Off to Fiji!

Early the next morning, it’s off to Fiji. Tidy up the flat, make the princess bed, do the last wash. That’s fine, I only paid half of what others would have charged. The shuttle arrives on time and takes me to the airport. Feel like I’ve been taken for a ride by the wind again. As soon as I leave, it blows like crazy.

Air Pacific doesn’t even ask for the extra $20 for kite luggage. The plane is half empty, I have a whole bench to myself. After three hours there’s a stopover on the Christmas Islands. The terminal is probably the smallest in the world. The only reason for landing large jets is that the smaller ones would run out of fuel on the way.

We only arrive in Fiji at dusk and a day later. 8 hours flight, more than expected. Ukele boys greet us singing at the airport. I’ve booked a backpacker hotel right on the beach. For €15 a day, the shuttle to Smugglers Cove is even included.

The hotel is good and full of world travellers. There is one sari-wearing employee for every five guests. The food and beer are excellent, but expensive by Fiji standards. The dormitory has 20 beds and is still much quieter than my 7 drunken Englishmen in Honolulu.

There are very funny birds everywhere. In groups of two, they steal all the food they can. One distracts by mimicking voices, the other steals. Neither stupid like pigeons nor mean like seagulls. Funny thieving clowns. They go by the name of Tui.

The next morning I move in with Georg, a world-travelling Viennese, to Nadi. Colourful village somewhere between Hawaii and India. There’s cheap stuff everywhere that’s aggressively sold to you. Now I have a $10 shark’s tooth around my neck. The Diesel shoes (all orogonal!) cost €25. Beer is teasingly served behind barred counters. There are kava stands everywhere and within the first hour, three Fijians try to sell us weed. The last one acknowledges our refusal with a polite “Go to jail you stupid asshole motherfuckers.” Well then bula!

We take a taxi back to Smugglers Cove. The wind had been building up all day, it must be something thermal here. By around three it’s almost gone again. Sure, I set up my kite. 100m standing area, free sandy beach, side-onshore. Would be perfect, but the wind is too weak. I hop around on the beach a bit. That’s about it. Alternative: sitting on the beach, drinking beer, playing chess.

In the evening, a couple of boys play, Fiji singsong mixed with “Stand by me”. There’s kava after every song. Makes your mouth numb and your head a bit stupid. It would certainly have been better after dinner.