My trip to the Yasawas and Nadi - warning - lengthy!

We started our journey off as most visitors to Fiji do – a night in Nadi. And what a night it was! Arriving in Fiji and venturing out for the first time to pick up some dinner was quite overwhelming. The taxi drivers all seemed eager for our fair, even though we were keen to walk. In the end it seemed easier to give in, and we ended up getting into a taxi. We got out and yet the taxi driver wouldn’t take our money, he kept insisting he would come back and pick us up. He ended up taking us to Nadi town (after an argument about the price – he wanted $25 for a $5 fare) where he proceeded to almost run down a child and then confront a boy who had indicated to him to stop. First lesson learnt – if they don’t have a sticker along the front of the windshield, apparently they are unregistered taxi drivers. We had our first experiences of being hawked all through the town and went back to Nadi Bay Hotel for the night.
Nadi Bay Hotel – The room was clean and the bed comfortable which was pretty much all I cared about after 9 hours of flying and waiting around in airports. The facilities are quite good, with a pool, 2 restaurants and 2 bars. The in-house band tends to play until 11 – 11.30pm though, so you won’t get to sleep until after they have finished (unless you can sleep through that sort of thing).

On the second day we headed to Octopus resort. The $52 boat transfer is not bad – we came off feeling a little queasy, but it was less than an hour and a half commute and much cheaper than the other available options. Octopus Resort did not disappoint! Every one seemed stunned into silence and we couldn’t stop smiling. The staff are unbelievably nice. People on the Thorn Tree had spoken so highly of the resort and it still managed to exceed expectations. Snorkelling off the beach was really good and the rate for snorkelling gear ($5 a day) was well worth it. Taking the kayak out was also great – the mountainous backdrop to the resort is stunning. The food there was fantastic and plentiful and movie night under the stars was lovely. The village trip was absolutely well worth the time and we didn’t want to leave Octopus at all!

Long Beach Resort was our second stop and I must admit, we were downhearted from the moment we got there. Our room (a deluxe room at deluxe prices – the price was not far off Octopus) was devoid of towels and the soap still had sand embedded in it from the last guests that used it which didn’t impress me much. We were shown the bath, but when we tried it the water came out in a trickle, and showers seemed to be very salty and we and the other guests came out feeling sticky (one of the couples took to cleaning themselves in the rain on the second day!). The staff seemed taken back when we went to the office to ask for our room key and told us they would bring it over (which definitely occurred on Fiji time). We decided to try out the snorkelling there and hired our snorkelling gear. My partner’s flippers were bent and both of our masks had dodgy seals and snorkels that let water in and changing them to another set didn’t help so snorkelling was short and sweet and we didn’t manage to get out to the side that apparently has good snorkelling. Feeling pretty annoyed, we resorted to reading books and lying in the hammock for the night. The food was disappointing; mostly cold and one morning we were served cake for breakfast.

The next day it rained for the whole day and there is NOTHING to do at this resort if it is raining, as the bar did not entice us much. The rain of course was not the fault of the resort, but we had pretty much had enough by this point. We ended up making the decision to forfeit one paid night and to try getting on Awesome Adventures a day early (we didn’t want to waste any more of our holiday). Before we left one of the staff members (the host type lady) had her first conversation with us, which was basically that she knew the snorkel equipment was bad and that other guests bring kids and they damage the gear and that we should come back in 5 years as they are planning to make improvements to the resort. We paid for the extra costs we had incurred (bottled water, snacks etc) and found out that we were also slapped with a $20 fee for staff members picking us up from the Awesome Adventures boat and taking us back to the resort (literally just around some rocks).

Highlight – One night the staff members asked us if we wanted to play ‘flicky flicky’ a snooker kind of game where you flick the pieces into the corner holes.

Nadi – We stayed at the Mecure which was beautiful. The rooms were great, we did the yay-hot-water dance. The taxi drivers were all eager for us to go to Jacks (although we’d already been there heaps of times) and so every time we asked to go to the centre we ended up getting helped out of the taxi by Jack’s staff. We ate at Daikoku on the recommendation of a friend (and the lonely planet!) and it was excellent! The food was good, and having never been to a teppen-yaki restaurant before, I was quite entertained!

Note to self - don't copy and paste!

{quote:title=happylilpossum wrote:}{quote}
Highlight – One night the staff members asked us if we wanted to play ‘flicky flicky’ a snooker kind of game where you flick the pieces into the corner holes.

Not sure of the name .. some called it 'carambole'. A photo (#13) on this page.

I have also seen the same game played in India.

Do any of the Fijian regulars know if the Indo-fijians imported the game, or if the Brits did (to both countries), or if there is some other origin?

I have had bad experience with snorkle gear elsewhere in PI and so now take my own.

I have played that game in Fiji before. It is usually called 'Vidi vidi' (pronounced vindi vindi).

When it comes to taxis in Nadi always ask 'how much' to a destination before getting in and closing the door--most of the drivers are 'Hindi', and are very friendly. I guess the key is to always know where you are going--don't let them take you to a 'friends' place, some of them will try this.
Have fun.