M-whY

Like LA, I had no guidebook to consult. I'm only here for three days, I didn't feel it was worth spending $20 on a book that I wouldn't be using very much. I had arrived bright and early after a 10 hour flight. I figured I had plenty of time to figure out what to do.

I took a taxi to downtown Nadi. Other then a bunch of shops catered mostly towards tourists, there wasn't much to do. Being saturday, not many shops were open, and very few people were about. As I was walking down the main (and only) street of Nadi, I was approached by a local Fijian, who started talking to me, asking where I was from, how many days I would be staying, and offering free advice with what to do with my time here.

A little tired and still groggy from the flight, I allowed him to lead me into a handicraft shop. At this point, something began to feel wrong. He kept offering advice, stressing the word 'free', and then mentioning afterwards, if I wanted to buy anything, all proceeds would go back to help his village.

In retrospect, I remember hearing about a scam like this while reading a Fiji Islands guide back at home. If I wasn't so tired, I might've handled the situation a bit better. Let's just say, if anyone ever visits Fiji, do NOT follow local Fijians into handicraft shops.

The whole downtown Nadi experience left a sour taste in my mouth. Since there really wasn't much to do in Nadi, I decided to look for a boat out to one of the smaller islands. I stopped at a local travel agency to inquire prices and departure times. Most trips ran for around $80-$150 FJ per day. Not to mention most excursions lasted at least three days. My options were pretty limited.

I wanted to shop around, to see if I could find cheaper deals, perhaps at another travel agency (there were at least half a dozen within a few blocks of each other). As I was about to leave, the travel agent warned me about being tricked into handicraft stores, where the store owners would try to charge me grossly inflated prices for their crafts. She pointed out a couple shady shops to watch out for.

Right. Wish I had heard this about an hour ago.

I finally caved in and booked a stay at Mana Island. Prices for these tours were exactly the same everywhere. Every travel agency had the same brochures that offered the same activities. The boat ride out would cost $50 FJ, the stay at the hostel $70 (for two nights), and the ride back another $50. Food and water was included, so it wasn't that bad a deal. I asked the front desk of Nadi Bay Resort Hotel if I could change my stay from tonight to Monday. No problem, they replied.

At 2:15, a bus arrived to bring me to Denaru Marina. The cruise to Mana would take about an hour. It stopped first at Malolo Island. Malolo island apparently didn't have a dock, so small single motored boats were sent out to the cruise ship to pick up and drop off guests. Pretty cool. I couldn't wait for my turn. I was disappointed to find out disembarking Mana Island from a boring dock.

After checking in at Ratu Kini hostel, our hosts explained some ground rules. Ratu Kini was run by local Fijians, and located within an actual Fijian village. Next door is the more expensive Mana Island Resort, run by Japanese investors. The proprietors at Mana Island Resort were less than pleased to see budget backpacker inns on their island, and built a fence around their resort to prevent backpackers from entering.

Our host looked at me apologetically as she said this, fearing she might have offended me.
"Sorry..."
"I'm not Japanese," I told her.
"Oh." Her expression relaxed. "Nihao?"
"Haha, right."

At dinner, I met Cathryn, a girl from Scotland, and Charlotte and Lise, two girls from Denmark. All three had been travelling for several months already. Having arrived from Australia and New Zealand, they gave me tips and ideas for what to do there.

All four of us were a little disappointed with Mana Island. It didn't seem like there was much to do, outside of lying on the beaches. This was no fault of our local hosts though. The villagers I found were all very friendly and helpful. We were greeted with smiling faces and a warm "Bula!" everywhere we went.

At 8pm Fiji time (translate 8:30), the villagers performed Polynesian dances, including impressive fire stick routines. A couple times, they dropped their fire sticks, prompting me to wonder aloud to Charlotte whether they had ever had a fire stick fly into the audience. The performers' enthusiasm throughout made what would've been an average show very impressive. I was thoroughly entertained.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!