Fiji Trip in July

The speaker describes their journey to Fiji, including delays at the airport and a technical stop during the flight. They mention the impact of climate change on the sinking islands. They arrive at their hotel and meet locals who offer to show them around a village. They participate in a kava ceremony and are welcomed as part of the family. They then go to a bar and club with the locals, enjoying drinks and music. The locals ensure they return safely to their hotel. So on July 2nd, I left for the airport to take my flight over to Fiji. So I went through, got my boarding passes checked in, went through security, went to the gate, and it was about a three hour wait. And so by 12 o'clock, which is when the plane was supposed to take off, we still hadn't boarded. And so I was told that we were waiting for the plane to actually pull it to the gate. So the plane gets there and then they start boarding and I was like D37. So by the time we got onto the plane, we didn't take off until like 10 after one, which was, you know, not bad. Even considering I was losing a day by going to Fiji. At any rate, we flew from Honolulu over to Kiribati, which is a little island chain over in the South Pacific Ocean. So we landed and then we actually didn't deplane. We stayed on the tarmac and they did some things to the plane. They called it a technical stop. So we sat there for, I guess it felt like forever. And then we finally took off again. Just looking from the plane, it's real interesting the way the islands looked because apparently that area is being heavily affected by the climate change. And so it looks like the islands are sinking when in fact the water level is rising. And they say that's due to the, I guess, the ice melting. At any rate, we took off and we had another four hour flight to Fiji. And so we landed and it was, I think we landed like at about quarter to nine. And so the plane lands, I'm freaking stoked and get off. We deplane. We go through customs and declare anything we're bringing into the country. The people are pretty sweet. So then I go out and I ask them where the taxi is because I need to get to the hotel and they directed me to the proper place. So I get in the cab and the guy is just super talkative and I know he knew it was probably my first time there and he's telling me, yeah, if you need to ride anywhere tomorrow, give me a call and I'll pick you all the tourist spots and blah, blah, blah. I'm thinking to myself, I'm not trying to go to any tourist spots. Anyway, this guy gets me to the hotel. I guess it took about 10 minutes to get there. So I stayed at what's called a Sailor's Hotel, which is a pretty small little hotel, not very many amenities to it. They had a pool and then they had this like a restaurant area toward the back. And then at the back was the opening to the beach. So it's fairly small. My room was like a matchbox. But at any rate, you know, I checked in. All I needed was a freaking bed to sleep in. No TV, no chairs to sit on and just a bed and a bathroom and a little small cubbyhole closet for your clothes. Anyway, I check in. It was like 9 something and so I was able to go and grab some food before 10 because everything was shutting down. But then I went to this kind of like little restaurant a few doors down and I sat outside. You know, they were still serving. So this one lady comes up to me and, you know, she's like, oh, we have to drink. She's speaking, you know, like the Fijian accent. So I was like, oh, cool, cool. She says, what's your name? So I tell her, yeah, my name's Andre and I'm from Hawaii and blah, blah, blah. She says, oh, OK, OK. My name's Mama. I say, oh, cool. Thanks, Mama. So I order this like ginger ale and so she goes and gets me this bottle of ginger ale. While she's doing that, a gentleman comes up and he's Fijian and he starts talking and he's just really conversative. So he starts telling me things and then he goes away and then he comes back and and then he tells me a bit more. And then somehow this this this dude tells me quite a bit of history about how certain people arrived in Fiji, for example, his grandfather somehow migrated from Egypt all the way over from the continent of Africa. And his whole bloodline comes from that area. So he's considered Afro-Fijian, but he told me that he's like indigenous Fijian. I couldn't tell you if he was or not, but he speaks the Fijian language and apparently there is Indo-Fijians, there are Hindu-Fijians, there are Afro-Fijians and then they have what they call native Fijians. And so these are people that are just native to the land. At any rate, this this gentleman is chock full of information is telling me quite a bit and so I let him know, hey, I'm not here to do any touristy stuff. I just want to, you know, just kind of learn about the culture. So he says, if you really want to go and see a village, I can, you know, show you over there tomorrow. So he says, be back by four. So I go and I meet him at four o'clock the next day and we jump into a cab. And then he, you know, I'm just like trusting, trusting. So I ain't care. Anything go down, I'm going to throw it out myself. Anyway, we get in the car and the cab driver takes us over into this little town area. And then we get into another cab and he's speaking Fijian to the guy and apparently he's getting the guy to take us into the village and the guy stays with us in the cab. And then once we get in that, he arranges for me to meet the chief and then the chief comes and I present him a gift. Oh, by the way, he took me downtown to purchase a gift for the chief and to also purchase this thing called the Sulu, which is what I was supposed to wear at the ceremony. So then we head over and we meet the chief. The chief takes me into the chief's house and then they sit this mat down. It's kind of like a wicker mat. So we all sit around this big wooden bowl and they bring in this kava. And so they begin to prepare the kava for this little ceremony, a welcoming ceremony for me. And I was a little like I felt a little weird because, you know, it's all of these it was just guys only and they all had on their Sulu gear and no women in there. We all sit on the floor, there's no furniture in this place, right? And so they're talking to me, asking questions and the chief's just kind of like, you know, he's evaluating me and I can feel that that's what he was doing. And then after a while, I could see that his energy level just kind of kind of changed and it kind of calmed. And then he sat down and then he asked me to just kind of sit and then they begin to prepare this kava drink and it became more like a social event. And then they prepared a cup of kava for me and then they instructed me each time you are presented with a cup of kava, you are to clap three times and then you are to drink the kava and then you clap three additional times and you return the cup and then the person who's serving the kava serves each and every person that sits in the group. They clap three times, drink kava and clap three times so that after everyone has drank a cup of kava, then we all sit and we just chat until the next round and you continue drinking the kava until it's all gone. And so when we finished the first batch of kava that they made, they all looked at me and asked if I wanted to do it again. And I said, sure, I don't care. And so they made up another batch and the same thing went on, you know, your turn comes up, they present you with a cup, you clap three times, you drink, you clap three additional times and then they begin to serve the other people. After that, the chief turns and looks at me and he said, you are officially welcomed to our village. You are a part of our family. This is your home away from home. So whenever you come here, you are to feel like you're at home. Whatever you need, you ask us. And I'm like, wow. So then the kind of mood in the room was just really, really, it was already welcoming, but it was even more welcoming. And so we had two more batches of kava and all told, I had like 12 cups of kava. So, you know, I was just like totally relaxed. And then, you know, the chief kind of packed himself up and then he just kind of left after he shook my hand and gave me his formal blessing. And then the guys told me that they were going to take me back to the hotel. So after we get in the car, they're like, well, we're going to go to the bar and if you'd like to go. And I'm like, yeah, I'll go to the bar. So we go to the bar and they order food and then they order alcohol. So I start drinking alcohol with these guys. And the guy that had orchestrated the whole thing, he's sitting next to me and he just kept looking at me. He's like, enjoy, enjoy, drink, eat, enjoy, enjoy. And I was like, fine. So then once we all finished, they're like, well, we're going to the club. Would you like to go? Or are you tired? I go, no, I'll go to the club. So we went to the club and there's this club upstairs in this place called the White House. So we go in and I'm sitting around and the music is bumping. Mind you, it's not like the kind of music that you would hear in like an American club. They're kind of playing their music, but it's really thumping. So you kind of get into the beat. And then all of a sudden, DJ starts mixing in some like this American music kind of hip hop like music. And I'm starting to like groove and they're looking at me like, oh, aloha. So I was like, man, y'all stupid. But anyway, we're like drinking and, you know, just enjoying it. And then after like half an hour, they go, we're going to go to another club. Would you like to go? I'm like, yeah, yeah, let's go. So we jump in the car and then we head to another bar and it was freaking packed. I mean, people were in there just partying up a storm. So we go up and we stand near the bar and then they order like two buckets of alcohol. And by this time, it's like we're all like old buddies. We know each other and they just pour in my drinks and I'm just tossing them back and everybody's having a great time. And then the club ends. They play the last song and then, you know, people are filing out. And then these guys took me back to the hotel. They said, we want to make sure you get here safely. And so they took me right to the front of the hotel and I got out and I went in. But first, they were all thank you for allowing us to take you out and very nice to meet you and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, man, you guys are so cool. Thank you. The hospitality. So I go in and I go to bed. I take a shower and I go to bed. The next morning, I was expecting to have hangover, nothing. I felt so good the next day. I didn't want to have breakfast. So then for the duration of the trip, I did more things. And then so that day, I really didn't do much. But the day after, I decided to go to Suva, which is on the other side of the island. So I take a bus instead of a taxi. I took a bus to town to the bus station. And then I got on this is like a rickety old bus. I felt like I was in the 50s or something. So they take me to the bus station and we get on the bus like a Greyhound bus. The bus ride cost 30 Fijian dollars. It took four hours to get to Suva. Since I got to Suva, I had never seen so many Fijian people. There were like millions of people just walking around at this bus depot thing. So I decided to just kind of walk around and I'm just amazed because Suva is like the capital of Fiji and it looks like a city, like kind of like a New York, but it's on a smaller scale. And there's shops and there's malls and just so well developed. So I'm just walking and looking. I see like this grand hotel that, you know, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, I see this huge rugby field because it's known for rugby. And then I see this Holiday Inn. So I decided to go in there because I was hungry. And then I sat down and ate. But I didn't, I realized that because it took four hours to get there, it would take four hours to get back. So I said, I need to get back on the bus and head back because I don't want to get, I want to, I don't want to be on the bus at eight o'clock at night. So I got a taxi, he took me back to the bus stop, got back on the bus and then took that four hour ride back, got back in and took my little shower once I got back to the hotel. And then the next day was the day that I was supposed to come back. So I go out and I have breakfast. I'm sitting out on the beach and this Gujian guy comes up, introduces himself, asks me where I'm from. And then he tells me, he asked me, had I been to the Valley of the Sleeping Giant and also to the mud bath? And I said, no. He said, so when are you leaving? And I said, I'm leaving at one thirty today. He said, oh, you got time. I said, really? He said, oh, from the, from the mud bath, it takes about 10 minutes to get to the airport. So I was like, well, let's go. So he arranged for me to get a cab, took me up to the Sleeping Giant, incredibly beautiful up there. So I was up there for like a half an hour and then he took me to the mud bath. And of course, they tell you how to put the mud on your body, then they put you in the hot springs. First, they let you dry off. So this mud cakes on you and once it dries, then they put you into the hot springs to rinse off and then they put you into the warmer hot spring and then it kind of brings your temperature back up. And then you get a half an hour massage. So by that time, I was so freaking relaxed, I was ready to go to sleep. But it was time to get to the airport. So got in the car, headed to the airport, guy drops me off. I still had like $350 in Fijian money. So I went to the souvenir store and I bought me a bag of kava and all the little things that go along with it. Then I went and grabbed me some lunch, sat down. By the time I did all of that and just kind of charged my phone, it was time to jump back on the plane. And so I got on the plane and the bad boy took off and it was a nonstop flight back to Oahu. And that is the end of my amazing trip to Fiji.