Arriving in Sydney, Australia

My flight from Fiji to Sydney was an early morning flight which meant that I had to wake up around 6am, so I set my alarm but the rest of the house must have been unable to sleep as everyone was up and awake before I was and thus at breakfast I was able to say goodbye to Aussie G' and my hosts D' and P'. The two Kiwi's had not returned yet, and neither had the Spaniard, so it was a quieter farewell than I imagined and also L' at the airport had already booked me a taxi so getting to the airport was no hardship.

The taxi driver was an Indian, which was probably why he charged me FD $10 to get to the airport instead of 5, and also he was doubly cheaky in that he stopped to let in another passenger who was going to the airport and charged them as well despite already being booked for the whole journey. It is this kind of overcharging and money grabbing attitute that the Fijians hate as much as the tourists do, and why there is a strong and growing animosity between the native Fijians and the Indian migrants who are coming over, buying up the land, taking the jobs and the shops and raising prices.

At the moment it is just a dislike at the moment, and with the flooding and everything else there is a lot to keep the locals busy and occupied with, but I wonder how long it will be before the peaceful and friendly Fijians have enough and decide to do something about it. A long time I would not doubt as it does not seem in their nature to be angry.

The other thing I must mention before I forget is that Fijians are all Rugby fanatics, playing the sport as much as possible during their offtime and watching every game like it was their last.

The airport at Fiji was almost enough to turn me against the entire place as it was crowded, semi flooded, expensive and very disorganised at times, with only a single announcement that the gate had been changed before boarding commenced. However when I say it commenced, what I should say is that after a lengthy delay the ten airport staff and flight attendents barely managed to get things moving and there seemed no logic or reason for their having several different lines or queues and letting a few from one go before a few from the other, it was quiet mayhem.

I ended up on a flight and switching places with an Australian who for some reason has been seperated from the rest of his family in the seating arrangements despite the flight being only two thirds full, which also angered me as for days people were crying to get out of the country and yet here was a non-full flight taking off!

I don't understand why on a 5 hour flight they chose to wait almost an hour before sticking on the first showing of a movie, why they insist that you have the window blinds up during take off or landing or why they stop the entertainment system almost an hour before touchdown but basically it meant that you couldn't get much sleep or enjoy watching more than one movie as you just get into it when they switch it off minutes before its ending and then leave you bored for another hour.

The airline food was not half bad, but the orange juice drink that came with it was the worst I had ever tasted and I was glad to have a second of normal juice after to wash my mouth out with.

Landing in Sydney was nice enough, not bumpy or anything but after the cloudy but humid medium heat of Fiji I was not expecting the 40 degree no shade heat that I was to experience upon arriving in Australia. Wow, when I say it was hot I mean that I was cooking even in the shade.

After a bit of confusion I managed to find the free shuttle service to my hostel and shared most of the journey with a group of early twenty something brits who had also come over from Fiji and seemed intent of making a loud running commentary of the entire bus ride in, including a few silly / ignorant comments like "there sure are loads of chinese here" - when we were passing through Sydneys China Town!

The hostel seemed nice enough form the outside, except they charged for a key deposit, internet wifi use and their vending machines were AUD $2.40 for a can of coke or a mars bar ... which at almost 2 to 1 is over £1 for a drink or bar or chocolate and certainly not my idea of keeping things cheap and affordable for backpacker tourists. However outside of Chinatown I quickly learned that indeed this is the way in Sydney, everything seems a little overpriced with no good reason.

Unluckily for me the hot and sunny weather that I arrived in did not last as long as it could have and it was cloudy and light showers by early evening, despite it though it was not falling heavy enough to stop me from enjoying a pleasant stroll around my hostel to get my bearing and make a plan for the next day.

A dorm of 8 bunkbeds and lockers requiring a key from reception, and another deposit, slightly dampened my mood at bedtime but other than that it was with optimism that I started my Australian adventure.