TravelStream™ news feed for member andy_n on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/andy_n en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:32:55 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/790709513/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/790709513/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/790709513/tpod.html Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:32:55 -0500 At Work and Play in Fiji and the Land of Oz

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Sigatoka, Viti Levu, Fiji

January 21, Sigatoka
By the end of that week Bill and I had been worked very hard in developing our programs, and the girls had been heavily engaged in power exploring the Suva area. So we hopped on a bus for the 2 ½ hour ride back toward Nadi to what is known as the Coral Coast in the Sigatoka area. There we each rented a low-end beach-front bure for the night. I had several hours of program planning to finish but following that joined the others on the beach.

The area we were in turned out to be not great for swimming because it was still a coral reef – hence the name, I suppose. It was, however, excellent for snorkeling with lots of brightly colored fish darting in and out of the coral. I came upon something I have never seen before or since – a giant sea worm that was lurking in one of the holes. This thing was four feet long and maybe 2 ½ inches in diameter. It was a sort of mottled brown color and had a mass of tentacles, similar to a squid, where its mouth would be. I suggested to Bill that he have a look and chuckle to this day when I remember the speed with which he rocketed backwards out of the ocean.

That evening we had dinner at a restaurant called Tom's where I enjoyed the best grilled fish I have ever tasted. We then went over to the Reef Resort to see a Fijian Meke which is a cultural celebration in song and dance. We recognized the wonderful harmonies we had heard on our first night in Suva, and were as fascinated by the energy and drama of the men’s war dances as we were by the grace and beauty of the women’s songs. At the conclusion of the meke the performers sang the Isa Lei, which is the hauntingly beautiful Fijian song of farewell.

We learned that the performers were all members of a Methodist church a little way down the road and, eager to hear more of this music, resolved to be at that church the next day.

So, Sunday morning found us at the church, where the call to worship was sounded by the traditional Fijian lali drum – a hollowed and carved log. The minister showed up dressed in black finery (apparently immune to the heat) and with a deeply furrowed brow. His demeanor resembled a boxer preparing to enter the ring. Somebody was obviously going to catch hell.

The service began, with a full house, in a round of hymns. Someone at the front of the church would start off by singing a couple of bars and then the rest of the congregation would join in – always in perfect harmony and timing. All the while a man with a switch wandered the aisles prepared to whack any youth who was not paying attention. Then the pastor stepped up to the pulpit and began an impassioned tirade that went on for well over an hour. He spoke Fijian so we had no idea what he was on about until he pointed reproachfully at the congregation and hollered "…tobacco, marijuana and beer!"

I spent a few more hours that afternoon polishing my program which would begin the next day; we then hired a taxi to take us back to Suva, arriving around 6:30pm following a pause to fix a flat tire.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258673543/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258673543/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258673543/tpod.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:20:56 -0500 At Work and Play in Fiji and the Land of Oz

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Nandali , Central, Fiji

February 5 to 8,
Suva We were coming to the end of our time in Fiji and headed back to Suva to wrap up the training assignment. I spent two days summarizing course evaluation data from the sessions in Suva and Lautoka and fleshing out my report for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges.


February 7, Nandali
Several years earlier a group of Fijians had made a trip to Canada where they toured religious and educational centers from coast to coast. One of these visitors was Ratu (Chief) Kalepi Korodrau the hereditary chief of a region in Bau Province, north of Suva. He had impressed our family and I was eager to visit with him in Fiji.

FNTC authorized transportation for Bill and me and our wives to the small town of Nandali near Nausori. Here we were greeted by Ratu Kalepi and his wife and offered refreshment in his home, set amid splendid gardens of flowers and vegetables. We presented him with a gift of yagona root (kava), which is customary in Fiji; he accepted our offering with a ceremonial reply.

Ratu Kalepi summoned a taxi (an ancient Mercedes sedan with no suspension) and we set out on a tour of the region, down to the Bau river delta then over to the Fijian Parliament and Senate buildings in Suva. As a member of the House of Chiefs, our host had access to both Houses and we were privileged to get a personalized tour of inner chambers that are normally not accessible to visitors.

Our day with Ratu Kalepi ended with a tour of the Fiji Museum and Cultural Centre in Suva. Here again our host was able to give us an inside look at the Museum, with personal and detailed information that would not otherwise have been available. We remember Ratu Kalepi with much fondness.
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

February 18, Toronto
The flight to Toronto was non-stop and took about eleven hours. Somewhere over Kenora, after being in the air for a total of about 24 hours, I came to realize why weapons are not allowed on airplanes because I would willingly have used one on myself. Lesson learned. Next time I go by camel.
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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

February 18, Honolulu
Our flight arrived in Honolulu at around 10:30pm. The turnaround time was 45 minutes. It was pitch black outside. As a result, I can report on my first sighting of Hawaii – the airport has parquet floors.
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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

February 17, Sydney
We flew out of Perth late on the evening of February 17, to arrive in Sydney the following morning. This time we saw the lights of Adelaide as we crossed the Bight, but nothing else. We transferred over to the international terminal again, and again sat around for a few hours before boarding the flight to Honolulu.
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Perth, Western Australia, Australia

February 12 to 16, Perth
Perth is an entirely different matter. It is a clean, modern city with well laid out subdivisions sprawling in every direction but west. The Swan River cuts through the middle of the city and it seems there is a golf course around every bend. Sail boats flit about in the breeze and cricket or soccer matches seem to be going on at each of the many parks.

On a ferry ride down the river to Fremantle I saw one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. (No, it wasn't the huge mansions that were sited on virtually every promontory, publishing czar Rupert Murdock’s among them.) While standing at the bow of the vessel I looked down to see a porpoise that was swimming –surfing actually - just ahead of the bow-wake. The Swan River water is a tannin-brown shade and it gave the porpoise a bright gold color that sparkled in the sun. And, I swear, that golden porpoise looked over its shoulder and gave me a big wink before it sped away to find some other amusement.

One day we took another ferry over to Rottnest Island, about 12 miles off the mainland. The island was once a penal colony, among other things, but is now a recreational and holiday destination with beautiful beaches and some unique animal and plant life. It is quite flat so bicycling is a favored mode of transportation. We rented some sturdy bikes and, replete with clunky helmets, rode around the island. As comedian Glen Foster says about helmets. "Why, in order to prevent brain damage, do you have to look like you already have it?" We enjoyed interacting with the quokkas, which are furry little marsupials about the size of a large cat and must have been the models for George Lucas’ ewoks. They were quite tame and would hop up to take food from your hand.

Speaking of hopping, we saw our first wild kangaroos on a golf course in Perth. These were big reds, I believe, and they lolled about eating whatever kangaroos eat. I thought they were hilarious until I hit a golf ball into the middle of a herd. When I went over to retrieve the ball a BIG male confronted me, standing tall on its back legs and apparently offering to whack me upside the head if I came any closer. I decided that since the ball was loaned to me by my brother-in-law, Ted, it wasn’t really urgent to retrieve it after all. On another hole I blasted a five iron over the corner of a dog-leg and, when I rounded the corner, discovered that it had landed in the middle of a flock of fifty or more small, pastel-pink parrots. They took to the air when I appeared and I doubt I have seen any more beautiful sight on a golf course.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258673903/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258673903/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258673903/tpod.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:46:11 -0500 At Work and Play in Fiji and the Land of Oz

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

February 11,
SydneyThe flight from Nadi to Sydney takes about 3 ½ hours and once there you transfer from the international terminal by bus to the domestic terminal. I would love to have had the five hour layover here that we had in Los Angeles so we might have spent a couple hours touring about. The turnaround was only 2 ½ hours, however, exactly not enough time to be able to do anything but sufficient time to be bored stiff.

The flight to Perth is remarkable in terms of the magnitude of nothingness that you can see. Once in the air it takes less than half an hour to cross the Blue Mountains going west. From there on you fly for more than four hours at 500 miles per hour over nothing. A little exaggeration, perhaps; you do cross a piece of the Great Australian Bight which is either something or more nothing, depending on whether you are the glass half-empty or half-full type. Otherwise it is just barren red earth with an occasional black dot appearing, which I took to be a tree or bush of some sort. The mind reels when thinking of early adventurers exploring this desolation on foot. It makes LAX seem like an oasis.
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Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji

February 8, Suva
Bill and I exchanged gifts with the Executive Director of FNTC and his right-hand man, both of whom had been wonderfully supportive of our work there. We drank some kava (grog), closed the books on FNTC and headed for Nadi. It should be noted that our departure from the Tropic Towers Hotel was a little emotional as the staff there had grown quite fond of Linda. They sang the Isa Lei as we boarded our bus.



February 9 to 10, Nadi
We had a day to kill in Nadi before our departure to Australia. We were staying at the Mocambo Hotel again only this time we were not employees of FNTC and so had to pay full fare. We kicked around town for a while, I had a shirt made in a Fijian tapa pattern which I have never worn since, and played a round of golf at the comical little course that surrounds the hotel.

The next morning we had to be up at 3:30am in order to get to the airport some five hours before flight time. Seems some Islamic extremists were going to blow up a Quantas airplane using bombs that were made out of Parker pens, so security was very tight and a 747 full of passengers and their belongings had to be thoroughly searched. I was glad that I had given my Parker pen to a secretary at FNTC who had been very helpful. I harbored unkind thoughts toward extremists and kept my eye on the 16th fairway of the Nadi Golf Club.
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Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji

February 2 to 4, Nadi
Nadi is the chief arrival point for travellers coming to Fiji by air, and so is the starting point for most Fijian tourism. We stayed at the Hotel Mocambo, which was very pleasant but made affordable only by our lately acquired "local" status.

Other than the busy International Airport, a notable feature of Nadi is the Sri Siva Subramaniya Hindu temple on the east side of town. This gaily-colored edifice is the largest Hindu Temple in the southern hemisphere; it had been open for less than a year when we visited. A quiet-spoken priest, or whatever, gave us a very informative tour and introduction to the ancient Hindu religion and its myriad gods and avatars and legends. I really warmed to the story of Ganesh, the guy with the elephant head, so we left him a little offering.

We decided that we had to play the Nadi Airport Golf Club, which is where the aforementioned Vijay Singh learned to play the game. We arrived at the course following a torrential thunder storm and several of the holes were still under water. The fun of playing the holes that remained available was augmented by the adjacency to the airport. A Quantas Boeing 747 was practicing touch and go landings less than 200 yards from the 16th Fairway where we stood. Don't tell Al Qaeda.

On our final day in Nadi, we sailed on the tall ship Ra Marama to little Tivua islet, about 10 miles off-shore. We spent a very pleasant day on this tiny coral island, which was less than 200 yards or so across. Since I was the eldest of the travellers visiting that day I was named “Chief” and was given the honor of supervising the grog ceremony, volley ball game and snorkeling activities. Proving that the world is indeed a small place, here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean I met a fellow from New Zealand who had once worked in Vineland, Ontario with a colleague of mine from the Simcoe Rotary Club.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258672705/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258672705/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andy_n/6/1258672705/tpod.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:40:27 -0500 At Work and Play in Fiji and the Land of Oz

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Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji

January 30 to February 1, Lautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city in Fiji and, like Nadi, is in the Province of Ba on the west side of Viti Levu. Lautoka is also known as "Sugar City" due to the prominence of sugar cane and sugar processing in the area. Relative to anything else we saw in Fiji, the area is heavily industrialized with a busy port and timber, metal works and other manufacturing sitting alongside the large sugar refining works. My most vivid memory of Lautoka is standing at the side of the main road being choked by dense diesel fumes coming from trains, buses and trucks that were pursuing their several missions. It is also the birthplace of golf superstar Vijay Singh and now I knew why he moved to Florida.

The FNTC training facility in Lautoka was quite primitive, being on the second or third storey of a nondescript warehouse-type building down by the harbour. The classroom was incredibly hot and humid, a problem FNTC had tried to resolve by installing two high output air conditioners a few days earlier. In my class, however, eight of the 28 participants were fairly high-ranking bureaucrats who were born and raised in traditional Fijian villages. They refused the notion of closed windows and so the air conditioners roared away in futility against the clammy tropical air. When it rained, which was often, the roof leaked and rivulets of water actively flowed along the floor.

The redeeming feature of this classroom was the view through the main window, out over the blue Pacific Ocean to the prettiest white-sanded, palm fronded islet you have ever seen, about one-half mile off shore. When our seminar debates got rough, which they frequently did due to some underlying political issues, I could tune out for a moment and pretend I was over on that island.

After three fairly grueling days I was not unhappy to leave Lautoka in my smoke, so to speak, and head for a three-day respite in Nadi.
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