We
arrive in Nadi, Fiji at around 5AM local time. There is no way to travel 7,000
by air in two days and not feel like a groggy, zombie mess. We wander
through the terminal in Nadi, Fiji for our transfer to the Denarau Port for a
boat to our island. The shuttle will be a couple hours, so we soak up some
humidity at the airport to see if we can sweat anymore. For those who
think St. Louis has humidity--let me tell you--the South Sea tropics have us by
a mile! Our bus ride shows us some of the island of Viti Levu, the
largest in the South Pacific. Many islanders live very very simple lives, but
the economy is rebounding here... mostly due to tourism. We arrive at the
Port for another two hour wait for the ferry. A snack at the cafe and a bit of
overly loud US dance music at 9AM keeps us awake. The ferry ride hits
about 10 islands in Fiji, ours Malolo is the last stop. It's now around
11:30... we were late because someone forgot to get off the boat at their
correct island and we had to wait a tiny boat to come meet us to pick her up
for her tour of Castaway Island or at least the Island they used for the Tom
Hanks movie, which is about 15 miles from our island. Wild. Anyway, we then
get into a tiny tiny boat, like a John boat on the open sea, for our quick ride
to the dock at LikuLiku Island Resort. A newer 5-Star place with the ONLY
over water bungalows in Fiji. Overwater: As it turns out, doing overwater bungalow (or bures) as they say here, is very very hard. Hard to build and even harder to find a lagoon where the tide does not change too dramatically and where there is a lot of fish for snorkeling and great blue/green water. As a result, this is the only over-water spot for any hotel in Fiji. Even here at LikuLiku Resort, the water drops dramatically during low tide. Tide changes are up to two meters (8 feet), so that is a huge change.
Arrival: We arrived at LikuLiku with a level of exhaustion that is hard to imagine, but we were energized by a live Fiji band, drinks and a tour of the resort. Unfortunately, check-in is 3PM, so we had a long wait for the room. Even more painfully, one of my bags was delivered to a different resort... miles of ocean away. It's not like they can put it in a cab, but it did arrive via ferry boat later that night. International travel is always an adventure, fraught with risk of odd things happening. But when you take 2 planes, 3 boats, and four buses to get to your remote island destination... it seems hard to believe your bags actually made it with you. Plus, despite our best efforts, we still over packed a bit because we have Über-urban locations (Sydney, LA) and very remote Islands (Vitu Levu, Malolo, Cairns/Great Barrier Reef) destinations with all different dress codes. Here, anything goes. In LA, I needed a dress jacket, Sydney, also dressy, Cairn is a swimsuit. It rained a good bit of our first day, so we took a short nap to catch up on much needed sleep. Probably the most erratic week for sleep in my life since finals week senior year in college. I went days this week with about an hour a night. So, a relaxing beach vacation hits the spot.
Dinner: Meals are included here at LikuLiku. Food has been much better than we could have expected. Realizing that 85% of what we eat is flown in and then sent by ferry boat. A Caesar salad alone has 4-5 ingredients that came from hundreds, maybe thousands of miles away. Waygu beef, also from afar. It's not the distance that makes it amazing, it's the extreme rustic, remote, hard to get-to nature of these little remote islands scattered across the Pacific. The dinner was great, wines mostly from Australia.
The Culture: The US is so far that even during 9/11 week, this part of the world is so independent from the US or Europe that I can imagine we the US rarely comes to mind, except when tourists come and talk. The islanders all speak Fijian, a rare native dialect of island languages. We've said "Bula" or "greetings to you/hello" now 1000 times. Everyone says it every time you pass. The locals wear native-style closes. Men wear sarongs or as I like to say, "SKIRTS." The music is totally Fijian and they have a guitar and drum band singing all over the place at all times it seems. No music from the Western world, all native music about Fiji and 95% sung in Fijian.
Fiji is much much more remote and authentic than Hawaii. People say Hawaii was remote and rustic and authentic in the 60s and 70s, but became the "Disney" of the Pacific in the 80s-90s. Not a bad thing, in fact the Four Seasons Maui is one of the best rated hotels and resorts in the world--much deservedly. Anyway, Fiji has a lot of charm and simple pleasures. Really fresh fruits and amazing landscapes, palm trees of 100s of varieties, exotic fish, etc. Our hotel has managed to balance comfort (A/C and a nice stereo) with rustic authenticity, true thatch roofs, rustic wood construction, natural materials, lots of flowers, etc.
Guests: Everyone at LikuLiku is on a honeymoon or anniversary. Most couples here are from Australia, a handful from the US and then from Japan or other Asian countries. We met one couple who flew 2.5 days from London. That's going around the world for sure. There are a lot of activities on the island, most are boating and snorkeling related. However, most people are here to chill on the beach, eat, drink and relax. The hotel bar clears out around 10PM.
Fijians: The workers here are extraordinarily friendly and service-oriented to the max. They are genuine and nice and call you by your first name. Their training and culture is such that you don't get "Ritz" level service, but they try very hard to please. Things sometimes take a while, but they do everything with a smile. "Island speed" and "Fiji Rules (which is no rules)" apply.
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