fiji (28 nov-2 dec), post 1. the hotel.

this is a looong overdue post ;)
my apologies for the delay.
i actually wanted to write about that trip to fiji 2 days ago, and i had actually uploaded more than 50 photos for that 1 post. unfortunately, half of the photos were unable to load and i had to delete that post and start all over again.

then iphone5 came, and made me very busy with the new gadget.

so now, no more delays.

let me revisit fiji in my post.

for those who have never been to fiji or any other good beaches or islands, fiji is definitely a wonderful place to go. the weather is tropical, the people are friendly, the water is warm and the hotel services are wonderful.
but to those who are concerned about their expenses, and have good beaches and islands in their own backyards, fiji can be crossed out from your list.

fiji has always seemed so remote and far-away and unreachable to me. it sounded so exotic and romantic. but now that i have been there, i guess it was just a novelty of having been there and done that.

the fine beaches and crystal clear turqoise water that you see on postcards featuring fiji, well, you won't be able to find them near nadi town, where the international airport is. you will have to travel farther to the other side of the main island, or take a boat to other smaller islands and check yourself into the resorts they have there.

somehow, being there in fiji reminded me so much of malaysia and gave me a new appreciation of the beaches and islands that we have.  you don't have to spend as much as i did just to find a good island resort in malaysia or so far. you can just head to langkawi and those in sabah, you know the good beaches are just a stone's throw away. you don't believe me? well, it is up to you.

so for fiji, i paid  more than aussie$1000 for the flight and hotel stay (4 nights). if you are earning in aussie dollars, this amount will be quite a steal since the flight is already more than 4 hours and we were booked in a hotel managed by hilton. but you try to times 3 to malaysian ringgit, (gulp) and you will balk at the amount you have to spend there.

in fiji, the fijian dollars is used. the exchange rate is A$1=F$1.70. yes, fiji dollars have higher rate than malaysian ringgit.

yes, the queen can be seen on all their notes since fiji is also a commonwealth country.

ok this post will be about the hotel we stayed in: fiji beach resort managed by hilton on denarau island.

denarau island is not really an island, but more of a man-made island. it was a big swamp mangrove area on denarau, and part of it was filled to make it into a stretch of beach which is now occupied by 7 resorts. it is called an island just because you have to cross a short bridge (less than 20m) to get into denarau island.

map from tourismfiji.com
the 7th resort is next to radisson, not in the map. it is wyndham vacation resort.

anyway, so we were at the first hotel on that stretch of beach.

this is one of my favourite pictures of the hotel pool area and all the coconut trees and the frangipani trees around the pool at fiji beach resort. the weather was perfect when we were there except for occaasional evening showers.

so four of us, and a baby boarded our flight from melbourne international airport on 28 november (0020) via air pacific to nadi international airport.

the flight was smooth. the baby behaved except when he was groggy and did not get the sleep he so wanted. we were all sleepy, very, but when we saw the movie 'snow white and the huntsmen' being played on the small screen in front, the headphones were quickly plugged and our eyes were glued on the screen.
however, mine closed after enduring for almost 1 hour. i was just too sleepy and i dozed off. i have no idea what happened in the end. it was just a so-so movie, so i am not that interested to find out anyway.

we reached nadi international airport around 5a.m. and the sky was already bright.

transport to the hotel was already included in our package.
my sister and i were booked to one company while the other sister and her family were booked with another. hence, we travelled differently.

my provider gave me a sea-shell necklace while the other sister's company gave them a straw necklace with a clay pendant.

i travelled to the hotel in style yo. a volvo s70 kakakaka. the other sister and her family went in a mini van.  it took us about 30 minutes from the airport to the hotel.

fiji beach resort's lobby/reception desk.  they could only prepare one room for us since it was so early and  the second room was given to us after 9a.m.
it was here that i learnt of the phrase 'fiji time'. it refers to the slower pace that ppl generally take here in fiji. everything is more relaxed and there is no stress. chill. so next time someone tries to rush you to complete something, you can say, 'chill man, fiji time'. hahaha.....but the problem is, you are not on fiji anymore so it won't work right?? well, if you are in fiji, remember 'fiji time'.

the green path leading to our studio apartment.

this is the studio apartment from the outside....we had first floor. every room has a balcony.

and this is where you enter...

inside the room. gosh, the duvet was kinda thick and the air-conditioner was not cold enough so it could get hot under the duvet in the middle of the night.

the balcony.

slide the doors and you have the bathroom equipped with a bathtub, shower room and toilet.

toiletries were all from peter thomas roth. love the body wash gel and body lotion. they smell citrusy and so refreshing.

nuku restaurant and bar, facing the beach on one side and the pools on the other side. this was where we had our buffet breakfast (included in the package). we also had one lunch, 2 dinners and spent 2 nights at the bar here. pleasure.
this is also the area where one can get free wi-fi, hence everyone whipped out their gadgets and got connected.

the kids club has programmes planned the whole day and this is just one of them. ice-cream eating competition. they also had fish feeding, making local handicrafts, singing and dancing.

another picture of the pool area. you can see the sea in this one.

the not-so-beautiful beach we have at the hotel. nobody swims in the sea here but water activities were held. the sand on the beach area has brown to black sand. not appetising at all.

meke dancers performing on one of the nights when we were able to catch their shows.

inside nuku restaurant.

a typical plate of breakfast for me....and a fried egg to go with the piece of toast. full!

an unforgettable moment for us would be this- a chanced encounter with miss world fiji 2012. woohooo!!! she was standing there in her sash, tiara and glittery gown waiting for her family who was staying in the hotel. earlier, she had an event in sheraton and a fashion show. ok, i was nosy, i asked her.

we were supposed to walk to the nearby marina for dinner that evening. but less than halfway to the marina, it poured cats and dogs and we made a u-turn back to the hotel. upon reaching the lobby, lo and behold, this beautiful lady in her silver gown caught our attention. she was standing there all alone. there was also another group of middle-aged chinese tourists there and  they asked her to take photos with them. then of course, we grabbed our chance as well.

in the photo above, the baby gave a scare to miss fiji when  she tried to hold him and he suddenly broke into loud wails. gosh, there went that photo the baby could show off to his friends when he got older saying that he was held by a miss world fiji. instead, we got this one with all weird twisted expressions. kakakaka.

i have never even met a miss malaysia up-close and here in fiji, i met theirs. unbelievable and totally unforgettable.

well,  i will end this post with this photo of the baby in the pool. it was his first time in a pool and he took to water like a duckling. he loved it so much, being pushed around in that float. everyone had lots of fun in the pools here at the hotel.