Welcome to Paridise-Fiji!

What a better tropical destination to visit other than Fiji? There isn't one if you ask me. Its one of those "magical destinations" I've been dreaming about going to since I can remember. There is just something about it that is so inviting, it is tranquil and breath-taking beautiful.

In Fiji they speak the native language of Fijian, which is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language. Can you belive that? I've tried to pick up a second language years ago, it nevet stuck. I'm always amazed with anyone who is multilingual.


Since I am not fluent in Fijian, I found a great site to help me learn some of the common phrases such as: Hello-Bula, How much is this? E vica na kena i-sau? Pleased to meet you Ia (ni) bula. For everything else I need I can always just pull this site back up :)
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/fijian.php


There are so many beautiful and historic places I'd like to visit. Creating my interanry has been a little tough, and is still a work in progress. I have put togethat a "must-see/do" list so I'll start there! I will be flying into the city of Nadi, which is only the 3rd most largest, but I figure since I am flying in, might as well enjoy what it has to offer, right? Nadi is on the biggest island which means lots to do! Since I am now a certified scuba diver I've read that Scuba Bula Center is one of the best places to dive. They have 22 dive sites,TWENTY-TWO! That is insane!! I've checked out some of the under water pictures, like this one. Isn't it beautiful?

Next is the Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple which is actually the largest in the southern hemisphere, reflects an architectural style rarely seen outside India, and houses sacred statues designed by craftspeople brought over from India. I've never been to India, but I appricate architecture greatly and I figure it will be a nice spiritual and photo opt trip.

After that I plan on checking out the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, which has over 2000 different types of orchids, I know I'm going to need several memory cards to take pictures of those. After all, Orchards are my favorite :)

From there I'm planning on picking up a mountian bike, all of the tour guides say that is the way to see Fiji! There are so many beaches along the trails that I'm going to have to pull that bike over and take in the beauty of those amazing beaches!

For those of you who don't know where Fiji is, it is in the South Pacific. The Latitude and Longitude of Fiji is 18°00'S and 175°00'E respectively


I Plan on going in mid April, which happens to bethe best time to go. Ideal travel season for this (or any) beach vacation is  is between April and early-October. The sun won't be directly overhead and blistering, heat and humidity won't be stifling. Also, it is not the rainy season during those months. In April the average water temp is 75-80 degrees and the average temp is 78 degrees. Sounds like paridise right? It is :) It is recommended to get a 2mm short suit for diving. As far as packing: I plan on lots of shorts, tank tops and swim suits. I will pack a light jacket I know how islands get, being on the water you get alot of wind so it can get a little chilly. Night temps are about 70 degress. At this rate, I might just stay there forever!!

Flight arrangements aren't extremly cheap, then again I am flying just about to the other side of the world, so I expected as much. I plan to fly out of Tampa International to Nadi, there is a less expensive option by having 2 plan changes, one in Charlotte, and one in Los Angles. Total travel time (in the air) is 17 hours! The price for that flight is $1,517.70. Obviously the longer I wait, the more it goes up!!

Once I get to Nadi you can rent a car, take a taxi, use the free bula-bus, or rent a bike. It all depends on how far your destination is. I'm thinking of renting a car. Seems like the average price of that is $720 Fijian. To rent for 12 days. Which comes out to be $394.69 US. I've rented cars here in the states for less time than that, and its costed more!

Well its time for me to bid you goodbye, for now, or in Fijian it would be  ni sa moce



resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fijian_language
http://coinmill.com/FJD_USD.html#USD=1
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g294335-Activities-Nadi_Viti_Levu.html
http://www.mapsofworld.com/lat_long/fiji-lat-long.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294331-s208/Fiji:Weather.And.When.To.Go.html
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?tovr=-1294477296