Day 15: Getting to Hong Kong

Our third Intercontinental flight took us to Hong Kong. We were finally in Asia :) The third continent of our trip and also the third country. With some food, drinks and money, we headed to the other side of Lantau Island where our second Couchsurfing host was waiting for us. After an hour in a bus that drove us through the middle of what we thought was a jungle, we got to Mui Wo and met Karen, her son, their dog and their old rabbit.

Since we had a very tight schedule planned for the day after, we had some dinner with Karen and went to sleep early. We would have time for Hong Kong later on.

Day 14: The last day in Fiji

On our last day in the Octopus Resort we enrolled in a trip to the highest peak of the island. We started at 8:00 am in a very good mood, covered with sunscreen and mosquito protection, with a full bottle of water and with a barefooted guide. Four hours later we ended the tour wanting to jump into the swimming pool, covered in sweat, with no water and with a guide laughing at us. Despite of the heat and the tiredness, it was worth to take the tour and enjoy the incredible views from the top.

After our last lunch in the resort, we headed back to the main island and checked in at the hostel where we were going to spend our last night on Fiji. The hostel was about 20 minutes with local bus from Nadi, the second biggest city in the main island, and while we were waiting for it we met our first and last Hungarian of the trip :) Of course, I lost Adam for a while but he came back when we got to the city center and we started our sightseeing tour around the handicraft market, the spices market, the Sri Siva Subramaniya temple and the main street.

The city is small but full of life. We had dinner at “The farmer´s corner” that had been recommended to us by some Couchsurfers. The restaurant itself is quite nice and has a dancing/fire show a couple of nights a week. It was the best way to end our stay in the islands and, besides, the dancers were really cute ;)

After the show we headed back to our hostel to have some sleep and get ready for our 3^rd long flight.

Day 13: Visiting the local village and kava ceremony

On our third day there was a little bit of rain in the afternoon, so I decided to write another blog entry. The view is not too bad anyway :)

In the morning we made a short hike over the hill to visit the village where the locals live. We were also invited to a local kindergarten, where the kids were singing in English and Fijian for us. My personal favorite was the “one banana for me, one banana for you” song.

In the evening it was time to give a try to the famous Fijian “kava”. It is a drink made from the roots of a certain plant and it is supposed to be like a soft drug for the locals. The ceremony master dilutes the root-powder in water inside a big bowl and then the ceremony begins. Everyone sitting around receives a smaller or bigger sip, also called as “low tide” or “high tide”. Before you take your turn, you say “bula” (of course) and clap your hands once. After drinking the liquid, you give back the cup to the ceremony master and clap three times. Someone told me you can say “mudha”, or “mudha sucka” to indicate that the cup is empty, but say this at your own risk:) The drink itself honestly tastes like muddy water, with a hint of pepper. It was not enough to have any effect on us, but some tourists said sometimes it is much stronger.

Day 12: Underwater day

On our second day on the island resort we enjoyed the sea from above and below. There are huge coral reefs all around, and you can easily go snorkeling or diving all around the islands. The waters are crystal clear, and even though we had no mobile reception and the nearest landmass is thousands of kilometers away, being here is a very pacifying experience.

Day 11: Bula, Fiji!

 

After a 10 hour flight from LA to Fiji, we were ready to discover this remote part of the world. Fiji consists of two big islands and a number of small islands around them. Apart from the main islands, the small islands mostly have beach resorts, where you have to stay a minimum of 3 nights normally. Some people even do “resort hopping” between them. We opted for the Waya island belonging to the Yasawa group of islands, which has a resort called Octopus.

We received a warm welcome from the Fijians, who sang and played music on the beach when we arrived. Generally Fijians are very friendly and always full of smiles. One word for sure every visitor will learn is “bula”. This means “hi” in Fijian, but they use it so often and so happily that it gets burnt into every tourist brain. Before landing on the resort island, the captain of the boat tells us the only important thing to survive here: “Don’t forget to say bula! No bula, no lunch!”.

The rest of the day we spent mostly on the beach and in our bungalow (called “bure”), enjoying “Fiji time”, which roughly means take a rest and don’t worry.

Day 10: the day that never happened

Due to crossing the dateline from LA to Fiji, the 10th of June never really happened to us. Anything we missed? Sorry about the forgotten birthday wishes on Facebook:P

Day 9: Long beach

On our last day in LA, we drove down to Long Beach. Unfortunately the Queen Mary was closed from visits due to the “Ink and Iron” festival, but we still caught a good glimpse of the old ocean liner.

In the evening we had to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Fiji. On the airport we took a last bite of some beef jerky, and we were ready for our flight.

Day 8: Universal studios and downtown

The eighth day we planned to visit Universal studios. It was a Saturday, and even though we arrived at the opening, the theme park was already full. We had quite some waiting time at most attractions, but we figured out that with the “Single riders” queue we could get on some rides in a matter of minutes.

What was left from the afternoon, we spent it visiting downtown LA. It is a little bit ran down, and there is not much to see, but it is worth to go once. Little Tokyo is nice to visit and they have some good food, on the other hand the latino shops on the Broadway give an interesting insight of the remaining customs of the immigrants. At this time of the year we saw a lot of “quinceañeras”: girls celebrating their 15th birthday dressing up as brides.