Don't Worry...Fiji Time

Fiji was meant to be my holiday from travelling but it didn’t feel that way to begin with. The weather was shocking. I never thought I’d bring rain to Fiji but I managed it. Every day was the same but it didn’t affect me too much as it was at its heaviest on a night. I just hoped it would disappear by the time I arrived at the islands!

Having discovered that I am some sort of Rain Princess, I decided to head out to a large water source for nourishment. Namatakula is situated near a waterfall. I say near, it was still a bus ride and a 40 minute trek, but in Fiji, that’s near.

This didn’t faze me. I was a few days into my trip in Fiji and I was already so relaxed I felt like I was floating most of the time. Everything works on “Fiji time”. This is a phrase commonly heard in Fiji and used by many as a joke when things don’t happen on time. Fijians work on a different timescale to foreigners. Things get done when they get done. It’s Fiji time!

When do I ever need an excuse to slow down? You can never be late in Fiji so whenever I apologised for losing track of time, Tupou reassured me that it’s ok – “Fiji time!” I like this concept. I doubt it would ever crossover to another country which is a shame. 

The funny thing is I used to be a stickler for time-keeping in England. I hated it when people turned up ridiculously late or if things didn’t run on time. It stems from my impatient persona. I think this part of my personality has moulted from my brain at some point. 

My frame of mind now is – as long I get the outcome that suits me then I’m not too fussed about what happens up until that point. What’s the point of getting worked up over something that’s usually out of your hands anyway?

Before we headed to watery paradise, Tupou took me to a women’s community meeting. I had no idea what was going on. Money was exchanged, notes were written in books and issues were discussed. As laid back as Fijians are, this village is organised when it comes to matters that affect the community. Everyone sticks together to ensure that things run smoothly, laws are followed and the people are healthy (and well fed).

Catching the bus was easier today but the trek was not. Due to the delightful rain, it meant the track was muddy and slippery. Lazy tourists rode on horseback but I persevered.

One of many streams we waded through to get to the waterfall

Tupou picked up a little something for dinner

Almost there...

Oooo

There were a few tourists dotted about when Tupou and I arrived but thankfully they buggered off after we ate lunch. I had the place to myself.

Tupou didn’t join me as the water was too cold. It’s funny how the mild weather on the main island has the same effect on the locals as England’s bitter winter does to me back home. Everyone wraps up, especially Sake with his woolly hat and giant raincoat.

After drying off and getting changed behind a rock, we made our way back to the bus stop. This time around things were slightly different…

My afternoon remained the same as always. I showered and rested in my room. Laughter echoed through my cabin from the school kids playing rugby on the beach. They practise every day as rugby is taken very seriously here. Apparently Namatakula is well known for producing top rugby players for the country. It’s one of two major ways where locals have the opportunity and means to leave their country. Due to the low minimum wage, a Fijian with a standard job would have to save for years to afford a flight out of the country.

Another way is love. Fijian men are very keen on western women. As there are no white Fijians, we are an exotic presence. If cupid strikes, Fijian men can follow their new beaus back to their native country. Don’t worry mum, I won’t be bringing back a Fijian for dinner!

Speaking of, that night we ate at Tupou’s father’s house.

We ate the Fijian way

The green dish to the left is what Tupou picked up on the way to the waterfall. It was surprisingly tasty

It was another night of kava and an interesting dessert. It was the smelly papaya in coconut milk. I couldn’t eat it as the smell hit me straight away. I felt bad for not eating more.

Just as we were settling down for kava, some Aussie students dropped by to say hello. This isn’t unusual in Fiji as most people have an open door policy, especially in villages. If someone is having kava, it is not uncommon for passers-by to come in and join the group.

Each of the girls was volunteering at one of the schools as part of their studies. We had a brief chat and they left. It did not surprise me that they didn’t want to stay for kava.

We didn’t stay long as Tupou wasn’t feeling too good and was suffering from a bad back. I joked that she should have some kava to cure it.

Little did I know, things were about to take a turn for the worse. For the remainder of my stay with Sake and Tupou, I was ill. I was the sickest I’d been in a very long time. It was horrendous and worrying seen as I was nowhere near a medical centre.

Tupou knew what was wrong with me straight away - too much kava. WHAT!? If I knew that kava could do this to me then I’d never have drank it.

By the end of the next day, I was left a weakened quivering mess. I couldn’t eat and I was in so much pain. I took paracetamol throughout the day along with rehydrating sachets. I barely made it out of the room for the next two days. This was not good as I was due to depart soon to island hop.

Thankfully, I felt slightly better. I still wasn’t 100% but was well enough to begin my island hopping adventure.

Sadly, I missed Tupou before I left which was strange. Normally Tupou would knock on my door to tell me it was time for dinner or whatever was scheduled. Today was different and Tupou left with another homestay resident for the market.

Sake drove me back to the resort where I stayed when I first arrived in Nadi. A brief goodbye later, and I was alone again. I felt bad that my farewell didn’t reflect my time I had with Sake and Tupou. Unfortunately “Fiji time” bit me in the ass today!

Brisbane Contd...Sitting, Waiting, Wishing.

It wasn’t the mounting list of weirdos that drove us out of Brisbane YHA, but the never-ending need to save money. I feel like a broken record but it’s always about the money.

It was Good Friday. Mel and Steff were out building a boat and I decided to checkout of our room and chill out on the top floor until they finished. We found a campsite within 3 train stops of Fortitude Valley, where we were working which was perfect for us. The others took the car to work with the camping stuff so there was no point rocking up to the campsite to sit on a naked piece of grass.

I sat and ate breakfast in full view of the random woman from Earth Hour night. This time she had a Joker (Batman) face thanks to a long strand of sour cream which ran up either side of her face. The woman was sat mumbling to herself. It was another odd sight to add to the hostel weirdo collection.

Thankfully Mac was around so we whiled away the hours by playing pool and bouncing off each other with the fight talk. I plainly won due to the fact that Mac had no idea what I was saying. He didn’t know what a git was nor did he know the word faff. I’ve used it in my blog a few times so I apologise to those who too didn’t know what I was waffling on about. Faff means to dither about and generally waste time whether on purpose or not.

Soon enough, it was time to say goodbye to the hostel.

Not a bad view for a lowly dorm in Brisbane.

It did end up being a bit of a mad rush to get to the campsite before reception closed but we made it. There were no frills and bows to this place. There was a small outside kitchen area, showers, toilets and laundry. No common room, games room or jumping bean.

Our life was dull as doorknobs. We got up, got ready, went to work, came back and rushed to the supermarket to grab some food before closing, ate and went to bed. This was our Monday to Friday cycle so even if there was a common room, we would have seldom seen it!

Weather permitting, Mel and Steff still worked on the boat and I wandered about aimlessly looking for something to do. My brain was so drained of batteries that I could barely form words at the weekend. Imagine sitting listening to yourself say the same thing repeatedly. I didn’t blame people for hanging up on me. There were many times when I wanted to face plant my computer screen.

Our only excitement came from when Mac stayed with us for a week to sample a bit of camp life. He was sorely disappointed when he couldn’t start a camp fire. It must be a popular pastime in Canada. Drama also ensued when Mel became very ill due to on-going problems related to a past illness. The treatment Mel received made us all think twice about slating the NHS in England!

Oh it was also great fun when Steff lost the car keys. I was lucky as my suitcase was in the tent. Unfortunately everything that Mel and Steff owned (bar the tent etc) was in the car. Getting a locksmith to come out and fix us up a new key was around $300. It was a good job they found it the next day. Steff had left it in a café where they had breakfast that morning.

Surprisingly that’s a day where we hardly argued. We all fell silent in defeat. Steff was incredibly hard on himself and because it was something that effected everyone and consequently could have cost us a lot of money that we didn’t have, we couldn’t laugh it off.

It’s ok though as we all lived somewhat happily ever after once we quit our jobs and left Brisbane. We booked three trips – Two days and one night on Fraser Island, a one day and one night Castaway trip at 1770 and a three days and two nights boat trip around the Whitsunday Islands. We originally booked the Noosa Everglades trip but backed out as we’d spent the majority of our time camping up the East Coast. We decided it was time for a break! Instead, Mel was able to get the voucher transferred across to the Fraser Island trip instead and the value was deducted from the trip.

As always, it wasn’t easy to begin with. After the troubles I had with STA, I felt like a jinx when we had issues with Peter Pan (an Australian operated travel company…not the fairy tale character!). It’s a complicated story but the footnotes version is that our booking was lost and the person we spoke to was actually based in the Cairns branch so nobody in Brisbane had a clue what we were on about. Mel and I are both outspoken enough to get things sorted but it wasn’t easy. Unlike the email battle I had with STA, we were able to sort things out partially over the phone and then in person.

It does make me worry about my next locations as I will have booked things for New Zealand, Fiji and America! I need to find myself a good luck charm sharpish.

The elation of not having to work again whilst travelling is indescribable. I’m so happy that I can finally get back to travelling and not have anything holding me back. The prospect of leaving and starting afresh in a new country is both nerve-wracking and exciting as always. This time it is slightly different as I’ll feel like I’m leaving family behind by saying goodbye to Mel and Steff. We best make the most of my time and hope that my final weeks in Australia will make up for time lost through working to live.

Tired And Wired

Words from the sweatiest person in Japan, FACT:

Although it has only been five days, I feel like I have been in Japan for weeks. I'm not sure if it is my disconnectivity anxiety that has distorted my concept of time but it's certainly eating away at me. Technically, I have updated my blog and been active on Facebook more times than I had done in the same space of time at home, so I don't know why I'm so worked up about it. I hope it passes!

I guess I should be thankful as it means I have more time to talk to people face-to-face. Things have certainly picked up on that front. For my first couple of days I just spoke to random Japanese people who helped me out. I still find that standing with a map looking confused is the perfect way to speak to the locals. It works much better than going up to people and asking for directions as, most of the time, the people I go up to and ask are not sure or don't understand me. But things have changed. I have made friends. Hooray!

Let me introduce you to Maluen, Ben and Morad. These guys were my hiking buddies. We took this photo in the men's toilets some time up Mount Fuji. Moments before I got really excited as I found a patch of me that was dry...it was my chest. Obviously delirious from the altitude and sleep deprivation I thought it was fine to point at my top and go "look guys, part of me is dry". I didn't really think about the area I was pointing at. We all laughed and they ribbed me ever since.

Sometime later we were greeted to the true sights and smells of Fuji-San:

This was not in the brochure...

This is one of many things which I wasn't prepared for. As well as the bottled urine, I didn't think there would be as much rain as there was. Because of this, I was soaked through and absolutely freezing. I felt sick from shivering and the altitude but was determined to make it to the top. I was 500m from the top and I felt faint, my teeth were chattering and I nearly fell over the edge. The last 2km of Fuji-San consists of loose rock and narrow pathways. This terrain would be unsteady at the best of times but in complete darkness and wetness it was dangerous. Now I wanted to get to the top, believe me I really did, but it wasn't worth my health or my life! Thanks to a very quick-reacting Japanese guy I did not become one of the 4 a year who die climbing Mount Fuji. Myself and Morad went back down and Ben and Malwel continued and made it to the summit. They said we didn't miss much. I'm not sure if they were just being nice or not but the photo they showed me of the sunrise didn't match mine. I even filmed it as I didn't trust my camera work! I tried to upload the video but it didn't work. Sorry! 

So the silver lining is that after all the awfulness of the past few hours, I still managed to see the beauty of the sun rising and the sea of clouds afterwards. Lovely. Another thing is, when I told people I climbed Mount Fuji, nobody asked whether I reached the top so there won't be too many times where I have to shuffle my feet from side-to-side, tilt my head and mumble something or other about techincally not reaching the top.

Despite feeling a little rough from the night/morning before, I managed to make friends with another lovely girl I dormed with. We spent a few hours chatting away about all sorts of random things and the delightful idiosyncracies of Japan. I'm in love with this place already. As well as the guys above, Nadia suggested we meet up again before I go. We both share a love for food so I'm looking forward to enjoying great comany whilst I'm stuffing my face.

I hope by that point I will be stuffing my face. Unfortunately I seem to have left my appetite at home. I think it might be the heat. I can't handle it. It's so humid, even in the shade! I have a fan that I cling to as hard as my phrasebook. It's helped me to keep concious but I still sweat like Lee Evans on opening night. My back is dripping. I understand that I'm not really painting a pretty picture but hey, if you're still reading after I showed you a picture of bottled pee, you must have the stomach for it! Everyone - gaijin or Japanese - look clean, tidy and relaxed. I look like a puffy sweaty ball of anxiety. My hair curls up and I look like I've had a fight with a plug socket. It's not sexy. I entered the hostel I'm staying at tonight and someone asked me if it's raining. What a lovely introduction.

It doesn't help that I have a beast of a backpack to carry around.

Damage from the beast :-(

My lack of eating has been good news for my wallet but I know my stomach must be aching for some local food...

When in France...wait...oh...

So I've not been that great at eating locally. I've been snacking here and there. It takes me back to the days when I had to force myself to eat more after I was ill. It is a strange concept. Some people would be happy to eat less and lose weight. I hate it. I love foooood. Hopefully I'll feel better soon.

Oh before I go, I must show you this...

Is it bad that I want to take this home with me?

The toilets aren't all like this but in the majority of hostels you get the option to bidet or have a spray. You can also play a flushing sound so people can't hear you do your business. It's not very clear on here but there is an option to activate a "powerful deoderiser". Hilarious but kind of a good idea really!

I've gone a bit photo crazy as I'm not sure when I'm next going to get chance to add any. A typhoon is about to make it's way to Tokyo which has completely ruined my itinerary. I have no idea what I'm going to do over the next few days so there probably won't be much to report. I might take some more random photos to share with you.

Meals eaten: 2

Body sweat emitted: Enough to fill a paddling pool

Weight before I arrived: 68kg

Weight now: 66.5kg

Soooo...Japan?

“Hey...Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something...You gotta dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period.”Chris Gardner (Will Smith) The Pursuit of Happyness

Distraction is a winning tool at the moment. I mentioned in one of my previous entries that Mother Nature is kicking our arses at the moment and she’s showing no signs of stopping! What has happened in Japan is truly awful but I’m trying to avoid thinking about it too much.

At the moment it is advised that people should only travel to Japan if it is essential. For future trips it is a case of waiting until the damage has been assessed. With the threat of aftershocks and the continued problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, it’s not really determined when that time might be. So in the meantime I’m just going to wait it out and see what happens. This, I feel, is the logical route. Others who are in the same position as me, however, seem to have a different approach. Either panic or pure idiocy…perhaps both. The media doesn’t help I guess but it’s comforting to know that there are people out there who are more of a stresshead than I am!

The Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum is a perfect platform for this. We have the “heeey it’ll be alreeeet” attitude or the “you‘d be crazy to go! The risk is too high.” thought train. A lot of people aren’t even hanging about to find out whether it’s ok to go when they depart and are cancelling now. Some are doing this purely for safety reasons and would rather go when everything has settled down. This is especially true with families and those taking youngsters – fair enough in my opinion. But some fear that they'd offend locals if they went and don't want to seem like they're having fun while everyone around them is in mourning. They also believe they'd be a drain on their already depleted resources. Not just food and drink, but their hospitals too. I'm not sure what those people get up to on their trips but when I travel abroad the hospital is the last place I'd want to visit. Heck, in my own country the hospital is the last place I want to visit!! At this point in time, I can kind of understand their thinking as food and drink supplies are low in some areas. But it can't be predicted what state Japan will be in in a couple of weeks or months time. I'm not going to be so hasty. Japan is the first stop on my trip and I've had my heart set on visiting for a long time now. I don’t plan on skipping down the street singing "sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when weeee're together" although I did plan on devour a sushi bar or two. Is it selfish that I want to visit this beautiful country? If all the tourists run scared then their economy is almost certain to skydive which would be even worse.

Some people are asking forum users for advice on whether they should visit in a few weeks or even a couple of month's time. It's not just me who thinks that is an impossible question to ask. I love one response:
"...you don't need anonymous posters to justify your reason either way, do you?"
Some are waiting for others to make that decision for them. For me it's simple. If it's safe, I'm going.

With the research that I have done, I have found Japan to be a very friendly and welcoming country. Japanese people are more than happy to help and are encouraging when it comes to speaking their language. Something which reassured me as I’m sure there will be plenty of times when I’m ordering food and in fact propose marriage or something mad like that. I am forever putting my foot in it. Bridget Jones has NOTHING on me! Obviously I cannot speak for the whole of Japan but I’m sure they wouldn’t turn their backs on visitors. I think a lot people place a social stigma on “tourists” like we’re all loud, brash, ignorant louts who have no regard for anyone but ourselves. That and the dreaded backpacker! Oooo. Sheesh, get a grip.

There's still time for things to settle down before I go so I’m choosing to stay optimistic (not like me whatsoever!). There's no point in getting worked up over something I have no control over. There's no point in thinking of the what ifs and try and plan what I should do if I can't go. Instead, I’ve decided to focus my energy on something more productive...my shopping list. So Japan might not have a choice in the matter…I have insect repellent, I’m going dammit!

Around The World In 80 Shags

I have quite a turbulent relationship with my local doctors. I’ve used the same doctor’s surgery for over 13 years and they still treat me like an idiot so I try to limit my visits to repeat prescription check-ups and emergencies. Unfortunately I have no choice in the matter when it comes to my travel jabs. So off I went to speak to the nurse, eugh…

It went off to good start (shocking!) and we discussed the jabs I need to have before I go:

3 for Hep A/B
Booster jabs for Tetanus and MMR
2 for Japanese encephalitis (travel clinic)
Rabies (optional)

I decided to skip the last one. It’s £110 and it doesn’t actually prevent me from getting rabies but softens the blow if I was to get it. It’s for protection in Thailand so I just need to stay out of the way of any “pets” that are foaming at the mouth! I also need to take malaria tablets for Thailand. Other than that I am good to go…

So far so good. Nurse told me I can get my first jab there and then (Hep A/B) and kept saying “as you’ve never had hepatitis…”. Well…errr…I have had hepatitis of the liver. This is another thing which annoys me about my doctor’s surgery, they never bloody read my medical history. I’ve gone to the docs a few times since my lurgy in 2008 and each time I had to go through everything that happened. I think I should write a bullet list, laminate it, and hand it over as it’d save me a lot of hassle. She nearly fell off her chair when I told her I had my gallbladder removed. And so began the downhill decent from knowledgeable helpful nurse, to patronising judgemental witch face nurse.

Here’s how the rest went:

Me: So I normally take the pill but while I’m away I don’t think it would be very convenient for me. Especially if I pick up a sickness bug and there’s more of a chance that I’ll forget to take it. I was wondering what the alternatives are as I’d actually prefer if I didn’t have a period while I’m away.

Nurse (with a look of disgust): Well you can’t do that. It’s not healthy to stop your period for that long.

Me: So there’s nothing at all that can help me?

Nurse: Well there is the coil but I don’t think that would be right for you. Have you had children?

Me: No

Nurse: Ok, because of that, it will hurt. It won’t protect you from STDs whilst you’re out there either.

What I wanted to say at this point – I know that you stupid patronising old cow. Neither does the pill, which I’ve been on since I was 14 years old. I’m fully aware of what a condom is.

However, nurse was the one with the needle, so I felt I best leave the power with her. Plus I’m going to be coming back quite a few times to get further jabs so best just nod and smile.

Me: Yes, I know - nodding and smiling

Nurse: Have you been screened recently?

Me: No.

Nurse: Ok. I think you should be tested for Chlamydia.

WTF!!

Me: Oh, ok. (I could be Catholic for all she knew. No questions about my sexual history. She couldn’t be bothered looking at my medical history so probably has no clue who I am…and where I’ve been so it seems!)

Nurse: Instructions are inside. You even get a free pen!

Me: Thanks. (Jeeeez)

Nurse: Ok so I think the coil will be the best solution for you.

Wheeeey! I did say that…

Me: Ok.

Nurse goes on to explain what the coil entails and that I will need to book an appointment at the family planning clinic for coil counselling. I held in my laughter at that statement. Not that I believe everything that's reported in the media, but I'm sure I read that in some places 12 year olds could access the pill from their school nurse. Me, I need counselling!

Nurse: reaches in her draw for a needle to jab me with - But of course you must remember to take condoms with you. Practising safe sex is important when you’re travelling.

Sidenote: A statement which is fine in itself but given the patronising tone and sideways tilt of her head, I just wanted to reach over and stick that needle…Ok, ok. I’m calm. I must also add that nurse said condoms with a broken soft tone that Miranda (see 10:30mins) uses for words which make her uncomfortable. For older audiences Lily Savage used to use the same intonation when saying lesbian. So my nurse can’t even say condoms properly. Great!

Although irritating, it’s something I’ve grown used to. I don’t seem to have a face of believability. It happens every time I come into contact with nurses/doctors. They’ve obviously not heard that I’m a shite liar. I don’t think such points are added to medical notes…not that it would matter, they remain unread anyway!

So nurse seems to think I’m going to shag my way around the world and give everyone Chlamydia all because I don't want to take a break from the pill. I don’t have a problem being screened - it’s just the way she dropped it in like a final twist of the knife. My counselling appointment is this week so hopefully I’ll be speaking to someone who can pronounce condoms and not treat me like a naïve uneducated skank! Ahh, the joys of the NHS…