Round the World

So I booked myself on a 6 night ultimate lei package trip with 2 nights added on. I spent my first night in Fiji in the mainland of Nadi. The morning after my night staying in possibly the worst hostel in the world (however they did give us a welcome Kava ceremony) I got on the Yasawa flyer and travelled 4 hours to my first island, Tavewa. This is an account of each of the 8 islands in 8 days that i visited.

Tavewa

One of the most northerly Yasawa islands. My first resort was Coral view. Amazing staff, so much fod and a restaurant and bar with sand beach floor!

We (Laura, Jenna, Flick, Charlie, James and Kat) watched the sunset, did the fiji conga, bula dancing, ate lots...including yumy bannanna cake, snorkled and saw lovely fish and chilled in the hammocks.

Nanuya Lailai

In a cute wooden dorm and the best camp as a row of pink tents host we (Clare, Ali, Andy, Andy and I) drank lots of Kava, walked to the blue lagoon (as in the film) right across the lush island with stunning views to laze on the beach there. We were also treated to a bagpipe show by a fellow irishman!!

More banana cake and tea were consumed in Lo's Teahouse.

Nanuya Balavu

I stayed here for two nights at Manta Ray resort. Here is where I met Amy for the first time who is now living in Pakeman street...cool eh! Bit of a long way to go to recruit a new housemates but hey, i was never one to do hings the simple way!

Lots more volleyball was played here, snorkling galore and an eating frenzy as this is well known as being the resort to fill up in. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all a buffet feast not to be missed.

Stayed in a 32 bed dorm where we shared our bed with a massive cricket! Mosquito nets were deffo needed. The dorm was awesome and so was the whole resort....not to mention the perfect white sandy beach and the tree hammocks.

Beth, this is where the luggage men must have ripped off the lovely luggage tag you bought me

Waya lailai

My 4th Island. We (Sam, Ed, Jeni, James, clare, danny and Sabrina) had an awesome time chilling on the beach, playing volleyball, and climbing the summit for sunrise.

We also had a fun evening of drinking games and limbo, and of course the bula dance!

Kuata

Just across the water (no literally...we could see it from Waya Lailai) but i still had to go onto the yasawa flyer by fishing boat just to cross to the other side of the flyer to get onto another boat!

Met another great bunch of people and we were treated to an amazing show of fijian dancing - strobe lighting and all! Drank under the stars and decide to avoid the kava ceremony this time.

Reunited with Jess, Freddy and Karen who I met in Manta Ray. We ended up skinny dipping in the sea in the middle of the day...very liberating, you should all try it sometime.

South Sea Island

There is one word for this island....small! I wasn't the sad one but apparently it take 630 steps to walk around the island...that takes under 4 mins if you were wondering. There is just the one resort on the island, the have a submarine (glass bottom boat) which they take out when the weather allows. When we arrived we played volleyball until the sun went down.

Dinner was awesome, a massive buffet of goodness! The best part of this island was being reunited with Ed, Sam, Claire, Danny, Lina and Chris. Teli...one of the hosts was so much fun (and the only fijian i have heard swear!) She got us all playing lots of games including crab racing and hide and seek. Now on an island this size it was quite tough! We continued playing drinking games and then i had to try and sleep with about 40 other people in a large room and where there was tarpaulin n the roof which was crashing about in the wind....all good fun!

Bounty Island

For some of you you will know this island from the reality tv show, celebridy love island. This is the perfect island for love, aqua marine blue sea, white sandy beaches and scorching sun. The swimming pool all still remains the same but the love shack is over the other side of the island to the resort ( 10 min walk). It has been totally trashed...the one way mirrors all smashed and graffiti all over the wall (tina bean, London & the date is scrawled on the back wall!). I watched the sun go down where the presenters sat.

The vibe on the island was very much one for honeymooners. Had a chilled out night and had a dorm room all to myself. The entertainment was both the welcome and leaving songs which are normally sung to you when you arrive and leave...different!

Treasure Island

Now i was never suppose to be going here but i had to visit this island before i was taken back to Denaru. Deffo not complaining and in the time i had i wandered along the shore trying to soak up the island 'fiji time' atmosphere. Strangely in this small traveller type circle i bumped into the group of irish girls who i shared a room with in Queenstown, NZ. They had met up with Dave who i knew from Manta Ray. Caught up with them and it was soon time to head back to the mainland

Nadi

Glad i only had a day here. Checked out downtown, did some shopping, or more like it was dragged into shops! Went to the temple and relaxed by the pool in the hotel. Had heard many a good thing about Nadi Bay hotel resort so thought i deserved somewhere better than the hell hole i stayed in on my first night in Fiji. Mass reunion with Karen, Sam, Ed, Danny, Claire and chris. Had a chilled out evening before my flight to the cook islands and watched a film. Doesn't matter what i did really, from 5.30pm i will be reliving it all again the next night due to the time difference..oh yes, 2 friday nights!!!

In a nutshell, i LOVED fiji and would recommend it to anyone...especially loved up couples, it really is paradise.

Despite the not so good weather i managed to have a fantastic week at Vara's hostel. The crowd of us residing here at the time was awesome...we had so many good nights of drinking games and general lazing around. I won a darts match at a local bar one evening, spent a day crusing the island in a red soft top sports car and another on the back of a scooter seeing the internal roads and museums of the island.

Other highlights include walking to the nearby island with my bag on my head and soaking up the sun on the white sand. You could even get married on this island!! Another was going to church (no i haven't gone religious, its just the done thing here on a sunday) met the locals and was welcomed to morning tea of fresh fruit and other local fare.

I went to the saturday market and took strolls along the miles of beach around the island...even watched one of the guys from the hostel play touch rugby with the locals.

Rarotnga is only 32km in circumfrence so it was a scary experience landing here!

For those of you that didn't get my mail, here is how singapore was:

After 12 long hours i have finally arrived. After much rushing to the bus tour desk i missed the last bus to allow me to get back to the airport in time to check in...by 5 minutes. My flight from LHR was delayed by an hour...how annoying. They did offer a shuttle bus option but that involved me getting in a taxi once i reach part of the city to catch a connecting bus, me thinks that may be pushing it for day 1!

Nevermind, there is so much to do here to kill the 5 hour transit, i may go swimming or watch a movie, get a massage, who knows! (I WENT SWIMMING AND I HAD IT ALL TO MYSELF!!!)

Singapore air is amazing by the way, i have watched two and a half movies, episodes of Fraiser, Medium and Friends, not to mention played super mario bros! The best thing of all...i was sitting next to Alex Parks and her friends...now who remembers her? No actually the food was the best thing of all, lunch and breakfast...heaven, oh and hot towels!

Now Bangkok.....

Day three and have now moved to a hostel room on the Ko san road which the four of us are sharing. Bit of a come down after the hotel we have been staying in in the last two nights...complimentary water, shampoo and shower cap!!! Stole the toilet paper so we don't go short!

In an internet cafe in the hostel. All is going well, the girls are lovely and i am getting used to living out of a backpack. Have seen a ping pong show, have been to the grand palace and generally checked out BKK! We are moving onto katchamaburi tommorrow (bridge over the river Kwai) and will hopefully be staying in a guest house by the river. WE are then going on a 10 hr bus ride to get to chaing mai, where we will be trekking!

All still very surreal, feel like i am in an extra from the beach! Walking down the Ko san you can buy anything, even deep fried insects! The food is amazing though and so cheap.

All felling the need to get out of the city, can't wait for the island hopping.

Don't worry about me, i',m fine, will take a while to get used to this way of life but you know me...i'll embrace it!!!

xx