Jordan's pacific travel blog

Unexpteced vacation in Fiji - Home!

On September 9th, I left New Zealand.

When I was leaving the Auckland airport, a security man who checked my boarding pass said, "Headed to Paradise?", and I said;

"No, I'm leaving it."

Landed at the Fiji airport at about tea time and hopped off the plane. Humidity hit again as usual, I could feel it in my hands! This is what the Kiwis and Aussies call "paradise".

"Your flight has been cancelled."What?!? It was true. I attempted to transfer within the terminal, but the Fijian staff told me to check out through security, and talk to the check in desk. So I had to enter Fiji territory and get in line. It was a long wait, full of other passengers who wanted to leave too. (Some 200 people ahead of me) I think I waited at least four hours. Part of that was sitting on the baggage.

Finally after most of the people deserted, at about midnight I was finally at the front of the line. I've long missed my Air Canada flights to Canada. But the Fijian staff (Air Pacific) were somewhat helpful, (if hugely understaffed) and they photocopied my Air Canada itinerary before sending me off in a taxi. They gave me a voucher that was supposed to cover room, food, and drinks. I went to a 5 star resort called "Sofitel" on a private island called "Denerau". So excited was I, that I wandered around the resort looking at the colourful pools and the moonlit beach. The beach must have faced away from the ocean, because there were no waves at all.

I ordered breakfast ($40) before bed. This was my room.

So breakfast came at 9:00 AM sharp, like I ordered it. Eddie, a courteous Fijian, asked if I was ever coming back to Fiji, and I said "not likely". He looked a little sad. The plate of fresh Papaya was delicious.

This was the view from my balcony. Fiji is actually a third world country (I believe), and off the island were many poor people. I'm sure many of the Fijians working at the resort were forced to work in order to survive.

Checkout was at 10AM and they needed the room. So I put my bags in storage for the day. The front desk told me that Air Pacific had made no provision for lunch. I had AP's number, but I figured I'd call them later at lunch time when I was hungry. So I spent all morning walking. Outside the pampered, watered, gardened resort, the land was a bit dry.

At about 1'o'clock, I checked with the front desk again, and now lunch was paid for. Down at the "Salt Resteraunt" I ordered a Tandoori Kebab. Later they made me pay for the soda however.

I enquired at the front desk to find out that my room usually costs $650 FJD a night! At 5 PM-ish many of us stuck travellers were put on a bus and sent to the airport. Another huge line. I was informed later that Air Pacific overbooked this flight by 200 seats. Ouch! They will be feeling the repercussions for a while.

Before my flight, an Air Pacific manager gave me an Alaskan Air itinerary to replace my flight to Vancouver.
I asked "What about to Edmonton?" He took a while and got busy, but after half an hour, he got back to me and said that he couldn't book it from Fiji. So I needed to get to their office in LAX. I got on the flight, 25 hours later then originally scheduled, and took off. Every single seat was taken.

In Los Angeles, I had less then 2 hours to catch my Alaskan Air flight. It was tight and I was running. But the check-in for Alaskan Air told me my itinerary wasn't valid; I needed a real ticket! So by this time it was getting too late to catch the flight. So I headed to Air Pacific's check in, and talked to them. They directed me to Air Canada, where my original flights were scheduled. Guess what? My AC tickets were still vallid after 24 hours. So I caught my flights to Vancouver and to Edmonton no problem, just 24 hours late. Here's a funny advertisement I saw in Vancouver.

That concludes 8 months of my life in New Zealand. But the travels are not over yet.

September 9 - 11th

Labels: Pacific Travel

posted by Jordan Olson @ 4:40 PM