Fiji is...hot!

So after a long and rather boring flight from LA to Fiji (of which i slept for most of it) we arrived in Fiji at the crack of dawn to be met by some singing hula people and a long process through security/passport control. There was someone to pick us up and we were soon on our way to the hotel, which is beautiful given that its a hostel and less than $10 per night. Have posted a couple of pics so you can see. So far - and thats two days - Fiji has been a mass of experiences. Its kinda like Goa (there's a big Indian population here) with a Hawaiin twist. On our first day we just bummed around the pool taking in the heat (i got burnt within an hour - in the shade). Factor 50 is now on duty! Then we trudged back to our little quad room with extremely squeaky bunk beds and got out the guide book to pick where to eat. Two seconds later - we were hungry -we'd decided on a little Indian place recommended by the Lonely Planet as an inexpensive but highly delicious place for food. They were right. But what they failed to say was it was just a little place of a hut off the main street in Nadi. And you'd dine with guests. bring on the mozzies, the frog (its soooo cool watching a frog eat flies close up - except when you're eating your own rice) and the odd lizrd here and there. Oh and how could i forget the cat and the dog. So not cute. Anyway it was an experience and it was delicious and it was certainly very cheap - cost 10 pounds for all four meals, a few beers and water. Fantastic. And as much as the other diners (i.e. the animals) weren't what we'd have liked we're going back tonight to take Sabrina (a Canadian) and Rachel (from London). Its the best rated restaurant in town with the locals so that's good for us. Oh and its called TaTa's - because thats what you say to healthy dining! He! Generally though its just days by the pool, the odd trip to do laundry and some internet action. This morning however we decided to venture into Nadi Town and see what was happening there (safety in numbers). It was really cool and spotted the odd tourist too. Got a bigger memory card for my camera as i keep missing shots when the card's full and i can't burn them to CD in time and the girls got some photos developed to send back home. And then...well then we got talking to some local guy (its very polite to say Bula to everyone while you're walking down the street) and he showed us his shop full of crafts. Now we're use to this from India coz they all want you to see there stuff but this was way cooler than we imagined. We'd read in the guide book that kava is the local drink and often gets offered in local shops to welcome people or in the villages. Well next thing we're all sitting in a circle in this shop, crossed legged with Kim at the head as she's the oldest and now the chief. He welcomed us to Fiji and told us all about local traditions. Then we drank some Kava while saying thank you in Fijian and clapping our hands three times ( i apparently have a very good clap and if i was a little darker could be a fijian woman - his words not mine). he told us all about the bus services and the places to go see, where to avoid, what to take to villages when we go etc and was really cool. Three more drinks and we were ready for the off but of course there's always a catch and next thing we have turtles made of mother pearl round our necks and said all we needed to do was make a donation. The girls bought a few other necklaces/bracelets but me being the tight ar#e i am just give the guy f$10 (3 pounds) and said my goodbyes! It was a cool experience, the seller guy (not the one we'd sat with) just annoyed me with his pitch. Anyways, after that we headed back to our Skylodge and bathed round the pool (me in the shade with my 2nd book) and chilled. TaTa's tonight and we're moving on tomorrow to a place nearer the beach before a trip round the islands and a few more days chillin' before NZ. Now it feels like a holiday! x