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Bula!!Craig and I have both totally fell head over heels in love with Fiji, it is the most amazing place! We spent our last day in USA in LAX airport and flew to Fiji at night, I had a really sore stomach and didn't feel well but the plane was quite empty so we managed to sleep a lot and we had the best landing ever, I feel I have to mention it as we were well impressed lol, you didn't even know you were descending till the wheels touched the tarmac!! We left LA at 11.30pm on 26th and got to Fiji at 5am on the 28th so we missed out 27th due to crossing the date line, how weird!! Customs was great compared to the USA as well, the guy dropped Craig's passport and he said "Sorry Craig"! We got our travel agent who took us to the office and gave us lovely necklaces made of shells and flowers for behind our ears, they were like "Aww we thought you were coming yesterday", God knows how they knew who I was before I had even spoke! The driver from our hostel took us there and we watched the sunrise as we drove. When we got there we were greeted by Mama who runs the hostel, she is amazing, she came out and introduced herself and took us out the back of the hostel where we sat on the terrace and she brought us tea and toast, it was amazing to sit and watch the sun coming up and have a nice cup of tea. Our room was lovely as well we had an ocean view room with a double bed and two singles (maybe for if you fall out lol), a big balcony and it was all modern and brand new. We also haad cats at the beginning as well but they left. We just chilled by the pool and had a look about the first day and I clapped the many dogs they have here. They are strays but they are not as mangy as most places and some of them are so cute, Mama even has one in her room, its called Lindsay and its sooo sweet! Most of the time I save some bread from dinner so I can feed them as some are painfully thin and its really quite sad, they like spag bol lol!!The next day we didn't really do much as I had a really dodgy stomach, I think from all the rubbish I had to eat in America, so we didn't stray far. At night we were invited to a traditional Kava ceremony which is the national drink. It is a plant extract of pepper that is stored under ground for years and then mixed with water and sieved through fabric and then drank out of a big bowl with little bowls. When receiving it you have to clap your hands once and say Bula and then everyone hums while you drink it and then you all clap three times after it. Usually you have a song then a drink and so on, it tastes not too bad and makes your mouth and tongue numbs after a while, it was quite cool. They sang some lovely songs and even Redemption Song by Bob Marley which sounded like The Dancing Song but lovely all the same.The next morning we were up early for our transfer to The Yasawa Islands. Mama said we could leave or bags so 10 mins before the bus came we quickly shoved some stuff in a bag and left, there is something liberating living with no stuff even if you do smell a wee bit lol! Mama had us all briefed up on life in the islands and how we shouldn't drink any water or eat any meat. The bottled water on the islands is so expensive she sent someone to the shops to buy us a box so we wouldn't have to fork out $5 a bottle while we are away. She is an excellent hostess and seems to remember everything about you, on the first night she saw us and she was like " Oh Eva and Craig, we were just saying we thought you would already be in bed after your long trip from LA", how she remembers all this I don't know. She also says up every night till everyone is back from town, she really is a Mama!We got to the port and picked up our island hopping tickets for h next week and got on the Yasawa Flyer which is the boat that takes everyone between the islands and the mainland. Our first port of call was Waya Lailai, which was a lovely island and we were greeted by Fijians on the beach with guitars and singing and everyone shouts Bula!! Bula kind of means hello, yeah, cheers and most other things you want it to lol!! Our dorm was pretty nice, better than I expected, just a thatched roof bure with about 12 beds and the toilets and showers were over the way a bit. The shower was like a cold hose and the toilets didnt really flush and there is no electric at any other time apart from between 5pm and 11pm so going to the toilet at night is an experience. Although most nights we have been asleep by 10pm as its pretty quiet and breakfast is at about 7am so your up early. There are no other places to eat but the dining hall on each island so you just eat your three meals a day there when they say. To call you to dinner the bang a drum and everyone goes up. The meals are quite good normally meat, veg, rice or pasta or maybe some fish. Through the day we mostly just read in hammocks or sunbathed as there was lots of coral in the sea and we got all cut up whilst snorkelling and that kind of put us off a bit. On the second day there we went to church which was really nice, we went to a traditional village to the church with all the locals and workers from the island and it was so sweet, the Sunday school children sang songs and it was great, I knew most of the English ones from when I went, ie. "Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning…" and "Jesus loves me…" from the bookmark on the back of our bedroom door at my Gran's ! They sang one I hadn't heard which was cool, it said something like "Jesus is a winner man, Satan is a loser man"! They had two couples getting blessed and a by getting christened, it was half Fijian and half English so we had a good idea of what was going on. Craig wore his kilt and one man even thanked him as their dress is quite similar and the little girls were trying to look up it and giggling. They wear shirt, tie and jacket with like a plain wrap around sarong type thing on the bottom. It was quite funny watching the minister the whole ceremony with his collar and jacket and then he stepped out at the end and he had on a skirt and no shoes! The next day we got the boat to our next stop which was the Wanna Taki cruise. It was really cool there was only 10 of us on it. We met a few nice people and there was a guy from Stenhousemuir so it was nice to hear a familiar accent and he was called Craig as was another guy so 5 guys on the boat and 3 called Craig. We also got some info off people and email addresses for finding work in Oz which was handy. You could jump off the side of the boat aswell from about 7 metres so that was quite cool. We went on a snorkelling trip in the afternoon which was cool until I thought I saw a baracuda as the guys on the boat told us a guy got attacked one night and lost all the flesh round his knee as he jumped off the boat at night and they are attracted to the splash but it was daytime but still I was freaked out! Afterwards Craig and I went sea kayaking but I got bored after a while and Craig went off himself way over the other island. At night we had dinner and did some crab racing, mine won the first time and then just never moved! We had some cocktails, the famous FMU (F*** Me Up) and they dont tell you what's in it till you leave but it was basically loads of different rum and vodka and some pineapple. We all played suck and blow which we won and then pass the orange from under your chin which we lost and therefore had to pole dance for the other team and I managed to get a big pole burn on my arm ouch!! It actually had a hot shower and air con here aswell which is amazing when you are living in squalor!We were sad to leave the next day as we had met some nice people and had a good laugh. I was in agony all down one side from the pole dancing thing and from whacking my body off the sea when I jumped from the boat but hey ho! We got to Sunrise Resort in the north in the afternoon and met the guys who run the resort, Queen, Britney, Debra and Winston Churchill, all men except Britney and camp is not the word!! They were hilarious! The rooms were pretty minging and the toilet was a wooden shack and didn't flush but we met a nice couple, Laura and Rich and Maureen a Scottish lass and Joey from Oz. Maureen is a vet so it was cool to hear all her stories. Laura's family are all from Edinburgh and it turns out I went to school with her cousin Alan, how weird is that. The next day we all took a walk round the island to the blue lagoon and sunbathed and had some ice cream in the resort there. One of the dogs led us round and then we cooled him off and gave him water and he went back round, so sweet, he got extra bread that night. At night we played Bingo and Queen was the caller, it was fun. Then Rich, Laura, Craig and I stayed up and I'm sure we heard Queen having some kind of weird phone encounter with her pal lol! They got mentions on the radio for us as well and then they played dancing queen and Queen and Debra who we think are boyfriends got up and did a routine and Rich joined in, it was so funny. Then Queen made us all pose for photos with him in the middle, such nice people! Craig said he saw inside their house and that they all sleep on thin mattresses and we felt bad for moaning about our bed being damp and feeling like your lying on the slats of the bunks. The people don't have much and are always so happy and we are in Fiji moaning about things that don't even matter, it was a good reality check. They seem to manage holidays though, one guy had been to Glasgow 6 years running and Queen had been to LA. I showed them some of my photos off the laptop and they loved looking at New York! That's the thing that stands out so much in Fiji, the people are so nice and nothing is a problem for them, it really is a refreshing change from the States where people always seem to want something from you. The next day we left and we were sad as we had made some nice friends but it was time for our last island, Bounty Island where Celebrity Love island is filmed. We had a nice private room here with hot water and air on which was nice as I hadn't washed my hair in three days! Dinner was a buffet as well with potatoes, oh my God, you have no idea how exciting that is! Our last day on the islands we spent on the beach, it was really really hot and we had one sun cream application left so we sat in the shade most of the day as we didn't want to pay the expensive island prices for more, typically Scottish we know! We had spag bol for lunch again which smelled and tasted like dog food, Craig assures me he has tasted dog food and that it wasn't that lol! In the afternoon we went snorkelling again and saw lots of pretty fish, Manta Rays swim in these waters but they are not in season, cant really decide if I am disappointed or relieved on that score! In the afternoon we took a sea kayak round the whole island which too us about 20 minutes, its so small. We got the boat back to the port at tea time and I felt quite sad coming home as our time in the Islands was over and we had such an amazing time and met some lovely people. The next day we got back to Mama's which was nice as we were welcomed back with open arms and had our own room and shower and toilet which is an added bonus lol and we also had all our stuff back! I never thought I would be happy to see my backpack but I am lol! We had tea and an early night as Craig was not feeling well.The next day we just lounged about the pool as I had a dodgy stomach again, I had a chicken curry the night before and gave most of the meat to a wee poor puppy so I dread to think how he felt as I'd hardly ate anything and felt awful. Today we were up early for the airport and both still don't feel well. Oour flight was horrible, pretty turbulent the whole way here but it was only 3 hours so not too bad. We got the bus into town and found our hostel which to be frank is a hole and we are sharing with 6 other people but we have a private one for tomorrow and the next day. We just went out and found a place to get a pie as soon as we got here as Laura and Rich said they are good and we needed a decent meal. So I had a cider and we had tattie n leek sup and a steak and Guinness pie, it was awesome!! This place is so odd, It kind of looks like Britain but is full of oriental people, weird! We just got back from the cinema, we went to see Taken which was pretty good. They are so far behind here, things like Pineapple Express are not even out yet and no sign of Righteous Kill, so everyone will see it before me, not happy L Just going to have an early night now as you all wake up on the other side of the world, literally now!! We loved Fiji as you may be able to tell by the amount I am sprafing on but it is so nice to visit a place of such beauty, filled with culture and so many nice people. Everyone should definitely go, it is awesome!!Hope everyone is well in not so sunny Scotland! I don't feel so cocky now as we are freezing here!!Thanks for the $ again Dad, they are coming in handy now!Lots of LoveEva and Craig xxx
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