Bula! oh my god - we are in paradise! but ...
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2002
1
3
129
Trip End
Sep 22, 2003
Nadi,
Fiji
Saturday, September 28, 2002
23rd Sept - Went to the saddest place in the world at this time - Ground Zero. It had to be done, if only to commemorate those who were lost even though we didn't know them, and to visit the place where the world changed last year. It's just a building site with lots of people staring in to the wire fence but across the road is the cemetary where people put hats, te-shirts, poems, photos and candles etc. The sadness was partly the raw emotion - people standing around you crying or saying what they were doing or who they had lost. The saddest part though were the vendors making big bucks out of it - you can buy pictures, post cards, te-shirts, CD's and video's. All very mercenary so we quickly moved on to Central Park Zoo. We appeared to have arrived on the set of jewish film but later discovered that the people wearing bear skin hats and silk dressing gowns with curley sideburns were celebrating Sakkot (some sort of Orthodox Jewish holiday). The kids were appalling, banging on the glass and screeching at the animals (polar bears??!!, arctic foxes??!!, snow monkeys??!! and penguins??!! (all in 90 degree heat).
24th Sept - Phil's choice - the New York Fire Department museum. Pretty much the same as Ground Zero really as it has become a shrine to the lost firefighters rather than a fire museum but still quite interesting. However, we appeared to have been stalked by the Jewish kids who rammed us out of the way to climb on the newly erected memorial and scream at the father to forward to video to "the bestest parts!" As you can imagine, we left quickly before we committed capital murder. We returned to Central Park to watch the school kids playing football (our sort) and learning how to roller blade.
25th Sept - The best day yet! As it was our anniversay, we went to Times Square to book our Broadway show tickets. We came across the Visitors centre and made a video which hopefully you all received (if not, let us know). We also had our photos taken to appear on the massive billboard in an advert for HSBC (Lisa - you'd be so proud!). Then we ran outside to watch which was hysterical! Phil was a matador looking very suave in his comic strip and I was a proud house owner (how topical!) Later we went to Toys R Us and I went in the Barbie house (two storeys high!) and watched a cabbage patch kid being born. We had a great Texan meal and then watched 42nd Street which was ace. Lots of tap dancing, spangly costumes and powerful singing.
****** CELEBRITY WATCH ******* Phil was very excited at this show because the lead male was no other than Luke Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard (no idea who he was talking about myself) but he was dissappointed that Daisy didn't make an appearance.
26th Sept - Weird travel day - Left the hostel being wished a safe journey by our new friend Jacob Johnson (black American). He introduced himself on the first day by commenting on our same surnames and assured us that he got his name as our family had probably owned him some time ago. Jacob was the only friendly person in New York other than my sandwhich artist who laughed at the size of my sub (sarnie) and was shocked when Phil ordered seperately!
Airport security at JFK and LA was amazing. We had to keep taking our shoes off and being frisked with a light saber as we kept setting the machines off. Each time we went through they would shout "female alarm!" at me. They even checked my bag for explosives with a special swab thing as they suspected something. They even asked where I had bought my Tigger notebook but they didn't find my lipsalve or sleeping tablets (ha!)
******* CELEBRITY WATCH ********* The security guard frisking Phil was the cousin of the man who played Eastenders Mr Carpenter.
27th Sept - didn't have one as passed across the international date line. Don't ask!
28th Sept - today. Arrived in Nadi at 5.10. In little hut in the forest by 0630. Breakfast of tropical fruit for me and bacon and egg sandwich for Phil by 0730. Pool side by 0830 and sunburned by 0930 - not that it's sunny here or anything. Considering we forked out over 700 pounds for the week in New York with 50 pounds per day just on our bunk beds, we were extremely pleased to be only paying 15 pounds per night for our cosy hideaway called a bure with a double bed (weyhey) and our own shower and verranda. Hopefully we should make up for some of our overspend here as it is too hot to do anything much. We did wander down to the beach, accompanied by the hotel dog and an alsation who also joined us. The resort also has three cats who seem to like us too. We now need to decide which island to go to next or how to get up the mountains - decisions, decisions!
Well it's past our lunch time now so we need to go in search of cheap food.
Take care all!
Pip and Red
xx
