Fiji

One thing I would tell anyone heading to Fiji is to check out the weather first and not to travel there during the rainy season. I didn't know it was possible to get quite that wet! The picture on the right is the view from my hotel room and you can see the breakwater just at the horizon; the clouds are misleading and would blow over incredibly quickly to be replaced by magnificent thunderstorms! There were coral reefs just off the beach and I walked out (barefoot) to see them, but wasn't able to stay too long because the sharp stones were hurting my feet. My attempts at underwater photography were not too successful.

I stayed at the Shangri-La resort, which is on a private island some 45 minutes' drive from the airport. There were lots of questions I had about some of the appalling poverty I saw which left me feeling uneasy about staying at a luxury resort, but if the other people in the taxi noticed anything, they didn't mention it and were just in a hurry to get to the golf course before it rained. There were lots of little shops to visit and activities organised, but I preferred to spend my time reading -- racing back and forth from the beach to the hotel room whenever the rain came again. It was in Fiji I concluded that I wilted in extreme heat and humidity. The evening weather was wonderful, though.