Tuesday, January 6 through Thursday 8 – transit from Madison to Fiji

Hello everyone! Welcome back. I can’t believe a year has gone by already! Thank you for your continued interest in my travel journal.

This winter I’m starting out in the South Pacific. I’ll stay in this region for a few weeks, then head to Singapore to celebrate the Chinese New Year in mid-February. From there, the only booking I have so far is my return to the States in early May from Tokyo. I’ll likely go from Singapore to Thailand and Laos; eventually making my way to Japan. Watch this space…

So, as you can tell from this entry’s heading, my journey to Fiji took a while! I started by taking the bus from Madison to O’Hare on Tuesday morning (thanks for the drop off Chuck!). From there I had a 5pm flight to Dallas. My itinerary culminated in a flight from Dallas to Nadi, Fiji. That last leg departed at 10pm on Tuesday, January 6th, and arrived at 5:30am on Thursday, January 8th. Wait! What happened to Wednesday?? Well, the flight took 13 1/2 hours (ugh!), and we crossed the International Date Line on the way. (Nadi is 18 hours ahead of Madison)

I booked my itinerary using American Airlines miles – only 40k one-way (+$5.60!). The flight from Dallas to Nadi was on Fiji Airways. I did buck my usual cheapness self though and splurged on paying for a bulkhead seat on the 13+ hour marathon ($280). Well worth it. I actually slept a fair amount. We flew on a wide body A350, and it was full (although, I was in the window seat, and the middle was empty. Bonus!). Fiji Airways is nothing special. Our dinner meal was a slice of pizza and a cookie! Breakfast was a little more substantial though: we had a choice of three different mains. I chose the scrambled eggs with yogurt, fruit and a muffin. And the movie options were dismal (and edited), with no TV shows offered. Oh well, like I said, I slept a lot.

The trip was not without a glitch, but I saw it coming. For those of you who have followed along over the years, you may recall my hiccup when attempting to fly to Panama in 2023. Basically, I only had a one way ticket, and the airline needed proof that I was going to leave the country at some point before they let me travel.

Fast forward, and I have a one way ticket to Fiji. Mmmmm. I wasn’t able to check-in online for the flight (error message: travel documents need to be checked at the airport), so I knew what was coming. Fortunately I have all of my flights booked up through Singapore. I actually had a fun encounter with the ticket agent in Chicago. She asked me about all the places I was visiting and for how long. And she gave me further props when she saw the (rather small) size of my checked bag. Thank you!

Okay, so I arrive in Nadi at 5:30am, but check-in time at my hotel isn’t until 2pm (too cheap to just pay for the previous night!). Now what? (I did contact the hotel in advance, and they said I may be able to check-in early, based on room availability. Otherwise, I could hang out in their lounge, or take a swim in the pool)

I ended up staying at the airport for a while; taking advantage of their free WiFi to catch up on emails and the news.

As I researched the trip, I read about the Nadi bus system, and determined it would be an interesting way to get from the airport to my hotel (plus, there’s that cheap thing…). It turned out to be pretty simple: bus stop by the airport, took about 15 minutes, and cost around 60 cents. Nice! (plus, most of you are probably familiar with my disdain for taxi drivers the world over)

I arrived at the hotel around 9am, and they actually had a room available. With no charge for the early check-in. Very nice! Thank you!

Hibiscus Suites and Residences

After checking in I took advantage of the pool. It felt great after my long journey!

I saved this from my flight. Of course we would be given Fiji Water by Fiji Airways on the flight to Fiji!

Pretty banknotes! 1 USD = 2.24 FJD

I’m staying here for a couple nights. On Saturday I’ll travel to one of the nearby islands. The accommodation I’ve booked there is rather rustic, so I’m not sure how strong the internet connection will be (the same could be said for most of my South Pacific stay). Therefore, you may not see an update for a few days (unless I do a quick one tomorrow night).

After my swim earlier today I took a walk and picked up some groceries and then came back to the hotel for a nap. That might have been a mistake. I ended up sleeping for 5 hours! It’s about 10:30pm as I write this, and I may be up for a while!