeted me jovially and took me to where I would be staying for five nights.

My hut

My comfy double bed

I had a hut all to myself by the beach. Unfortunately the beach was a little messy after the floods but the view was still lovely.

We sat down on the chairs inside my hut and Tupou went through a few things with me. Mainly times when we eat and how things will work. As Tupou continued, I felt something jump on my lap. I looked down to find the cutest kitty I have ever seen.

Meet Fluffy...

...and Porsche

Once I’d been shown around Tupou went off to make some lunch. As I didn’t confirm a time that I’d be arriving, Tupou wasn’t sure when to start cooking. I felt terrible of course. I didn’t realise I needed to give a time. I had no idea when I’d crawl out of my bed so I left it open-ended.

Tupou cooked up a lovely curry that I couldn’t finish as I was so full. “More food, more food,” cheered Tupou. I couldn’t eat another bite. I hate not leaving an empty plate as it’s usually seen as a slur against the food.

After lunch, I went back to my room for a rest. I don’t know if it was the heat or the large meal, but I was so tired. I almost drifted off but knew that it wouldn’t help me get a good night’s sleep if I had a nap.

When the time had arrived for dinner to be served, I made my way into the main room. The dining table had been set and food was about to be served.

Sake and I tuck in

What a feast! There was plenty to go around. It was only as Tupou placed separate servings for herself and Sake that I realised all the food that was in front of me was mine to eat!!

Tupou laughed at my reaction and said that I’ll never go hungry whilst I’m with her and that she promises I’ll put on 10kg. What!?! I certainly don’t need fattening up!

Dinner was delicious but I honestly couldn’t eat another bite. I tried, but failed miserably.

When the food had settled, we made our way across to a different house with my kava. It was time to get to know Fiji a little bit better.

The thing about small communities is that everyone knows each other and in Namatakula, pretty much everyone is related in some way or another. It was rather overwhelming on my first day. I remembered nobody’s name at first. There were no Daves or Lauras here so learning names in Fiji was tricky. Mine was easy as the homestay is called Danny’s!

We all sat around a large bowl of water on a woven mat. One guy sprinkled the kava onto a wet cloth and started to soak and twist the cloth as though he was massaging the kava.

Having read my trip notes thoroughly, I knew that the etiquette when sitting down is to sit cross-legged or with your legs to the side. At no point should your legs and feet be facing forward. Other village rules include no hats or sunglasses as they are disrespectful to the chief and knees and shoulders should be covered when walking in the village. Simple stuff really.

One thing that wasn’t mentioned was what to do at a kava ceremony. I just thought you sat and drank it which is what I did. Once I was handed the bowl I drank and then handed it back. It was only as I watched the others that I realised you should clap once, say “Bula,” drink and then clap three times. Others may join in the three claps too.

As we all settled down and had a few rounds of kava, the conversations were flowing. Obviously every now and then everyone spoke in Fijian and I had no clue what was going on. Scobee (the only name I can remember but probably can’t spell correctly!), kindly translated and got me in on a few of their conversations. Scobee told me that they mostly talk about village issues and life in general. It’s a chance to catch up and discuss things.

It kind of reminded me of what us Brits do when we nip down to our local for a beer and a chat with friends. We talk about what we’ve been up to, life and then completely random crap. I didn’t hear any silly games or jokes though. Perhaps they save that for when I’m not around!

Kava definitely mellowed me out. It does have an anaesthetic quality to it and I definitely felt it! Everyone was pleased that I tried the kava and impressed with how much I had. It was ok. It tastes how it looks…

Bottoms up!

Looks...tasty

Scobee joked that he'd always tell tourists that it tastes like chocolate milkshake. The funniest thing was that they believed him. Until they drunk it of course!

I wanted to stay longer but felt so tired, I had to call it a night. Tupou took me back to my hut as it was dark and I’d probably get lost (she knows me already!).

As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light. This is very unusual for me as I am such a restless sleeper. It normally takes me a long time to get to sleep and I shift about from side to side in an effort to get settled and comfortable. You’d be damned if you shared a dorm with me and a squeaky bed! I think I could get used to this kava stuff.