Floods Follow Me

July, 2005: Christie arrives in Mumbai, India to work for 5 months. Within one week, the city is under siege by a massive flood, killing people and livestock, ruining homes, and generally disrupting life in one of the busier cities in the world. Christie spends a night at the office, and then walks the better part of the way back to the hotel with coworkers and thousands of other Indians through the flooded streets of Mumbai.

November, 2008: Christie is in Costa Rica. Plans to go to the Caribbean side are thwarted by floods which have wiped out a bridge and caused thousands to evacuate. Instead, she stays on the Pacific side for an extra week, where it does rain more than normal, but floods are averted. Disappointing, but not disastrous.

January, 2009: Christie plans a stopover to Fiji for one week on the way to New Zealand, not realising that even though it is the high season in NZ and Australia (their summer) it is actually Fiji's wet season. The country is flooded and tours have been disrupted over the previous weekend.

So here I am, chilling out in a hostel on the main island, as planned (which is on the beach, by the way) and it is pissing down rain outside. I don't really mind though. It's warm (over 80 degrees), I have loads of books to get through, and even if the weather continues, I am looking forward to seeing some of the smaller islands to do more of the same (i.e. nothing) there.

The downside of my current hostel is that I am sleeping in the largest dorm I have ever actually stayed at through all my travels. I will count the beds later, but I am guessing 32 beds across 16 bunks? There are pretty good dividers between the "cubicles" of 4 beds, but oh well. Cheap and cheerful!

Prior to arrival, I was thinking that if this place turned out alright, I would cancel where I am staying on my last night in Fiji, the Sheraton Denaru Villas, and save some money by staying here again. But I think I will stick with my original plan and treat myself to one night in a resort before heading to New Zealand.

This side trip to Fiji is truly expectation-free, so I am just going with the flow. I just want some alone time to read, think and write, and if it happens to be in (wet) paradise, then so be it! I am still planning to leave on my tour tomorrow to spend two nights at each of 3 Yasawa islands. I will not be surprised if we have to skip an island, stay longer at one than another, or even delay our return to the mainland. Internet won't be available on the islands, so if you don't hear from me by January 21 (when I am supposed to fly to New Zealand), don't worry. I am probably just drenched sitting under a palm tree somewhere, waiting out the storm.

Incidentally, my UK mobile does work here, but again, not sure about on the farther islands. Texts are a palatable cost, but calls are rather prohibitive unless it's an emergency. Here's to a week of seclusion, whether weather-induced or me just being introspective and perhaps a tad anti-social!