Fiji, and off to the WA

(this was written on Aug 30th, but I only got time to post it now)

So I have moved to Perth. I got back from Fiji on Sunday, moved to Perth on Tuesday, went to work on Wednesday. It was a bit rushed for what I really would of liked, but I'm here now so no point in dwelling. What has Perth been like? well it has rained everyday since I arrived, and today was the first day that it did not rain. I hear great things about it, but have yet to experience it. I miss Brisbane.

I moved into a new apartment as well, took me just under a week to get a place. I could not wait to get out of the hotel, after living in my own place for a while you gotta feel like you live in a home.


My first apartment in Perth. (I've since moved, stay tuned for more)



I talked to my mom for the first time in a while tonight, I was telling her that every Saturday I used to get out of the house by 7:30 so I could get to the farmers market. She said I have become a "see lai". And I guess it's true, I mean I try to find the best deals, save money where I can, and all I do is things for the home. But I actually quite enjoy it, going to the markets in the morning. I wish Toronto had more of these.


The Subi Markets. Where I do my shopping on weekends. This is right across from my apartment.

I had a friend stay with me for two days after I got back from Fiji. I met her in Fiji and since she was headed to Brisbane, I offered my second room to her. Anyways, she mentioned something that made a lot of sense. It's that when you travel for a long time, if you make a stop at someones house for a day or two, clean all your clothes, and just take some rest, when you get back to the travelling it's like starting all over again. Makes so much sense, I seriously think it has to do with the clean clothes. But this is something that every long traveller should think about, when you relax at home watching tv and have clean clothes, it's like you are at home. So if you can do this whilst travelling, it'll be like starting all over. Good Tip.


Fiji, this was at our first accomodation stay. Mango Bay Resort. they call it resort, but it's all dorm style.

Going to Fiji really gave me a lot of energy and it was such a great experience. I did this tour called FeeJee Experience. It's a hop on hop off tour bus that has a circuit around the main island. It takes a minimum of four days to travel around, and you can stop at any of it's stops for more days, you just take the next bus in a few days. The great thing about this tour is it takes you to places you may not be able to get it. They took us to Fijian villages to have a real Kava (Fijian drink) ceremony. They took us on rainforest hikes, mud pools, river tubing and sand boarding. There is no way I could of arranged all of this, just made things so much easier. And I travelled around with a group of about 10 people for the whole time, we really built a good friendship and get to know one another. I did some things that I never thought I'd do, and even though I was not a strong swimmer I still did heaps of snorkelling. Yes, I did a lot of shallow snorkelling, but I also went out deep water snorkelling, and was truly amazing. I saw so many fish and coral, I wish I had a camera. And one thing i realized, I think having fins help so much. I don't get tired nearly as fast.


Our 8k walk crew.


Kava Ceremony. Kava is traditional Fijian drink. That on the left is the village chief.


Hot Mud Pools!


Beachcomber island. Nice way to end it all.

Another thing I found was I get bored when not doing anything. I stayed at this beach hostel for three days, and the majority of the time was lying by the beach. I was so bored, I did not have a book so you can only sit in the sun for so long. And so I said to some of the fellow travellers, "I can't believe we're gonna sit by the beach for three days". And they took this as if I didn't want to be there, and that I couldn't wait to leave. And while I did feel bored and needed to do something, I was happy where I was too. But really, there is no difference with me saying that and them always asking me "what time is it?" Why is there a need to know what time it is? Unless you are in a rush to get somewhere or do something, you don't need to know. when you are hungry, you eat. When you want to get out of the sun, you go swimming. If you are tired, you go sleep. Why keep track of time?


Volivoli Beach. Spent 3 days here just soaking in the sun.

One thing I really enjoyed about this tour was that we saw a lot of what Fiji really is. Many people who come to Fiji stay at some nice resort and that is their only perspective of Fiji. That is as far from what Fiji is as you can get. I would hate to only have that perspective. I wish we stayed over night in a Fijian village, even if it's sleeping on floor mats, going to outhouses. It gives me the experience I want. There is a lot of poverty in Fiji as well, but they get by and are happy. I have not seen a culture so happy to see people. As our bus drives by, everyone that sees it waves. That is just great, they welcome you with open arms. Such great people. There is no way you'd see the same thing in Canada or America.


What the fijian villages really look like, not the best of conditions.

Totally off topic, but just came to mind. Whilst I was in Brisbane, many of my coworkers called me JC. Then one day the PM was talking to a coworker and I, and she goes: "I take offense to people using the term JC because it offends my religious belieds." My coworker and I were a little taken by surprise, we did not know what to say. My coworker, he calls me JC and I respond. Then later she came back over and said she was joking. Both my coworker and I found it a little odd, and we weren't really sure if she was really joking or not. But anyways, I thought about it afterwards and I don't find any offense to it, even as a believer of Jesus Christ. Yes the term "JC" has been used as a reference to Jesus Christ, but it's more of a common term that someone made up. It's not something that is in the Bible or anything, so you really can't take it with any seriousness I don't think. In fact if someone were offended, they should probably be more offended when people use the name "JC" to reference Jesus Christ.