South Pacific, Israel, Lebanon - 6 Weeks - 71,500 miles - 24 countries
Nov 9, 2014, 9:00 pm
#92
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: trash airline program here
Posts: 83
Nov 10, 2014, 1:25 am
#93
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Join Date: Mar 2003
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That's easy. I look forward to going back to places I wish I'd had more time to explore in depth. I'll admit: at this point, I do feel a bit like I'm ticking the boxes as opposed to really exploring places as much as I'd like. For example, I can't wait to go back to PNG and the Solomons diving for maybe 2-3 weeks.
Nov 10, 2014, 4:44 am
#94
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XIV. Nauru to Tarawa, Kiribati (via Majuro, Marshall Islands) on Air Nauru
Hotel van, once again with the side door completely open (I found out the night before this was for "air conditioning reasons" and not because it was actually broken) dropped me at the airport, and there was nobody in sight. I prayed the flight was still operating. Got to the check-in counter, and there was nobody in site. This wasn't a good sign:
No need to worry, however, the flight was on-time, and was en route from Brisbane already. I was, however, the first person to check in 90 minutes before the flight time. The agent confirmed that only six passengers were getting on in Nauru. Um, how is this profitable?
After getting my boarding pass and checking my bags (exit row again, score!) it was upstairs to immigration. Note how dead the airport looks:
Got to immigration, and there was only one small problem, as you can see in this picture:
That's right, the immigration person hadn't showed up to work yet! Less than 90 minutes before flight time. Security was there, but they wouldn't; let me through until I cleared immigration. They suggested I have a seat at the immigration officer's desk while I wait. Hahah!
Immigration showed up about 1:15 before the flight, and clearing immigration and security took all of about two minutes. Then, it was to the incredibly crowded holding room:
Looks like Nauru is buying into the concept of global warming...I mean climate change
There was a business class lounge, but it was locked. If it was locked before one of their rare 737 flights, makes you wonder when exactly it does open:
Soon, da plane come, and the passengers from Brisbane disembarked:
About 10 minutes later, some of them started to enter the departures lounge. Seems the route to Majuro and/or Kiribati was popular, and Nauru is a transit point for a few people. I guess there's really no easier way to get to either place from Brisbane! There were several Japanese on the plane, and they were clearly getting agitated, looking for a smoke. They decided the holding room door was unlocked, so they'd just go outside onto the staircase down to the plane and smoke.
Uh, no, you can't just let yourself out onto the tarmac people. They were smacked down by what little security there was, and made to go inside.
Nauru Airlines aka Our Airline Flight 7
Nauru (INU) to Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Depart 8:35, Arrive 10:05, Flight Time 1:30
Boeing 737-300, Registration VH-PNI, Manufactured 1997, Seat 11D
Flight was less than half full, and I had the entire exit row to myself again. View upon takeoff:
Once airborne, a "continental breakfast" was served. I think I ate the chocolate thing, but the sandwich was warm and had mayo on it. No thanks, not gonna trust that on a flight:
Landed in Majuro a few minutes ahead of schedule, and saw a wingleted 727. I didn't know there were any 727s still flying, much less with winglets!
It was pooring rain in Majuro, and about 20 people got off the flight. Another 20 or so got on to replace them, so we would continue on to Tarawa with about a half full plane. One disappointing thing about the Marshall Islands is there was no data roaming it appeared. So, I had to kill the time people watching.
Soon, we were airborne again, and on our way to Kiribati:
Nauru Airlines aka Our Airline Flight 7
Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ) to Tarawa, Kiribati (TRW)
Depart 11:05, Arrive 12:20, Flight Time 1:15
Boeing 737-300, Registration VH-PNI, Manufactured 1997, Seat 11D
Another snack was offered once we were up in the air:
Yeah, um, no thanks...that looks a little too scary for my taste:
Rather empty flight. Took this shot so you could see the "business class" seats a few rows up.
On approach to Tarawa:
Tarawa is basically one long atoll, no more than 500 meters wide at its widest point, and several dozen kilometers long:
Landed right on time, to a very warm Kiribati. The super large airport terminal:
Immigration was friendly, and even had traditional woven signs welcoming us:
On the immigration form, there was the standard "have you visited Africa/South America/Caribbean in the last 7 days" health question, but with a twist. This one also included "The United States." I was honest and ticked the box, and when asked where in the United States I'd been, I said Washington, DC. That raised Ebola red flags with them, until I convinced them they had their news wrong and Ebola was only in Texas and Georgia so far, hah! They decided to believe me, and let me escape quarantine. Then, it was time for immigration.
They seemed rather disappointed I wasn't staying longer, but were happy to welcome me to the country. My driver was waiting from the hotel right outside immigration, however, my bags were nowhere to be found. After convincing the baggage people to have another look, they went back to the plane...and look what they found in the baggage hold...my bags! I don't know how only my bags ended up still on the plane, but at least they found them. Kiribati has so few flights I have no idea what I would have done if my bags didn't show up!
Into the hotel van, and off to Mary's Motel and to explore Kiribati!
No need to worry, however, the flight was on-time, and was en route from Brisbane already. I was, however, the first person to check in 90 minutes before the flight time. The agent confirmed that only six passengers were getting on in Nauru. Um, how is this profitable?
After getting my boarding pass and checking my bags (exit row again, score!) it was upstairs to immigration. Note how dead the airport looks:
Got to immigration, and there was only one small problem, as you can see in this picture:
That's right, the immigration person hadn't showed up to work yet! Less than 90 minutes before flight time. Security was there, but they wouldn't; let me through until I cleared immigration. They suggested I have a seat at the immigration officer's desk while I wait. Hahah!
Immigration showed up about 1:15 before the flight, and clearing immigration and security took all of about two minutes. Then, it was to the incredibly crowded holding room:
Looks like Nauru is buying into the concept of global warming...I mean climate change
There was a business class lounge, but it was locked. If it was locked before one of their rare 737 flights, makes you wonder when exactly it does open:
Soon, da plane come, and the passengers from Brisbane disembarked:
About 10 minutes later, some of them started to enter the departures lounge. Seems the route to Majuro and/or Kiribati was popular, and Nauru is a transit point for a few people. I guess there's really no easier way to get to either place from Brisbane! There were several Japanese on the plane, and they were clearly getting agitated, looking for a smoke. They decided the holding room door was unlocked, so they'd just go outside onto the staircase down to the plane and smoke.
Uh, no, you can't just let yourself out onto the tarmac people. They were smacked down by what little security there was, and made to go inside.
Nauru Airlines aka Our Airline Flight 7
Nauru (INU) to Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Depart 8:35, Arrive 10:05, Flight Time 1:30
Boeing 737-300, Registration VH-PNI, Manufactured 1997, Seat 11D
Flight was less than half full, and I had the entire exit row to myself again. View upon takeoff:
Once airborne, a "continental breakfast" was served. I think I ate the chocolate thing, but the sandwich was warm and had mayo on it. No thanks, not gonna trust that on a flight:
Landed in Majuro a few minutes ahead of schedule, and saw a wingleted 727. I didn't know there were any 727s still flying, much less with winglets!
It was pooring rain in Majuro, and about 20 people got off the flight. Another 20 or so got on to replace them, so we would continue on to Tarawa with about a half full plane. One disappointing thing about the Marshall Islands is there was no data roaming it appeared. So, I had to kill the time people watching.
Soon, we were airborne again, and on our way to Kiribati:
Nauru Airlines aka Our Airline Flight 7
Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ) to Tarawa, Kiribati (TRW)
Depart 11:05, Arrive 12:20, Flight Time 1:15
Boeing 737-300, Registration VH-PNI, Manufactured 1997, Seat 11D
Another snack was offered once we were up in the air:
Yeah, um, no thanks...that looks a little too scary for my taste:
Rather empty flight. Took this shot so you could see the "business class" seats a few rows up.
On approach to Tarawa:
Tarawa is basically one long atoll, no more than 500 meters wide at its widest point, and several dozen kilometers long:
Landed right on time, to a very warm Kiribati. The super large airport terminal:
Immigration was friendly, and even had traditional woven signs welcoming us:
On the immigration form, there was the standard "have you visited Africa/South America/Caribbean in the last 7 days" health question, but with a twist. This one also included "The United States." I was honest and ticked the box, and when asked where in the United States I'd been, I said Washington, DC. That raised Ebola red flags with them, until I convinced them they had their news wrong and Ebola was only in Texas and Georgia so far, hah! They decided to believe me, and let me escape quarantine. Then, it was time for immigration.
They seemed rather disappointed I wasn't staying longer, but were happy to welcome me to the country. My driver was waiting from the hotel right outside immigration, however, my bags were nowhere to be found. After convincing the baggage people to have another look, they went back to the plane...and look what they found in the baggage hold...my bags! I don't know how only my bags ended up still on the plane, but at least they found them. Kiribati has so few flights I have no idea what I would have done if my bags didn't show up!
Into the hotel van, and off to Mary's Motel and to explore Kiribati!
Nov 12, 2014, 3:23 pm
#96
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XV. Overnight on Tarawa, Kiribati
My driver from Mary's Motel showed up, and the car had ice cold air conditioning, which was nice giving the blazing mid-day sun in Kiribati. There is basically one road on Tarawa Atoll, and it runs the length of the atoll. .It's dozens of miles long, but the Atoll is maybe 500 meters wide at its widest point:
Kiribati is also, according to some sources I read online before the trip, the least visited country in the world. I wasn't expecting anything to see/do, more just to walk around and take in how life goes on here.
My hotel was in Bairiki which is the country's administrative centre, and you can see it's a bit of a drive from the airport. It took almost an hour, and during the drive I got a lot of insight into the country from my driver. One cool fact is that the road is under construction (it was badly potholed, etc) and that should significantly improve travel options on the atoll. Was also cool to see several large signs from my employer as one of the key financiers of the new road. Hopefully it helps things!
At Mary's, I played the usual (by now) South Pacific game of musical rooms until I found one that had reasonably functional air conditioning. Finally settled on this room:
Pretty swanky, no? It was clean, cool, and reasonably comfortable, and came with a few bonus creepy crawlies here and there, and a few lizards that I occasionally saw crawling on the walls. The towel origami made up for it though:
View from the room into the parking lot:
The "beach" just outside the motel:
Here you can see the one road, and just how narrow the atoll is in many places:
Nicer beach on the other side:
The hotel driver offered to take me on a bit of a drive down around the Atoll, and we drove around for about 90 minutes before heading back. Unfortunately my phone was dead at this point, so didn't manage to get any pictures. It was interesting to see how even in the most populous part of Kiribati life was still so rural and quiet. Many of the locals had pigs tied up in their yard, and the pigs were eating/drinking out of what appeared to be old coconut shells. There just wasn't much going on, but that appears to be the pace of life in Kiribati.
After resting, I decided to go for a bit of a walk. I walked about an hour down the atoll towards the airport just seeing sites until I got way too hot. The "aministrative centre" of the entire country. Not a very busy place:
Air Kiribati advertisement. They're currently out of business (I believe) and most of these routes are now being operated by Fiji Airways (God help them - oops - foreshadowing) or Our Airline aka Nauru Airlines:
Sunset just outside Mary's. Love the vivid orange and red colours:
I was feeling artsy, and asked this boy if I could take his picture. I love how it turned out:
I think Tarawa will likely win on this trip for most amazing sunsets:
After sunset, it was time to eat. I asked a few people staying in the motel (all aid workers) and they said the hotel was really the best choice. So Mary's Motel restaurant it was! I passed on the "Deep Fried Fish with Mayonaise."
Fresh sashimi appetizer was AMAZING:
The "fish in chille sauce" was interesting...complete with frozen peas and carrots:
It had been a long travel day, and ended up passing out early. Woke up and had a quick coffee at Mary's restaurant before checking out. A pic of the restaurant:
Kiribati is also, according to some sources I read online before the trip, the least visited country in the world. I wasn't expecting anything to see/do, more just to walk around and take in how life goes on here.
My hotel was in Bairiki which is the country's administrative centre, and you can see it's a bit of a drive from the airport. It took almost an hour, and during the drive I got a lot of insight into the country from my driver. One cool fact is that the road is under construction (it was badly potholed, etc) and that should significantly improve travel options on the atoll. Was also cool to see several large signs from my employer as one of the key financiers of the new road. Hopefully it helps things!
At Mary's, I played the usual (by now) South Pacific game of musical rooms until I found one that had reasonably functional air conditioning. Finally settled on this room:
Pretty swanky, no?
It was clean, cool, and reasonably comfortable, and came with a few bonus creepy crawlies here and there, and a few lizards that I occasionally saw crawling on the walls. The towel origami made up for it though:View from the room into the parking lot:
The "beach" just outside the motel:
Here you can see the one road, and just how narrow the atoll is in many places:
Nicer beach on the other side:
The hotel driver offered to take me on a bit of a drive down around the Atoll, and we drove around for about 90 minutes before heading back. Unfortunately my phone was dead at this point, so didn't manage to get any pictures. It was interesting to see how even in the most populous part of Kiribati life was still so rural and quiet. Many of the locals had pigs tied up in their yard, and the pigs were eating/drinking out of what appeared to be old coconut shells. There just wasn't much going on, but that appears to be the pace of life in Kiribati.
After resting, I decided to go for a bit of a walk. I walked about an hour down the atoll towards the airport just seeing sites until I got way too hot. The "aministrative centre" of the entire country. Not a very busy place:
Air Kiribati advertisement. They're currently out of business (I believe) and most of these routes are now being operated by Fiji Airways (God help them - oops - foreshadowing) or Our Airline aka Nauru Airlines:
Sunset just outside Mary's. Love the vivid orange and red colours:
I was feeling artsy, and asked this boy if I could take his picture. I love how it turned out:
I think Tarawa will likely win on this trip for most amazing sunsets:
After sunset, it was time to eat. I asked a few people staying in the motel (all aid workers) and they said the hotel was really the best choice. So Mary's Motel restaurant it was! I passed on the "Deep Fried Fish with Mayonaise."
Fresh sashimi appetizer was AMAZING:
The "fish in chille sauce" was interesting...complete with frozen peas and carrots:
It had been a long travel day, and ended up passing out early. Woke up and had a quick coffee at Mary's restaurant before checking out. A pic of the restaurant:
Nov 12, 2014, 10:38 pm
#97
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Dubai
Posts: 3,301
Awesome sunsets! Love the 'nicer beach' shot too
.
Must be an interesting place to visit, so isolated literally in the middle in the Pacific with only a couple of meters elevation. I was reading too that the distance between the furtherest Kiribati Islands is about as wide as the continental USA!
.Must be an interesting place to visit, so isolated literally in the middle in the Pacific with only a couple of meters elevation. I was reading too that the distance between the furtherest Kiribati Islands is about as wide as the continental USA!
Nov 13, 2014, 12:28 am
#98
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Awesome sunsets! Love the 'nicer beach' shot too.
Must be an interesting place to visit, so isolated literally in the middle in the Pacific with only a couple of meters elevation. I was reading too that the distance between the furtherest Kiribati Islands is about as wide as the continental USA!
.Must be an interesting place to visit, so isolated literally in the middle in the Pacific with only a couple of meters elevation. I was reading too that the distance between the furtherest Kiribati Islands is about as wide as the continental USA!
Nov 13, 2014, 2:00 am
#99
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Dubai
Posts: 3,301
yep... Christmas Island (Kiritimati) is 2000 miles from Tarawa. It's just as flat as Tarawa but a much bigger island. You can't even fly between the two directly either, you must go through Fiji. And the Christmas Island flight only runs once a week on the way to/from Honolulu.
Nov 13, 2014, 2:27 pm
#100
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
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XVI. Tarawa to Nadi, Fiji on Air Fiji, overnight in Nadi
Mary's driver drove me back to the airport after breakfast, again at no charge. Considering the drive was nearly an hour each way, and the room was only like $85, Mary's is a fantastic value as a place to stay! I decided to leave for the airport three hours before the flight, based on the idea that the airport was tiny, however, Fiji Airways had a reputation. People had warned me before the trip that "the plane go when the plane go" or sometimes not at all. With only two flights a week to Kiribati, I wanted to make sure I was at the front of the queue in case anything went wrong.
Queue? Yes, this is the bustling Tarawa International Airport check-in desk:
See the large coolers? Almost every one of my fellow passengers had at least one, some of them four or five. I asked a local, and she said they were all filled with fresh fish that people were bringing to Fiji either to sell or to give to family and friends. I wonder what the overweight baggage fees on that are...
The novel aspect of check-in was...the computers were down. So they had absolutely no way to verify who was on the flight. If you didn't have something proving you were on that day's flight, you weren't going. Now, this was problematic, because there was absolutely no data roaming in Kiribati. My phone wouldn't work, so I had to pray I could do something that would appease them. Lesson learnt: carry hard copies. Fortunately, the one thing I had printed out was the details on TripIt of my flights. It had a date, flight number, and eticket number, so that was good enough for them. For all they knew I could have canceled it, but I guess it was good enough...considering this flight goes for minimum of $600 one-way, they were really taking some chances!
Waiting for the plane to arrive. Hopefully.
There were some cute signs/cards in the departures area made by local schoolchildren for World Teacher's Day. Is it teacher's or teachers? On another note, why were these posted in the airport? Mysteries that may never be solved....
Fortunately, the plane not only showed up, but showed up on time!
Waiting for the flight, I started chatting with the woman sitting next to me. Turned out she worked in International Development as well, and shared her insights into Kiribati with me. Was interesting hearing that Kiribati also has the highest rate of domestic violence in the world which only compounds all the other development challenges that the country faces.
Then, waiting to board the flight, I ended up chatting with three other gentlemen who it turns out work for my organization. It's a small world, and Kiribati seems to have a rather large number of development workers. I got the impression that just about every westerner on the flight worked in development.
Air Kiribati plane parked on the tarmac:
Boarding was about 10 minutes late, but all things considered from what I'd heard about Fiji Airways, I considered that to be "on time!"
Fiji Airways.Flight 230
Tarawa, Kiribati (TRW) to Nadi, Fiji (NAN)
Depart 11:00, Arrive 15:00, Flight Time 3:00
Boeing 737-800, Registration DQ-FJG Manufactured 1999, Seat 24C
Take off was right on time, and the seat next to me was even empty. Suddenly, Fiji Airways was looking better than I'd heard. Plus, they served a relatively tasty chicken curry onboard with free beer. You can't complain about that!
Arrived about minutes early in Nadi, where it was absolutely pouring rain:
BULA! Welcome to Fiji! After all the nightmares I'd heard, Fiji Airways turned out to be a surprisingly excellent experience. On time, friendly staff, comfortable plane, I was starting to think all those stories were exaggerated. Little did I know, someone was watching...and Fiji Airways was going to later prove to me that all those people were very, very right all along...
Immigration was a breeze, and it was true, look what I found in the duty free area...Fiji Water!
Taxi to the Sheraton Denarau was a reasonably cheap $25 (about $13 US) and took about 30-40 minutes due to heavy afternoon traffic. They'd upgraded me to a junior ocean suite, which had a really cool layout with the bed kind of in the centre of the room. I liked it! Oh, the fact there was a bottle of champagne waiting didn't hurt either!
Plus, the room had a great view of the beach:
Sunset:
For dinner, I decided to take the Bula Bus which goes around Denarau Island, stopping at all the resorts as well as the Denarau Harbour which has several restaurants.
After almost two weeks from home, I was craving a burger. Badly. And a margarita. So, I splurged! It was delicious. #DontJudge
Bula Bus back to the Sheraton, and crashed. I had to be up at 4am for the flight to Suva, and onward to Tuvalu!
Queue? Yes, this is the bustling Tarawa International Airport check-in desk:
See the large coolers? Almost every one of my fellow passengers had at least one, some of them four or five. I asked a local, and she said they were all filled with fresh fish that people were bringing to Fiji either to sell or to give to family and friends. I wonder what the overweight baggage fees on that are...
The novel aspect of check-in was...the computers were down. So they had absolutely no way to verify who was on the flight. If you didn't have something proving you were on that day's flight, you weren't going. Now, this was problematic, because there was absolutely no data roaming in Kiribati. My phone wouldn't work, so I had to pray I could do something that would appease them. Lesson learnt: carry hard copies. Fortunately, the one thing I had printed out was the details on TripIt of my flights. It had a date, flight number, and eticket number, so that was good enough for them. For all they knew I could have canceled it, but I guess it was good enough...considering this flight goes for minimum of $600 one-way, they were really taking some chances!
Waiting for the plane to arrive. Hopefully.
There were some cute signs/cards in the departures area made by local schoolchildren for World Teacher's Day. Is it teacher's or teachers? On another note, why were these posted in the airport? Mysteries that may never be solved....
Fortunately, the plane not only showed up, but showed up on time!
Waiting for the flight, I started chatting with the woman sitting next to me. Turned out she worked in International Development as well, and shared her insights into Kiribati with me. Was interesting hearing that Kiribati also has the highest rate of domestic violence in the world which only compounds all the other development challenges that the country faces.
Then, waiting to board the flight, I ended up chatting with three other gentlemen who it turns out work for my organization. It's a small world, and Kiribati seems to have a rather large number of development workers. I got the impression that just about every westerner on the flight worked in development.
Air Kiribati plane parked on the tarmac:
Boarding was about 10 minutes late, but all things considered from what I'd heard about Fiji Airways, I considered that to be "on time!"
Fiji Airways.Flight 230
Tarawa, Kiribati (TRW) to Nadi, Fiji (NAN)
Depart 11:00, Arrive 15:00, Flight Time 3:00
Boeing 737-800, Registration DQ-FJG Manufactured 1999, Seat 24C
Take off was right on time, and the seat next to me was even empty. Suddenly, Fiji Airways was looking better than I'd heard. Plus, they served a relatively tasty chicken curry onboard with free beer. You can't complain about that!
Arrived about minutes early in Nadi, where it was absolutely pouring rain:
BULA! Welcome to Fiji! After all the nightmares I'd heard, Fiji Airways turned out to be a surprisingly excellent experience. On time, friendly staff, comfortable plane, I was starting to think all those stories were exaggerated. Little did I know, someone was watching...and Fiji Airways was going to later prove to me that all those people were very, very right all along...
Immigration was a breeze, and it was true, look what I found in the duty free area...Fiji Water!
Taxi to the Sheraton Denarau was a reasonably cheap $25 (about $13 US) and took about 30-40 minutes due to heavy afternoon traffic. They'd upgraded me to a junior ocean suite, which had a really cool layout with the bed kind of in the centre of the room. I liked it! Oh, the fact there was a bottle of champagne waiting didn't hurt either!
Plus, the room had a great view of the beach:
Sunset:
For dinner, I decided to take the Bula Bus which goes around Denarau Island, stopping at all the resorts as well as the Denarau Harbour which has several restaurants.
After almost two weeks from home, I was craving a burger. Badly. And a margarita. So, I splurged! It was delicious. #DontJudge
Bula Bus back to the Sheraton, and crashed. I had to be up at 4am for the flight to Suva, and onward to Tuvalu!
Nov 13, 2014, 6:38 pm
#101
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XVII. Nadi to Funafuti, Tuvali on Air Fiji via Suva
A few weeks ago when I booked this ticket, there were two flights from Nadi to Suva that would connect to the Funafuti flight. One left at 6:30 and the other left at 7:30. The 7:30 gave only about one hour to connect in Suva, and not knowing how big that airport was I wasn't willing to risk it. Remember, I'd heard Fiji Airways was a nightmare, so I figured sacrificing an hour of sleep to the travel Gods in order to ensure my flight was drama free was a small price to pay.
The night before, when I was on the Bula Bus headed to dinner, my phone rang. "Unknown Caller" was calling me, so I sent it to voicemail. Whee, $3 down the drain. I checked the message shortly after, and guess who? Fiji Airways. Seems my flight had been retimed from 7:30 to 7:00. Um, my flight leaves at 6:30? .... I opted to get to the airport at 5:30 in time for the 6:30 just in case.
Got to check-in, and my flight, flight 3 was nowhere to be found on the departure monitors. However, flight 7, the 7:30 departure was there, but with a time of 7:00. Yes, turns out they'd canceled one of the flights and consolidated everyone onto one plane halfway in between times. Ok, that's not major drama. They only could check me in to Suva, but assured me the airport was small and I would have plenty of time to check in for my flight to Funafuti. Ok, fair enough.
Fiji Airways.Flight 7
Nadi, Fiji (NAN) to Suva, Fiji (SUV)
Depart 7:00, Arrive 7:30, Flight Time 30 minutes
Aerospatiale ATR 42-500, Registration DQ-PSB Manufactured 1997, Seat 12A
We boarded via a walk to the plane (finally) at 7:15, and ended up taking off at 7:30 for an 8:00 arrival. Flight time was a grand total of 22 minutes in the air, but due to clouds there was nothing to see. A small moist towel and bottle of water was passed out to each passenger on the completely full flight, and newspapers were offered as well. Rather impressive for just 22 minutes!
Waited about 10 minutes for my bag to come onto the baggage belt, but managed to check in by 8:05 for my 8:45 flight. Except it was no longer an 8:45 flight...it was now "expected" to leave at 10:30. Uh, ok. It would be the same plane that just brought us from Nadi, but it had to do another trip back to Nadi first. Bags were tagged, and despite the small delays, the bags were at least, um, "having fun." (Yes, bad joke, deal with it!)
With over two hours to kill now, and having not had breakfast, I went to the one cafe in the check-in area to get something to eat. It was rather tasty, and a grand total of about $4, most of which was the Diet Coke.
About 9:45 they called everyone over the intercom, and told us to proceed through immigration and security. Shortly after that, we saw the plan arrive outside at about 10:00 and looked like we might actually get out of there by 10:30 or so. As a side note, I also purchased a couple bottles of wine in Duty Free, figuring there wouldn't be too much to do during the evenings in Tuvalu, so wine and movies on the iPad would be a good way to pass some time. Make note of this detail, it will come back...
10:30 came, 10:30 went. The plane was still sitting there, as were we. At 11, an agent came over the intercom. There was a "technical situation" with the plane, and they hoped to depart now at approximately 12. Hmm...ok. .Around 11:45, we saw the crew get off the plane, get their bags, head towards the waiting area...see the angry mob, and then head another direction. At this point, I'd started chatting to an Australian couple who live in Tuvalu. We all agreed that the departure of the crew was likely not a good sign. They said there are three flights a week, or 12-13 a month, and maybe 1-2 times a month there's serious drama with this flight. Ugh, ok.
Shortly after noon, the Fiji Airways agent walked into the departures lounge and announced she was sorry for the delay. They will be providing drinks and snacks shortly. One rather surley Australian guy demanded beer. She said she'd see what she could do. About 10 minutes later, she came back. "Your snacks, including your beer sir, will be here shortly. But unfortunately, once they arrive, you will need to go back through immigration. The flight is being canceled." Uhhh, WHAT.
She "wasn't sure" when we would be able to go to Tuvalu, as the next flight was in two days and it was completely sold out. Um, ok. But don't worry she said, they will add a second flight. Maybe even tomorrow, but certainly in two days. No clue what time, but after you go through immigration and security they will take you to a hotel for the next couple of days. Several of the Tuvaluans on the flight actually cheered. I guess two days in Fiji with your hotel and meals paid was an unexpected bonus for them. (Later, the agent told me this is due to the fact the flight often cancels, and when it does the local working girls find out about it and do a brisk business proving "entertainment" at the hotel.)
We were informed that due to our duty free (remember those two bottles of wine?) being "illegal" customs would hold onto it until we left in a couple of days. I figured I'd never see it again - we didn't get a receipt. I figured there would be a giant customs party that night. Checked my wine, back through immigration to have my departure stamp canceled, and to the check-in counter to see about getting that flight back to Nadi.
Rather than spend two nights in the No-Tell Motel, where you can check out any time you like (but you can never leave) I asked them to send me back to Nadi and I'd take care of my own accommodations. They resisted. I convinced them that me taking up an empty seat would cost Fiji Airways less than two nights hotel plus meals. They finally agreed. They promised they would e-mail or call me with the new flight time. I wrote down my e-mail and phone number.
In three days, I was headed to Vanuatu so going to Tuvalu in 2 days and coming back in 4 wouldn't be an option. I told her if they did end up operating two flights that Thursday, and they were reasonably spaced out, I would go to Tuvalu for 4 or 5 hours, have lunch, then come right back. She thought this was crazy, but certainly doable. At least I got my bag back. I modified the bag tag accordingly:
A few minutes later, I got a message from Fiji Airways:
I was provided with a food voucher for the airport snack shop while I waited for my flight back to Nadi. Best thing about Fiji Airways, when they cancel your flight you get cake. Chocolate cake. Delicious chocolate cake!
Back through security, and time to board my flight back to Nadi:
Load was light, maybe 15 total passengers for this mid-afternoon flight.
Fiji Airways.Flight 12
Suva, Fiji (SUV) to.Nadi, Fiji (NAN)
Depart 14:00, Arrive 14:30, Flight Time 30 minutes
Aerospatiale ATR 42-600, Registration DQ-FJY Manufactured 1997, Seat 12A
Wow things were looking up, a brand new plane which had only been delivered to Fiji Airways just a month prior. Quick 24 minute flight, same water/towel/newspaper service as the way over to Suva, and we were back in Nadi. Bags showed up in just a couple minutes, and I decided to head to the Fiji Airways reservations office to make sure they understand my plans. Yes yes, they did. The agent in Nadi even called Suva, they promised to get in touch with me with the new details. Key words:
"Just show up at 6:30 on Thursday, come to Suva, and we will take care of you. You will get to spend a few hours in Tuvalu. We will make sure it happens."
Famous last words.
The night before, when I was on the Bula Bus headed to dinner, my phone rang. "Unknown Caller" was calling me, so I sent it to voicemail. Whee, $3 down the drain. I checked the message shortly after, and guess who? Fiji Airways. Seems my flight had been retimed from 7:30 to 7:00. Um, my flight leaves at 6:30? .... I opted to get to the airport at 5:30 in time for the 6:30 just in case.
Got to check-in, and my flight, flight 3 was nowhere to be found on the departure monitors. However, flight 7, the 7:30 departure was there, but with a time of 7:00. Yes, turns out they'd canceled one of the flights and consolidated everyone onto one plane halfway in between times. Ok, that's not major drama. They only could check me in to Suva, but assured me the airport was small and I would have plenty of time to check in for my flight to Funafuti. Ok, fair enough.
Fiji Airways.Flight 7
Nadi, Fiji (NAN) to Suva, Fiji (SUV)
Depart 7:00, Arrive 7:30, Flight Time 30 minutes
Aerospatiale ATR 42-500, Registration DQ-PSB Manufactured 1997, Seat 12A
We boarded via a walk to the plane (finally) at 7:15, and ended up taking off at 7:30 for an 8:00 arrival. Flight time was a grand total of 22 minutes in the air, but due to clouds there was nothing to see. A small moist towel and bottle of water was passed out to each passenger on the completely full flight, and newspapers were offered as well. Rather impressive for just 22 minutes!
Waited about 10 minutes for my bag to come onto the baggage belt, but managed to check in by 8:05 for my 8:45 flight. Except it was no longer an 8:45 flight...it was now "expected" to leave at 10:30. Uh, ok. It would be the same plane that just brought us from Nadi, but it had to do another trip back to Nadi first. Bags were tagged, and despite the small delays, the bags were at least, um, "having fun." (Yes, bad joke, deal with it!)
With over two hours to kill now, and having not had breakfast, I went to the one cafe in the check-in area to get something to eat. It was rather tasty, and a grand total of about $4, most of which was the Diet Coke.
About 9:45 they called everyone over the intercom, and told us to proceed through immigration and security. Shortly after that, we saw the plan arrive outside at about 10:00 and looked like we might actually get out of there by 10:30 or so. As a side note, I also purchased a couple bottles of wine in Duty Free, figuring there wouldn't be too much to do during the evenings in Tuvalu, so wine and movies on the iPad would be a good way to pass some time. Make note of this detail, it will come back...
10:30 came, 10:30 went. The plane was still sitting there, as were we. At 11, an agent came over the intercom. There was a "technical situation" with the plane, and they hoped to depart now at approximately 12. Hmm...ok. .Around 11:45, we saw the crew get off the plane, get their bags, head towards the waiting area...see the angry mob, and then head another direction. At this point, I'd started chatting to an Australian couple who live in Tuvalu. We all agreed that the departure of the crew was likely not a good sign. They said there are three flights a week, or 12-13 a month, and maybe 1-2 times a month there's serious drama with this flight. Ugh, ok.
Shortly after noon, the Fiji Airways agent walked into the departures lounge and announced she was sorry for the delay. They will be providing drinks and snacks shortly. One rather surley Australian guy demanded beer. She said she'd see what she could do. About 10 minutes later, she came back. "Your snacks, including your beer sir, will be here shortly. But unfortunately, once they arrive, you will need to go back through immigration. The flight is being canceled." Uhhh, WHAT.
She "wasn't sure" when we would be able to go to Tuvalu, as the next flight was in two days and it was completely sold out. Um, ok. But don't worry she said, they will add a second flight. Maybe even tomorrow, but certainly in two days. No clue what time, but after you go through immigration and security they will take you to a hotel for the next couple of days. Several of the Tuvaluans on the flight actually cheered. I guess two days in Fiji with your hotel and meals paid was an unexpected bonus for them. (Later, the agent told me this is due to the fact the flight often cancels, and when it does the local working girls find out about it and do a brisk business proving "entertainment" at the hotel.)
We were informed that due to our duty free (remember those two bottles of wine?) being "illegal" customs would hold onto it until we left in a couple of days. I figured I'd never see it again - we didn't get a receipt. I figured there would be a giant customs party that night. Checked my wine, back through immigration to have my departure stamp canceled, and to the check-in counter to see about getting that flight back to Nadi.
Rather than spend two nights in the No-Tell Motel, where you can check out any time you like (but you can never leave) I asked them to send me back to Nadi and I'd take care of my own accommodations. They resisted. I convinced them that me taking up an empty seat would cost Fiji Airways less than two nights hotel plus meals. They finally agreed. They promised they would e-mail or call me with the new flight time. I wrote down my e-mail and phone number.
In three days, I was headed to Vanuatu so going to Tuvalu in 2 days and coming back in 4 wouldn't be an option. I told her if they did end up operating two flights that Thursday, and they were reasonably spaced out, I would go to Tuvalu for 4 or 5 hours, have lunch, then come right back. She thought this was crazy, but certainly doable. At least I got my bag back. I modified the bag tag accordingly:
A few minutes later, I got a message from Fiji Airways:
I was provided with a food voucher for the airport snack shop while I waited for my flight back to Nadi. Best thing about Fiji Airways, when they cancel your flight you get cake. Chocolate cake. Delicious chocolate cake!
Back through security, and time to board my flight back to Nadi:
Load was light, maybe 15 total passengers for this mid-afternoon flight.
Fiji Airways.Flight 12
Suva, Fiji (SUV) to.Nadi, Fiji (NAN)
Depart 14:00, Arrive 14:30, Flight Time 30 minutes
Aerospatiale ATR 42-600, Registration DQ-FJY Manufactured 1997, Seat 12A
Wow things were looking up, a brand new plane which had only been delivered to Fiji Airways just a month prior. Quick 24 minute flight, same water/towel/newspaper service as the way over to Suva, and we were back in Nadi. Bags showed up in just a couple minutes, and I decided to head to the Fiji Airways reservations office to make sure they understand my plans. Yes yes, they did. The agent in Nadi even called Suva, they promised to get in touch with me with the new details. Key words:
"Just show up at 6:30 on Thursday, come to Suva, and we will take care of you. You will get to spend a few hours in Tuvalu. We will make sure it happens."
Famous last words.
Nov 14, 2014, 1:43 am
#103
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,518
Nov 14, 2014, 2:36 am
#105
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,518
