30th January 2011 USA

Our last day in The U.S.A. was a meagre affair, we had originally intended to go to the beach and get some rays but it was overcast for the first time in Venice beach and so inhibited our activities greatly. We instead went for a meal with an English couple we had met in the same hostel, after Dan had misplaced his trust in allowing Christian to shave his head a la Ward. The meal was enjoyable and filled a hole before saying our emotional goodbyes to the enigmatic Billy and the lackadaisical Kyle and making our way to the airport. The flight was quite possibly the worst 12 hours any person could spend on a flight, jetting off at 9pm we were hoping to get a few hours kip this did not come to fruition to add insult to injury we had lost all power to our on board tellys leaving us in the lerch for the full duration. The less said about this the better, we arrived in Fiji having missed out on an entire day due to the time differences.

1st February 2011 Fiji - Nadi

We spent the morning waiting for the rooms to become available only for the hostel to open up the back room giving us view to a beautiful welcoming sight, the sun rising from the sea. (quite literally). after a few hours of chilling on the beach we got to our rooms and went into town to find some food. Along with Dan and Jules the English couple, we pottered around before dining in the fijian culture for a grand total of 2.50. This included spicey boneless chicken (amazing) rice and a drink. We had realised by the evening that we had gone nearly 48 hours without sleep and it hit us like a punch to the face, thankfully we met some intriguing girls. A German (Charlie Chaplin) Another Aussie (maybe a man) and a Brit. (alcoholic). We satisfied their tongues (talk) and went to bed before getting the boat to another Island in the country.

2nd February Fiji - Mana

The island seemed to be occupied by the English, pretty much all the Travellers were English so we wasted no time in befriending a few of them, Lucy, Nina, Claire, Donna and Trish to name but a few. We took it easy the first day, soaking up some rays in the searing heat and tasting the local beer, Fiji Gold. Pretty decent stuff. On the night we partaked in a Fijian ceremony called Cava. This entails sitting in a circle as the Fijians pass round what looks like dirty water for us to drink. Before doing so you have to clap once, say Bula, drink the whole cup then clap three times and say vinaka! During the night there was a storm possibly related to the Australian cyclone that had hit in the night.

3rd February Fiji - Mana + Nadi

In the morning Simon and Christian went to the local school to help assist the teachers there with their pupils, they took classes in English and Maths before entertaining the kids with a traditional game of soccer! Unfortunately Boob was mistaken for Garry Glitter and had to be escorted off the island, he is still to be seen. Ward spent the morning reading and deliberating going back to Nadi to lay his grimy paws on some vodka and Jelly Belly beans. The community chipped in and we did go back to Nadi to purchase the alcohol and ended up supplying the booze for a very fun night filled with music and moonlight, and dancing and games. And a bonfire that collapsed...! The trip, we had anticipated to take no more than 2 and a half hours, took a massive 5 due to Fiji Time and taking a s*** house boat through a storm.