Saturday 25 November 2017
Went out to see the lighting of the Martin Place Christmas tree, but by the time we arrived, the place was jam packed and they weren't letting anybody in.
Janet and Evan bought fish cocktails, crumbed calimari and chips @ Costi's to share at the MLC Centre food court for our dinner.
Decided instead to walk to Hyde Park where there was another Christmas concert on. Stayed on to watch the 8.30pm fireworks.
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Saturday, November 4, 2017
Fiji Day 8 - Saturday 4 November
Fiji Day 8 - Saturday 4 November - Time to leave - Another rainy day
Yes another rainy day, no sunshine for us. A last look up and down the beach to see whether the ocean gave us back Ange's glasses - not quite like Moana, the ocean did not give it back.
Breakfast of the remaining fruit and vegies and boiled eggs.
Clean up. The jigsaw is destroyed and put back into it's box - to be donated to the resort.
One last look around - photos of the resort.
Cars are packed with the luggage. Keys have been returned.
10am we checkout and head to Nadi. Looks like a whole lot of other people are heading that way too. Bumper to bumper traffic. Pull over at a village to let cars past as we are in no hurry. Stop at Korolevu-i-wai, just outside of Maui Bay. A long jetty overlooking coral reefs. Would have stopped here the other day on the way to Sigatoka, but they had blocked it off for road works. It's very picturesque. Will have to come here next time and spend longer. Water is very shallow.
Back on the road, past road works and stop at Baravi Handicrafts centre - it's a Jack's souvenir shop, but no sign of Janet's shirt here. I buy a dress and a wooden boat - Lily pays for it as she has money, I don't, at least not enough. Discover it is just before the "hot corn" village. See tourist buying the "hot corn" hot it is, but sweet it is not. Back on the road, we get to Nadi - now to look for parking. Main street parking is non-existent, so we take a side street and find some parking, just a short walk to the main street and the shops. Bindy has spied a Jack's outlet, so we head there. End up buying Fijian shirts - buy 3 get 1 free for FJ$15 each. Bargain.
Then we walk around looking for a place to eat. Janet says she saw a review for a bakery/restaurant - so we go in search because we do not Chicken Express again. Find several asian bakeries, but walk into Wing Hing Bakery and Restaurant, filled with locals. Not sure what to do, do we seat ourselves? A waitress comes over and seats us and gives us menus. Looks like you can order from menu, or from the counter which has prepared meals. We order 2 plates of
vegetable stir fried noodles, 1 plate of vegetable fried rice and a chicken chop suey with white rice - the first 2 are fine, but the last one is very salty - maybe that's why there is a lot of white rice. Stuck with vegetables as they are fresh, meat is questionable. Not bad and very filling. As we are having our meal we notice that bread is selling like hot cakes. They keep refilling the counter with fresh buns. So Lily buys 2 buns on the way out. Kaylene loves them.
Walk back to the car and head off in search of a petrol station. Fill up - they come and serve you - as in we sit in the car whilst they fill up. Up to you how much you want to fill up, can be an amount or in our case "fill er up". Head to airport to return the cars. Get them checked over and we hurry to check-ins. Lily is worried but we have plenty of time. Get checked in. Go through security and immigration. Check out duty free - spend out dollars - buy more body lotion. Bindy treats us all to an ice cream cone. Plane is delayed boarding - still raining. Have to go through another bag check before boarding the plane - they confiscate my bottle of water, oh well didn't like the taste of Fiji water. Bindy takes a while - they questioned her about her walkie talkies - but she smart said they were charged by USB. Get served chicken curry with rice, beans and potato salad and a custard cake dessert.
Arrive back in Sydney, go through self check in at immigration and waved through customs. Mark comes to pick us up. get home and discover our bags have been opened and searched. My lock is missing from my bag and Kaylene's bag zipper has been tampered with, but they manage to fix it. Bindy also has had her bag opened and searched, they actually cut the zipper lock bit so she can't use it again. Lucky we didn't have anything they could take in the bags except clothes and shoes.
Yes another rainy day, no sunshine for us. A last look up and down the beach to see whether the ocean gave us back Ange's glasses - not quite like Moana, the ocean did not give it back.
Breakfast of the remaining fruit and vegies and boiled eggs.
Clean up. The jigsaw is destroyed and put back into it's box - to be donated to the resort.
One last look around - photos of the resort.
Cars are packed with the luggage. Keys have been returned.
10am we checkout and head to Nadi. Looks like a whole lot of other people are heading that way too. Bumper to bumper traffic. Pull over at a village to let cars past as we are in no hurry. Stop at Korolevu-i-wai, just outside of Maui Bay. A long jetty overlooking coral reefs. Would have stopped here the other day on the way to Sigatoka, but they had blocked it off for road works. It's very picturesque. Will have to come here next time and spend longer. Water is very shallow.
Back on the road, past road works and stop at Baravi Handicrafts centre - it's a Jack's souvenir shop, but no sign of Janet's shirt here. I buy a dress and a wooden boat - Lily pays for it as she has money, I don't, at least not enough. Discover it is just before the "hot corn" village. See tourist buying the "hot corn" hot it is, but sweet it is not. Back on the road, we get to Nadi - now to look for parking. Main street parking is non-existent, so we take a side street and find some parking, just a short walk to the main street and the shops. Bindy has spied a Jack's outlet, so we head there. End up buying Fijian shirts - buy 3 get 1 free for FJ$15 each. Bargain.
Then we walk around looking for a place to eat. Janet says she saw a review for a bakery/restaurant - so we go in search because we do not Chicken Express again. Find several asian bakeries, but walk into Wing Hing Bakery and Restaurant, filled with locals. Not sure what to do, do we seat ourselves? A waitress comes over and seats us and gives us menus. Looks like you can order from menu, or from the counter which has prepared meals. We order 2 plates of
vegetable stir fried noodles, 1 plate of vegetable fried rice and a chicken chop suey with white rice - the first 2 are fine, but the last one is very salty - maybe that's why there is a lot of white rice. Stuck with vegetables as they are fresh, meat is questionable. Not bad and very filling. As we are having our meal we notice that bread is selling like hot cakes. They keep refilling the counter with fresh buns. So Lily buys 2 buns on the way out. Kaylene loves them.
Walk back to the car and head off in search of a petrol station. Fill up - they come and serve you - as in we sit in the car whilst they fill up. Up to you how much you want to fill up, can be an amount or in our case "fill er up". Head to airport to return the cars. Get them checked over and we hurry to check-ins. Lily is worried but we have plenty of time. Get checked in. Go through security and immigration. Check out duty free - spend out dollars - buy more body lotion. Bindy treats us all to an ice cream cone. Plane is delayed boarding - still raining. Have to go through another bag check before boarding the plane - they confiscate my bottle of water, oh well didn't like the taste of Fiji water. Bindy takes a while - they questioned her about her walkie talkies - but she smart said they were charged by USB. Get served chicken curry with rice, beans and potato salad and a custard cake dessert.
Arrive back in Sydney, go through self check in at immigration and waved through customs. Mark comes to pick us up. get home and discover our bags have been opened and searched. My lock is missing from my bag and Kaylene's bag zipper has been tampered with, but they manage to fix it. Bindy also has had her bag opened and searched, they actually cut the zipper lock bit so she can't use it again. Lucky we didn't have anything they could take in the bags except clothes and shoes.
Friday, November 3, 2017
Fiji Day 7 - Friday 3 November
Fiji Day 7 - Friday 3 November - Janet's Birthday
Our second to last day. Was another rainy and windy morning. Time to clear the fridge and pantry.
Lots of fruit for breakfast - pawpaw, pineapple and mango. Cold soba noodles with carrots, avocado and cucumber, tinned fish and boiled eggs.
Took a walk to PAcific Habour Cultural Centre - looking for souvenirs. Took an umbrella, but the rain held off. The cultural show was just starting - but you had to pay - they had like 2 bus loads of people from a cruise ship. Bindy bought Janet some FJ$8 pearl earrings for her birthday and some for others. Prices seemed expensive and they didn't have anything that caught my eye. Walked back to the shops which are across the road from the resort. Checked out Veejay Supermarket, Harbour Restaurant and the Deuba Minimart. Before heading to the bridge - crossed over and walked back through The Pearl - Janet found out that it is owned by a PNG person. Not too many people staying there - saw more staff than tourists. Checked out the souvenir shop. LIly and Bindy both bought Fiji shirts here. Then we walked back via the beach, just as it started to rain again.
Puzzle time - nearly there. Afternoon fruits and young coconut drink.
A last swim in the pool for KC and I, whilst Bindy and Ange "crazy ladies" go for a dip in the ocean. Bad mistake, both Bindy and Ange gets dumped and Ange's glasses are lost.
Get ready for dinner at the Fiji Palms bar for Janet's birthday. Ange needs to wear her prescription sunnies to see. No sharing tonight, we each order a dish from the menu with drinks and cocktails. Kaylene has the Bula Pot with rice, Janet has the Walu Steak with lemon sauce and rice, Ange has the Tenderloin steack with Garlic Prawns and chips, Bindy and Lily both have the pan fried fish but with different sauces, butter and tomato salsa with potato and I have the Garlic prawns with chips. Yummy and delish. Kaylene does not like her very alcoholic cocktail - so I end up drinking it as well as my own. Walking back to the unit, the grass looks like jigsaw puzzle pieces and only I can see it, am I drunk? I don't think so. Kaylene and I in our drunken state manage to finish the jigsaw, tadah!
Our second to last day. Was another rainy and windy morning. Time to clear the fridge and pantry.
Lots of fruit for breakfast - pawpaw, pineapple and mango. Cold soba noodles with carrots, avocado and cucumber, tinned fish and boiled eggs.
Took a walk to PAcific Habour Cultural Centre - looking for souvenirs. Took an umbrella, but the rain held off. The cultural show was just starting - but you had to pay - they had like 2 bus loads of people from a cruise ship. Bindy bought Janet some FJ$8 pearl earrings for her birthday and some for others. Prices seemed expensive and they didn't have anything that caught my eye. Walked back to the shops which are across the road from the resort. Checked out Veejay Supermarket, Harbour Restaurant and the Deuba Minimart. Before heading to the bridge - crossed over and walked back through The Pearl - Janet found out that it is owned by a PNG person. Not too many people staying there - saw more staff than tourists. Checked out the souvenir shop. LIly and Bindy both bought Fiji shirts here. Then we walked back via the beach, just as it started to rain again.
Puzzle time - nearly there. Afternoon fruits and young coconut drink.
A last swim in the pool for KC and I, whilst Bindy and Ange "crazy ladies" go for a dip in the ocean. Bad mistake, both Bindy and Ange gets dumped and Ange's glasses are lost.
Get ready for dinner at the Fiji Palms bar for Janet's birthday. Ange needs to wear her prescription sunnies to see. No sharing tonight, we each order a dish from the menu with drinks and cocktails. Kaylene has the Bula Pot with rice, Janet has the Walu Steak with lemon sauce and rice, Ange has the Tenderloin steack with Garlic Prawns and chips, Bindy and Lily both have the pan fried fish but with different sauces, butter and tomato salsa with potato and I have the Garlic prawns with chips. Yummy and delish. Kaylene does not like her very alcoholic cocktail - so I end up drinking it as well as my own. Walking back to the unit, the grass looks like jigsaw puzzle pieces and only I can see it, am I drunk? I don't think so. Kaylene and I in our drunken state manage to finish the jigsaw, tadah!
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Fiji Day 6 - Thursday 2 November
Fiji Day 6 - Thursday 2 November - Rainy day
Stormed last night and this morning - surf was rough, very choppy - no walk on the beach this morning, at least not for KC and me. Bindy and Ange went out.
KC and I worked on the jigsaw puzzle.
Brunch was 3 min noodle with boiled egg, cucumberand carrots and choy choy.
After brunch we all piled into the Rav and drove into Suva. Filled up at the Pacific Harbour petrol station. Looks like petrol costs the same everywhere. This time we were on the lookout for crabs and prawns. Lucky for us, there seemed to be quite a number of natives with crabs for sale. We stopped for one which at first we thought was just trying to hitch a ride, but driving more slowly this time we could see he had bags of something - turned out to be crabs - 13 crabs in total ranging in size - first offer was like $180 for the bag, then came down to $100 - we didn't want 13 crabs, only 6 would be enough, but he wouldn't sell them to us for $10 each, so we bought the whole bag for $100, less than $10 each. They don't know there maths. Drove a bit further and another guy was selling, he had 2 bags, 1 with smaller ones and 1 with bigger ones, but most of their claws were missing. Unfortunately for him, we already had enough so he didn't sell any. Saw him on the way back still trying to sell them.
It was raining as we got into Suva. Bindy wanted to visit the handicrafts centre, but we circled around and around looking for a parking spot, couldn't find a way to get into the parking lot, so decided to go try our luck parking at MHCC - car park was full. So we went for a drive through to the gardens, still raining so didn't stop. Drove past the ocean parks and around to the other side. Stopped at lights and there was a Maccas on the corner (Grantham Rd and Laucala Bay Rd), so we drove into their parking lot and had lunch. Had a small chicken & aioli wrap meal for $11.75. There was also a Cost U Less shop, like our Costco, but you don't need to be a member. Some things were cheap, other things not. I bought a local body lotion which I had seen in Jacks Souvenirs shop. Walked to another smaller Nayan's Supermarket, but didn't buy anything, then back to the car and drove back the way we came - stopped at the city park to take some photos. Then headed back to Suva. Tried our luck in chinatown, again no street parking, so we head back to resort.
Put crabs into freezer to put them to sleep, before cleaning them. Kaylene and I head down to the beach.
Crab dinner with lettuce, paw paw, beans, choy, tomato - a very colourful dinner. Happy early birthday Janet!
Stormed last night and this morning - surf was rough, very choppy - no walk on the beach this morning, at least not for KC and me. Bindy and Ange went out.
KC and I worked on the jigsaw puzzle.
Brunch was 3 min noodle with boiled egg, cucumberand carrots and choy choy.
After brunch we all piled into the Rav and drove into Suva. Filled up at the Pacific Harbour petrol station. Looks like petrol costs the same everywhere. This time we were on the lookout for crabs and prawns. Lucky for us, there seemed to be quite a number of natives with crabs for sale. We stopped for one which at first we thought was just trying to hitch a ride, but driving more slowly this time we could see he had bags of something - turned out to be crabs - 13 crabs in total ranging in size - first offer was like $180 for the bag, then came down to $100 - we didn't want 13 crabs, only 6 would be enough, but he wouldn't sell them to us for $10 each, so we bought the whole bag for $100, less than $10 each. They don't know there maths. Drove a bit further and another guy was selling, he had 2 bags, 1 with smaller ones and 1 with bigger ones, but most of their claws were missing. Unfortunately for him, we already had enough so he didn't sell any. Saw him on the way back still trying to sell them.
It was raining as we got into Suva. Bindy wanted to visit the handicrafts centre, but we circled around and around looking for a parking spot, couldn't find a way to get into the parking lot, so decided to go try our luck parking at MHCC - car park was full. So we went for a drive through to the gardens, still raining so didn't stop. Drove past the ocean parks and around to the other side. Stopped at lights and there was a Maccas on the corner (Grantham Rd and Laucala Bay Rd), so we drove into their parking lot and had lunch. Had a small chicken & aioli wrap meal for $11.75. There was also a Cost U Less shop, like our Costco, but you don't need to be a member. Some things were cheap, other things not. I bought a local body lotion which I had seen in Jacks Souvenirs shop. Walked to another smaller Nayan's Supermarket, but didn't buy anything, then back to the car and drove back the way we came - stopped at the city park to take some photos. Then headed back to Suva. Tried our luck in chinatown, again no street parking, so we head back to resort.
Put crabs into freezer to put them to sleep, before cleaning them. Kaylene and I head down to the beach.
Crab dinner with lettuce, paw paw, beans, choy, tomato - a very colourful dinner. Happy early birthday Janet!
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Fiji Day 5 - Wednesday 1 November
Fiji Day 5 - Wednesday 1 November - Nice day
Brunch - Left over fish, boiled egg, string beans, pawpaw, lettuce, capsicum, carrot, cucumber
Drive to Sigatoka - Just 1 car, Bindy sits in the boot area. More spacious with cushions taken from the resort.
First shop we walk into is a Just Jeans, which sells sari's in the back. Kaylene spends over an hour here - trying on a sari which she ends up buying.
Then we head to the markets - Janet is looking for a place to eat. Shiva's was recommended, but doesn't look great. End up finding the local Chicken Express and go there for late lunch. 12 pieces of fried chicken, 12 nuggets and chips to share. Followed by an icecream each.
After lunch back to the markets, Janet buys more pineapples and paw paws. Just can't resist because so sweet and cheap. Go into 2 supermarkets looking for snack foods.
Pass a material shop. Buy several lengths to make into dresses. Lily want's more table cloths. When we walked in there was no one, as soon as we were inside, they got busy and everyone decided to come in and buy material.
Then it's time to head back.
Back at the resort, Janet bakes chicken drumsticks for dinner. Kaylene and I go for a swim in the pool.
Brunch - Left over fish, boiled egg, string beans, pawpaw, lettuce, capsicum, carrot, cucumber
Drive to Sigatoka - Just 1 car, Bindy sits in the boot area. More spacious with cushions taken from the resort.
First shop we walk into is a Just Jeans, which sells sari's in the back. Kaylene spends over an hour here - trying on a sari which she ends up buying.
Then we head to the markets - Janet is looking for a place to eat. Shiva's was recommended, but doesn't look great. End up finding the local Chicken Express and go there for late lunch. 12 pieces of fried chicken, 12 nuggets and chips to share. Followed by an icecream each.
After lunch back to the markets, Janet buys more pineapples and paw paws. Just can't resist because so sweet and cheap. Go into 2 supermarkets looking for snack foods.
Pass a material shop. Buy several lengths to make into dresses. Lily want's more table cloths. When we walked in there was no one, as soon as we were inside, they got busy and everyone decided to come in and buy material.
Then it's time to head back.
Back at the resort, Janet bakes chicken drumsticks for dinner. Kaylene and I go for a swim in the pool.
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