Monday Feb 8th in Fiji

Monday morning started early for me as I woke up early to start a FeeJee Experience tour of the main Island of Fiji, Viti Levu. However when I attempted to pay for my room I began a long drawn out battle with VISA that I had yet to realize. Their machine wouldn't accept my credit cards but thought it could of just been a problem on their end not mine.
Soon the bus arrived and we headed to Nadi one of the main cities on Viti Levu to shop for some food and buy sarongs/skirts to be worn in the village we would be visiting later that day. After Nadi we traveled to Natadola beach for a swim and BBQ lunch and I also purchased a fabulous pearl necklace from the ladies cooking lunch and scored a wicked deal!

After that came my #4 New and Different thing that I have done on this trip. I visited a real Fijian village, normally on this tour they show you around and take you inside the Chiefs house/hut to show you what it is like. However we happened to stumble upon a few locals inside having some Kava and they quickly invited us in to have some with them. (stay tuned for the video) Kava is the name of a plant and the name of the drink made from the plant. To make the drink the root and stem of the Kava plant are picked, dried and pounded into a powder. The powder is then put onto cheese cloth and water is poured through it with the runoff creating the drink. Kava numbs your mouth and stomach and is said to be good for treating nausea also its a relaxant, causes you to become quite mellow but allows you to keep a constant state of normal alertness and mental clarity. We ended up having 4 coconuts full of Kava each! A lot for your first time, I think they kept feeding it to us in hopes that we would leave quicker!
After putting all that Kava into our bellies we headed to some large sand dunes on the coast for some sand boarding! Of course the dune we were going to ride down was the tallest and steepest and hardest to climb! I was so afraid but at least I tried it! (stay tuned for the video of this as well)

Following the sand boarding we headed to our first resort for the night where we had a great dinner, participated in a crab race (my crab lost :( sadly) and drank more Kava. I had to be up early the next morning to catch the FeeJee bus so had some Kava and went to sleep, boy Kava knocks you right out! I slept through the 13 other people on tour with me returning to the dorm room that night, not a single thing could wake me up!
So #4 N&D thing was a few things.... Going to a Fijian Village, sand boarding, drinking Kava and betting on a crab race!

Fiji!

I get my mini computer back from my friend tonight who was keeping it for me while in Fiji. Once I have it I will be able to write a more proper post because then I am not stuck for time and paying for computer time while trying to write something good! In the mean time here is a pretty photo of me in Fiji... and here is a quick 3sec video of an amazing waterfall I trekked to while in Fiji!
enjoy and stay tuned!! check out my twitter for updates on my travels and the other website for more updates!! Vinaka!

(first time using blooger video uploader bc it was quicker than youtube, not the greatest vid but it will do! )

FIJI !

The past few days here in Fiji have been amazing! I never thought I would like this place so much! Simply because I guess I didn't know that much about it or what there was to see and do here and I have yet to leave the main island!
I stupidly forgot my camera cords at home and this computer does not have a card reader so I can't upload any videos or photos right now so this post will just be a quick tease of what I've been doing and I will put up better posts when I am back in Australia.
A quick recap since Sunday: I flew to Fiji, got my first Shell Lei, joined a great FeeJee experience tour with 14 other people, drank lots of kava in a village, went sand boarding, ate fried coconut, made a hat from coconut leaves, trekked to 3 waterfalls, got bitten by a million bugs, got a wicked sun burn on my shoulders, traveled half of the main island (to this point), bet on a crab and put it in a crab race, drank more kava, bought some great pearls and it goes on.
However at the moment I am too itchy from these bug bites to sit still at a computer any more! Tomorrow I am visiting another Fijian Village, visiting a school, going bamboo rafting and possibly mud pools? Back to Sydney on Friday!
Will write more soon, good night!

Fiji!!!

ok I only have literaly 3mins left on my internet to write this I will write more later!
I am in Nadi, Fiji now about to start a FeeJee Experience tour tomorrow morning then back to Sydney, Australia on Friday. Hopefully it will be awesome and hopefully the sun will come out!!
#3 New and Different thing that I did today was...... I went to Fiji!!! too easy?? Well I also got my first Lei ever! a shell lei!!!
thinking of things to do tomorrow :)

How you goin'?

The first words spoken to me after I have stepped off the plane in Sydney, Australia. "How you goin'?" says the customs officer as I hand over my passport. This simple greeting still throws me off every time I hear it even , though I have heard it many times. Every time I have to try and wrap my head around what exactly this Australian person is saying to me. I want to say, "good" or "ok" but then I want to say, "I'm not going anywhere I just stopped to talk to you", or "to the beach!" or something, it confuses me every time causing me to always have a delayed response to give myself time to figure out the answer they are looking for it. However every time I hear it it brings a smile to my face. That one simple phrase shows just how laid back this country is and I love it. (the photo above was taken on my iphone as we were landing - too many clouds!)

I am so happy to be back here (aside from the rain rain rain rain) but I can't complain that it is at least 25degrees and when I left Halifax it was -20degrees. I have decided on this trip that I am going to try to attempt to do something new or different every day. Something new and different (N&D) that I did yesterday (my first day here) was:

#1: N&D thing - Friday February 7th was I ate a pizza, not that exciting you say? Well this particular pizza had a cute and furry friend of the aussies on it. No! I didn't eat a Koala! Come on! However I wonder what it would taste like... hmmm? Is cute and cuddley a taste? No, this pizza had Kangaroo on it! I have been to Australia a few times but had yet been tempted by trying it until I went to the Australian Hotel bar next to my hostel for some food and it seemed to be the best thing on the menu.

PEPPER KANGAROO
Marinated in native pepper with roasted
capsicum & native berries.

It was actually very very good! Tasted similar to beef, with a texture similar to steak, moist and yummy!! However I felt bad later that evening when I was out with friends and could feel kangaroo stuck in my teeth.....

#2: N&D thing: Saturday February 6th - Not so new, but kind of different. I am going to try to eat a whole piece of toast with vegemite on it. I've tried the tinest bites of it before, but this time its serious business, I feel like I need to understand why people here love it so much. I may even film it as my first attempt at a vlog for your viewing pleasure, hopefully I don't puke!

Update: here is the video of me eating vegemite!

Headed to Australia Again!

Currently I am sitting in Vancouver's YVR airport waiting for my plane to Sydney, Australia. After an already long day of traveling from Halifax to here I'm 2 hours away from boarding my last leg of the trip. 15 hours in the air, hopefully I can sleep the whole time. :)
Some people might be saying (and actually have said to me) "Australia again? I thought you wanted to travel the whole world?" This is true, I do and I will, but all in due time. I just finished work on Friday after working since mid-Septmeber (being freelance and working in the film/TV industry that is quite a long time!) I'm tired and the winter is getting on my nerves, I just need a get away vacation right now and not a travel vacation. Instead of going to an all inclusive for a week I decided why not go back to a place 1) that I'm familiar with 2) where many of my friends live & 3) that is in the middle of summer! So that is exactly what I'm doing, my plan is to hang out & soak up some rays. (fingers crossed the rain goes away) Australia is so, so very close to Fiji however... so who knows I might make a quick hop over to there as well just to cross another one off the list!
Stay tuned, more updates to come & possibly some vlogs! ooohh aaahhh (we'll see haha)
Don't forget to check out the site! www.travelyourself.ca