The moment we stepped off the plane we were in holiday mode. The sun was shining, the skies were blue and the sounds of Fijian music filled the air around us. Inside the arrival lounge men continued to strum away at their ukeleles whilst women handed out shelled necklaces to new arrivals. Absolutely everyone; men, women, Fijians and foreigners alike, were all wearing colourful flowers in their hair.
The four of us that had flown in from Auckland arrived first so checked everyone into the hostel in Nadi. We were welcomed in by the owner, 'Mama', essentially the Fijian version of Queen Latifah's character in Chicago. She assured us that if we ran into any trouble in Nadi we need only mention her name and whoever was bothering us would run away scared. I have to say I genuinely believed her.
Before we knew it there was a knock on our door and the boys burst in with their biggest smiles, as well as vodka, whiskey and a family sized packet of Tim Tams (I couldn't decide who or what I was more excited to see.) Drinks were poured almost instantly and the games commenced, ending only once everyone was suitably un-sober and ready to hit town.
We tried Ice Bar first which was completely empty bar the seven of us but what it lacked in people it made up for in drinks deals so we rinsed those before moving on elsewhere. It seems my memory didn't come with us but I've been informed that White House was much busier and a lot of fun. Luckily a couple of Fijians had appointed themselves as our bodyguards/taxi men for the night and eventually escorted us home safely. Once there, Jack jumped into the pool and made a whole load of noise, breaking two of Mama's house rules at once - a brave man indeed.
The next morning we were woken crazy early by the arrival of the last two members of our Fiji family, Vicky and Kate. Some of us were still drunk, others horrifically hungover but all really excited to see them after so long away (with the exception maybe of Will who's bed excited him more.) Not wanting to waste the day, we dragged ourselves out of the hostel but it took us all of ten minutes to realise the centre of Nadi really is as bad as people make out. The floral shirts and flowery hairpieces do little to distract you from the fact the beaches are dirty and the town falling apart. Even the ocean is a grey shade of blue. With that in mind we made it our priority to book the ferry to the islands for the following day in search of the paradise we'd been promised.
Unfortunately that meant another six o'clock start so we had a quiet one that evening; just a couple of cocktails at a restaurant along the beach whilst watching Fijian dancers do their thing. Back in the room Hana treated us to story time, reading Harry Potter aloud until we all fell asleep.
Nadi really isn't the best of places but with the nine of us together we couldn't help but have fun.
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