Awww,,, its raining

Today I made a point of waking early so I could engage is a early morning brisk walk along the beach witnessing the sun breaking a new day.  But I woke to wind, rain and a gloomy morning. But don't think for one second it was cold,,, absolutely not, it was hot and humid.

Ok so I was there to relax so I didn't mind if it was going to rain for an hour or two but as the light revealed the sky, it became apparent that the rain was set in for the day.

No problem I thought, we will make our way into Nadi town and indulge in some shopping.

The hotels heavily promote the use of taxis, and unfortunately the prices are very inflated for the tourist.  One trip into town costs $15 and its a 6 km trip.  So I thought I would get friendly with a worker and ask how they get to and from the resorts....She was a very informative young lady and showed me how to catch a bus, where to stand and the cost..... a whopping 70 cents each way.

So off I go and stand around waiting for the bus. I was very much looking forward to traveling with the locals and heading through the local villages. I had my camera out and my money ready,, all I had to do was wait.

It was about 10 mins and a taxi pulled up and tried to convince me that I needed to use his service (poor man... It was just not going to be his day),, I stood my ground and told him I was going into town via the bus.  God bless his Indian cotton picking socks off because it was only about 5 minutes negotiation and he said we could pay him $1 each and he would take us back into town as he had to head back that way, and we would be doing him a favour.   Awwww,, ok I will help you out... so for $2 we got our lift into town.  I thought I would get the opportunity to grab the bus on the way back, so we jump in and off we went.

Town was fun, the native Fijians are just the most friendly laid back lot, the Indian Fijians are sooooooooooooo opposite.  I should rephrase that,, the Indian Fijians are also very friendly but very business oriented and try very hard to get you to purchase their wares.

We spent a few hours looking around but Gab was getting bored so we thought we would head back to the resort.

We stood at the bus stop and got all excited about catching the bus. I was busy taking pictures and the damm bus came and went early and I didn't even notice.

I over heard one of the locals telling another couple from the resort that if you miss a bus to head to the round about and a local would pick them up..... After hearing this I decided to put my adventure hat on and try what they suggested.  I walked about 10 mins until I got to the round about turn off to Denarau Island.  There were locals standing there, so I stood beside them and tried to blend in (unsuccessfully I might add). I didn't even have time to stop and park my bag when a Tarago pulled up along side us and said "Denarau" ??.... Yes mate, thats my stop.  So for the going price of 50 cents each, he drove us to Denarau and thanked us when we ended up doubling the fare.

(Hitch hiking is done by all, mothers, children and the elderly. Its apart of their life due to lack of funds to purchase bus tickets let alone cars, fuel etc, so for those who can afford it,  they pay a standard price of 50 cents each for a lift. Those who cant, dont pay anything.  Everyone helps everyone out.  Such a lovely culture)

Once we got back to the resort, Gab and I headed off for an Ice cream.  Unfortunately for Gab she changed her mind & choose a coconut juice milkshake. Within the hour she was violently ill.  She would end up staying sick until Friday morning :-(