Back to Backpacking, Sigatoka

Checking into our hostel in Sigatoka, there was no mistaking it; the holiday was over. After weeks of treating ourselves to fancy resorts we all knew it was time we came back down to earth but we weren't expecting such a ginormous thud. 

Our dorm room at Vakaviti was little more than a wooden shed with a sloped floor and a hole for a shower. The ceiling was crumbling in every corner and the fan was so battered that it was barely usable. For the first time since they left we were almost glad the boys were no longer with us; one look at this place and Stuart would have had a heart attack. 

Luckily though we managed to see the funny side and as the hostel owners were so lovely we even ended up agreeing to an extra night. Nevertheless, we were still keen to spend as little time as possible in our shed so we left for town early that first morning.

The centre of Sigatoka was bustling with people, though every single one of them Fijian. Unlike the islands, mainland Fiji isn't catered for tourists and so we finally caught a glimpse of what their lives are really like. Although it's slightly more Westernised it felt in many way like we'd been thrown straight back into Asia which, if you've been following this blog from the beginning you'll know, is an absolute dream come true! We even found roti and Indian sweets at the local market which we've been craving since we left Malaysia five months ago. 

After lunch we found a sweet little taxi man who agreed to take us to the sand dunes for a couple of dollars each. We were dropped off at the bottom of a sandy slope which was so steep we couldn't see anything beyond. He promised that the views from over the hill were worth the climb and despite my initial doubts as the sand blistered our feet in the midday sun, the little man didn't let us down. From the top we were literally surrounded by beauty and found ourselves twirling just to take it all in; a canopy of palm trees behind us, bright white sand dunes either side, and the ocean up ahead, glistening in the sunshine. 

From the higher ground we could see out for miles but there wasn't another soul in sight and the only sounds were those of the crashing waves at the beach beneath us. For a moment it felt like we had the whole of Fiji for ourselves and it was really quite wonderful.