Bula Fiji!

Picking up from where we left off the previous journey, Holidaying in HK…our flight from HK to Fiji was around 9 hours but was very comfortable courtesy the amazing hospitality of Fiji Airlines.

Fiji has a visa on arrival for Indians, so we just had to fill a small form which was shared with us in the flight, with very basic details such as return date, hotel information etc.

Day 1- The airport at Nadi is pretty small compared to the other bigger airports you may see around the world. We were greeted by a small group of people playing musical instruments right outside our plane as we deboarded. Our tour operator met us at the entrance with a garland of flowers and handed us our hotel and transfer vouchers. We had not booked any activities in advance as we wanted to figure out upon reaching, so we were given the number of a local tour operator who would give us the best rates for any activities we wanted to go to. The driver too was a welcome change from our experiences in Hongkong, cheerful and joking all along. He also told us about the concept of “Fiji Time” (very close to Hakuna Matata), and explained that time stands still in Fiji, we don’t need to bother about schedules/running around like we do in our normal lives!

We had split our stay into 2 hotels, both at different parts of the island to ensure we can cover most of it in the few days we had. Our driver drove us to the first hotel, which was amazing!! Imagine a huge resort, on an island which can only be accessed by a small motor boat with a private boatman. The resort was merely 3-4 minutes away from mainland, so you are not completely cut off from the city, but also since it can only be accessed via boat, you are technically staying at a private island.

We had a sea-facing room, the TV had been programmed to display a personalised welcome message congratulating us for the wedding and a chilled bottle of champagne and a cake which we were thankful for.

Tired from the long flight, we decided to call it a night and save energy for our River cruise which we had booked for the next day.

Day 2– We got up early to explore the property, and after a nice breakfast overlooking the sea, we headed out for the Sigatoka River Safari. The activity comprised of a speedboat ride on the river, cruising against the rapids to reach a village for a cultural gathering.

After around 30 minutes of splashing around, we arrived at the village and were greeted by the residents and their chief. We walked around the village exploring with our group and learning about the culture and habits. After roaming around we were seated in a hall, with the villagers sitting facing our group for the Kawa ceremony. The eldest member of our group stepped forward as our head, and was given the first sip of the juice extracted from roots of a tree which grows only in Fiji. In a large quantity, this drink is also apparently a great substitute for alcohol. After the ceremony and a rather unexpectedly tasty lunch (we didn’t expect much for vegetarians), we had a small session of dancing with the locals before heading back to our speedboat. Once we arrived at the mainland, we also had a chance to purchase the pictures clicked by the team on the boat, which we did for memories.

The day ended with us being dropped back to our respective hotels and we called in dinner to our room before retiring for the night.

PS- among the other group members, ours was definitely not the most expensive or premium property. The hotels and resorts many of the others were staying at were easily more expensive and bigger established brands. But still, we gathered a lot of envy from them, seeing our resort was only accessible by boat. The perfect validation for my choice of the property!

Day 3– We started off our day with an amazing breakfast, and headed out for our next adventure, Ziplining! We were picked up from our hotel and driven to the location, and we started off after a briefing. Both my wife and I had ziplined before, but this was a completely new experience! A total of 16 zips, overlooking valleys and with a majestic view of the ocean was to die for! Obviously, it gets a bit scary initially, but once you get a ‘hang’ of it, it’s an amazing experience! We did get a bit-tired climbing all those steps in the heat, but the view and the adventure was worth all the effort in the end. Our instructor cum guide was really very helpful, in fact also helped my wife avoid getting her face pasted on a tree at the end of one of the zips!

After all the fun and adventure, we all celebrated with lunch and a few photographs before heading back to our respective hotels.

In the evening we explored the property some more and took a dip in the swimming pool while enjoying the beautiful sunset. There was an ongoing party at the resort, but we retired early to our room, and enjoyed the music from our balcony before calling it a night.

Day 4– Today we were scheduled for a half day city tour, (a typical touristy kind of activity, I know). So, after a nice heavy breakfast, we made our way with our guide. First stop was at a village, where we were shown the village head’s house, the artifacts handmade by the women and a beautiful church. We then headed to the garden of the sleeping giant. This is a garden on the foothill of a small hill range which resembles a sleeping giant, hence the name! The garden was exceptionally beautiful, with literally all the kinds of flowers you could imagine. Beautiful background for a lot of photos, what else could a couple on their honeymoon ask for! After a nice visually pleasing walk, we were greeted by very refreshing, freshly squeezed juices (the fruits for which were also sourced from the garden).

We then made our way to the Hindu temple in the city, and paid our respects before heading for the next stop, shopping! Our driver took us to this huge store called ‘Jack’s of Fiji’ which literally had everything starting from hairpins, to clothes to souvenirs. After our share of hurting the wallet (obviously I bought an “I am on Fiji Time” t-shirt), we checked into our new hotel, Hilton Fiji. When the receptionist heard we were on our honeymoon, she upgraded us to a suite room which was literally a fully furnished 1 BHK! After relaxing for a bit, we walked down to the port to enjoy some delicious dinner at an Indian restaurant. The waitresses were especially fascinated by my wife’s “chuda” (wedding bangles). We then returned to our hotel to retire for the night after a delicious meal.

Day 5– Today was reserved for an island trip, so freshened up for an early breakfast. We decided to try out the “Adults only” restaurant (not what it sounds like, just that no kids were around for people who want that kind of silence while dining). This did however come with an option of dining in the pool. After a filling breakfast, while admiring the sunrise over the horizon we were picked up for today’s activity.

We were aboard the South Sea Cruise, enroute to an island where the entire day’s activities were planned. Upon arrival at the island we were given our welcome drinks, and food coupons for the rest of the day. We had access to all water sports, beach volleyball and activities in the island, so we decided to jump right to it. Since my wife isn’t very comfortable swimming, it took significant amount of convincing (and courage from her side) to get her to go snorkelling with me. We tried some snorkelling, some rafting and finally just decided to play around in the water. There was a group of people also enjoying beach volleyball, so we played along with them for a bit too.

After a fun filled day, we made our way back to the coast and hotel post sunset. Since our hotel was very close to the port, we took a walk down for a mesmerizing show of fireworks and a live fire show. Enjoyed some amazing wood fired pizza, dreading the fact that it’s our last night in this beautiful country filled with cheerful people.

Day 6– We had a early morning flight back, via HK. A long flight and a 6 hour layover awaited us for the day, and we ended this first trip as a married couple with a sulking selfie just before boarding the flight, which kind of became a trend for all future Humsafar trips.

Some pointers-

• Hotels take 100 USD as a deposit, so keep that in mind
• Would highly recommend to stay in different parts of the cities for covering most of this beautiful place
• People are extremely friendly, you will find people randomly waving at you and starting a conversation with you
• Vegetarian food is not so difficult to come by, Pizzas and Pastas are easily available. Just ensure to mention “No Meat, no Fish.” Also, the fresh local fruits there are a must try!
• For women, if you are going for any cultural tours (like Sigatoka village tour etc.), shorts/dresses above the knee are not appreciated. They would help you with a Sarong to cover up though in case needed.
• Plan your tours atleast a day or 2 in advance, to ensure availability. Specify in advance if you are vegetarian so they can plan your meals accordingly
• Currency used is FJD, but USD also works most places. Don’t carry excessive local currency back, you cannot easily convert those back to USD, exchange before you exit Fiji (wish someone had given me this advice, still holding some very colourful currency with me which I can’t use)
• Approx cost of trip (all prices for 2)
  • Hotels+Transfers- USD 1,500
  • Flights- ~USD 1400-1500
  • Tours
    • Sigatoka River Cruise- USD 250
    • Zipline- USD 200
    • Half Day City Tour- USD 100
    • South Sea Island Full Day Cruise with lunch- USD 200
  • Overheads- USD 200-300
• Hotel we stayed at:
  • DoubleTree Resort by Hilton (Sonaisali Island)
  • Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa (Denarau Island)

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