Much credit for the success for this trip goes into the rash decision of booking the flight tickets! Of course, the event detail planning was done by Cherry's parents. This tour is unique in the sense that I travelled like an adult, not a backpacker. Money is spent mostly on food and accommodation rather than activities. A trip that will leave great and unforgettable memories with Cherry. We took many really cool pictures and I really liked them.
22 June 2014, Clear, Canberra > Sydney
It was difficult to say good bye to B & G. I was really sad and I hid all my emotions as I hugged people good bye. Deep inside though, it hurts knowing that I might not see many of the people here again. Good bye for now. Set off for Sydney for a night in 790 on George. The staff is very nice! Random dunner from the streets of Sydney Central Station.
23 June 2014, Cloudy, Sydney > Nadi
Woke up early to catch the flight to Fiji. The checking in at Fiji airport took 1.5 hours of waiting. I met Cherry's parents for the first time. The locals are very nice indeed, I have a feeling that I might just come back here in the future. Dinner was a seafood feast in a local canton restaurant: Sentai Seafood Restaurant. I really liked the fresh scallops. Along the way, nearly every Fijian assumed that Cherry and I are on a honeymoon, how funny, the hotel staff even gave us a basket of fruits! Too bad though, we are clearly just very good friends, always have to clear the misunderstandings. Had an early night since the past few nights were all short.
24 June 2014, Cloudy, Nadi > Mana Island
After waking up from a good sleep, we set off from Nadi to go to Mana Island. Had buffet lunch. We went scuba diving at the north side of Mana Island. The corals are really pretty and there are fishes here as well! It really is a tropical paradise. Time seems to past so fast. Before dinner, Cherry and I lied down on beach chairs and had a nice long chat. It seems that I will really miss times like this when we are away from each other. The sun gradually went down to reveal the stars and star dust. It really was a sight to behold, so Cherry and I got carried away again. It was a huge pity though, that my presence was wrong. Someone should have been here with her instead. Dinner was Ala carte at south beach restaurant. (Small) crab racing was on at night. There was just some magic watching how bids are taken and then the race itself. There is just so much beauty on the island, you can literally recharge your mana here. Enjoying it so much.
25 June 2014, Cloudy, Mana Island
Woke up with a good stretch at the beach. From the land, you can actually see how the corals break the large pacific waves and how they become small waves as they reach the island. In the morning, we first played at the slides. It was really fun! I got carried away and forgot to remove my spectacles before a jump, losing it to the depths. Fortunately, Cherry got the help of a local diver to retrieved. I was soooo relieved and grateful. We then went to look at the corals of the south side. I think corals on the south side are prettier, with many fishes as well. All of us were so obsessed with getting good pictures that we suffered many cuts and abrasions on our legs and arms. Well worth it for the beautiful pictures. Lunch was at north beach buffet again. Sent postcards. After a slight rest, we went kayaking. Cherry was a tad too confident and wanted to try a solo kayak. After a few fails at trying to control her kayak, she decided she have to do a 2-player kayak with me. Not as easy as it seems eh? We then went to catch sunset at sunset beach. People are hyped up at the view, however, I was not.
Okay so, it was quite nice after all. Dinner was at the same place. It was the first time I almost got angry with the Fijians. There were many people, but there was no sense of urgency from the staff at all. They served bun without water. They took so long to come take our order. I almost wanted to go scold their staff, but the atmosphere makes it difficult to do so. This is definitely going into the feedback. One of the staff tried t be nice to us though. On a side note, I made a conclusion from all the small talk over dinner. There is no one good parenting system. While Singapore taught me to be polite and considerate, China's parenting has taught Cherry ti be caring and have initiative to serve. After dinner, we went to watch traditional dance, followed by the Australian tradition: 'anyhow dance'. Be like an Australian and dance in the anyhow dance: achievement unlocked! Stars were crazily beautiful, star dust so visible.
26 June 2014, Clear, Mana Island > Nadi
While Cherry's family friends are still curious about the beauty of the corals, Cherry and I found it not worth the swimming and cuts anymore. Did some administrative stuff, accounts, then went to see the Chapel that caught Cherry's attention on the way to sunset beach yesterday. Weather was hot, but the clear sky actually helped us take great pictures along the way. More quality chatting time with Cherry, was enlightening from my viewpoint. I never knew I came this far in one year of opening up to the other half. Upon reaching the chapel, my recce skills were activated! We creeped into private property and took some very beautiful pictures with the chapel.
Went back to find the whole gang interested in the chapel, so we went back again in the hot sun. Took a full tour group picture. It really makes for a good family photo... Lunch was the buffet again. Took ferry back to Nadi island, Raffles Gateway Hotel. We taxi'ed out for time to buy souvenirs. Dinner was at the same place. Both Cherry and I agreed that we should not keep eating at the same seafood restaurant and should try some local Fijian food, but the more 'adult' adults made the decision. Cherry and I bought a local popsicle, which made her really happy. This dinner was great! The fish is really good and the lobster was really tasty!Being really nice, Cherry's parents let me eat the entire lobster head. They think I was too courteous. On the taxi back, I learnt that not all Fijians were nice after all. The taxi driver wanted to charge me $3 more for extra waiting. Had an early night.
27 June 2014, Clear, Nadi > Sydney
Woke up early in the morning to go fishing after a brief breakfast. Tried my hands at hand-line fishing for the first time. It is very exciting! Our boat was greeted by the beautiful rainbow sunrise. It was the brightest rainbow I have seen yet, with a triple rainbow. We had no luck with big fishes using trawl fishing, but we got many smaller ones using hand-line fishing. It is funny. You only need a fishing line, hook, and bait. All you need to do is to hook the bait, lower the line, and feel the line for a tug. The excitement when you feel the tug in the line! I caught a grouper, a very tasty fish! We all caught a total of 20 fish and released 1 because it was juvenile. I salute Cherry's dad for releasing that small fish for it to grow.We went back to Sentai to have the fish cooked. It was the first time I experienced eating fresh fish that we just caught, very fresh and tasty indeed. After the great fish meal, we headed back to the airport. There, I got Cherry some Fijian souvenirs. Time to do the crazy thing, hop on two international flights with 55 minute interval. I managed to do it, mainly because the plane I am taking from Fiji to Sydney is also the same plane that is flying from Sydney to Christchurch, one delay just led to another. It was a huge success and I am very lucky indeed. The awkward moment when the air stewardess recognized me in the second flight as the guy who dropped the boarding pass straight through the gap between the boarding gate and the plane. Onward to the next trip with my Singapore exchange friends in New Zealand!
Woke up early to catch the flight to Fiji. The checking in at Fiji airport took 1.5 hours of waiting. I met Cherry's parents for the first time. The locals are very nice indeed, I have a feeling that I might just come back here in the future. Dinner was a seafood feast in a local canton restaurant: Sentai Seafood Restaurant. I really liked the fresh scallops. Along the way, nearly every Fijian assumed that Cherry and I are on a honeymoon, how funny, the hotel staff even gave us a basket of fruits! Too bad though, we are clearly just very good friends, always have to clear the misunderstandings. Had an early night since the past few nights were all short.
24 June 2014, Cloudy, Nadi > Mana Island
After waking up from a good sleep, we set off from Nadi to go to Mana Island. Had buffet lunch. We went scuba diving at the north side of Mana Island. The corals are really pretty and there are fishes here as well! It really is a tropical paradise. Time seems to past so fast. Before dinner, Cherry and I lied down on beach chairs and had a nice long chat. It seems that I will really miss times like this when we are away from each other. The sun gradually went down to reveal the stars and star dust. It really was a sight to behold, so Cherry and I got carried away again. It was a huge pity though, that my presence was wrong. Someone should have been here with her instead. Dinner was Ala carte at south beach restaurant. (Small) crab racing was on at night. There was just some magic watching how bids are taken and then the race itself. There is just so much beauty on the island, you can literally recharge your mana here. Enjoying it so much.
25 June 2014, Cloudy, Mana Island
Woke up with a good stretch at the beach. From the land, you can actually see how the corals break the large pacific waves and how they become small waves as they reach the island. In the morning, we first played at the slides. It was really fun! I got carried away and forgot to remove my spectacles before a jump, losing it to the depths. Fortunately, Cherry got the help of a local diver to retrieved. I was soooo relieved and grateful. We then went to look at the corals of the south side. I think corals on the south side are prettier, with many fishes as well. All of us were so obsessed with getting good pictures that we suffered many cuts and abrasions on our legs and arms. Well worth it for the beautiful pictures. Lunch was at north beach buffet again. Sent postcards. After a slight rest, we went kayaking. Cherry was a tad too confident and wanted to try a solo kayak. After a few fails at trying to control her kayak, she decided she have to do a 2-player kayak with me. Not as easy as it seems eh? We then went to catch sunset at sunset beach. People are hyped up at the view, however, I was not.
Okay so, it was quite nice after all. Dinner was at the same place. It was the first time I almost got angry with the Fijians. There were many people, but there was no sense of urgency from the staff at all. They served bun without water. They took so long to come take our order. I almost wanted to go scold their staff, but the atmosphere makes it difficult to do so. This is definitely going into the feedback. One of the staff tried t be nice to us though. On a side note, I made a conclusion from all the small talk over dinner. There is no one good parenting system. While Singapore taught me to be polite and considerate, China's parenting has taught Cherry ti be caring and have initiative to serve. After dinner, we went to watch traditional dance, followed by the Australian tradition: 'anyhow dance'. Be like an Australian and dance in the anyhow dance: achievement unlocked! Stars were crazily beautiful, star dust so visible.
26 June 2014, Clear, Mana Island > Nadi
While Cherry's family friends are still curious about the beauty of the corals, Cherry and I found it not worth the swimming and cuts anymore. Did some administrative stuff, accounts, then went to see the Chapel that caught Cherry's attention on the way to sunset beach yesterday. Weather was hot, but the clear sky actually helped us take great pictures along the way. More quality chatting time with Cherry, was enlightening from my viewpoint. I never knew I came this far in one year of opening up to the other half. Upon reaching the chapel, my recce skills were activated! We creeped into private property and took some very beautiful pictures with the chapel.
Went back to find the whole gang interested in the chapel, so we went back again in the hot sun. Took a full tour group picture. It really makes for a good family photo... Lunch was the buffet again. Took ferry back to Nadi island, Raffles Gateway Hotel. We taxi'ed out for time to buy souvenirs. Dinner was at the same place. Both Cherry and I agreed that we should not keep eating at the same seafood restaurant and should try some local Fijian food, but the more 'adult' adults made the decision. Cherry and I bought a local popsicle, which made her really happy. This dinner was great! The fish is really good and the lobster was really tasty!Being really nice, Cherry's parents let me eat the entire lobster head. They think I was too courteous. On the taxi back, I learnt that not all Fijians were nice after all. The taxi driver wanted to charge me $3 more for extra waiting. Had an early night.
27 June 2014, Clear, Nadi > Sydney
Woke up early in the morning to go fishing after a brief breakfast. Tried my hands at hand-line fishing for the first time. It is very exciting! Our boat was greeted by the beautiful rainbow sunrise. It was the brightest rainbow I have seen yet, with a triple rainbow. We had no luck with big fishes using trawl fishing, but we got many smaller ones using hand-line fishing. It is funny. You only need a fishing line, hook, and bait. All you need to do is to hook the bait, lower the line, and feel the line for a tug. The excitement when you feel the tug in the line! I caught a grouper, a very tasty fish! We all caught a total of 20 fish and released 1 because it was juvenile. I salute Cherry's dad for releasing that small fish for it to grow.We went back to Sentai to have the fish cooked. It was the first time I experienced eating fresh fish that we just caught, very fresh and tasty indeed. After the great fish meal, we headed back to the airport. There, I got Cherry some Fijian souvenirs. Time to do the crazy thing, hop on two international flights with 55 minute interval. I managed to do it, mainly because the plane I am taking from Fiji to Sydney is also the same plane that is flying from Sydney to Christchurch, one delay just led to another. It was a huge success and I am very lucky indeed. The awkward moment when the air stewardess recognized me in the second flight as the guy who dropped the boarding pass straight through the gap between the boarding gate and the plane. Onward to the next trip with my Singapore exchange friends in New Zealand!
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