enroute to the octopus
(Now reading: Peridio Street Station by China Mieville. August gave it to me just before i left, and it's proven to be a great 900+ page book. It's innovative steampunk, basically, and recommended to anyone with some time to spend reading.)
I'm currently making my way through the Yasawa Islands in Fiji, heading gradually south until we end back up in Nadi where our Fiji trip began. We've just left the Coconut Bay resort on Naviti Island, and were staying at Otto and Fanny's resort on Tavewa before that.
Our next stop, the Octopus Resort, is the resort that's been referred to as "a bit posh" by some other backpackers we've run into, but considering that it costs the same (or less) as some of the no-fan-in-the-dorm sweathouse wonders we've been to so far, i think we'd welcome that.
By the way, you may wonder how i'm staying at so many "resorts" on a budget trip. here's the secret: in fiji, "resort" does not mean acres of pristine beaches, 4-star hotel rooms, etc. instead, here's how it works:
big main building + bures (fijian houses) + meals + alcohol + activities + fan = fiji resort.
so with that in mind, next stop, Octopus Resort!
Comments
Just stumbled upon your site - not only am I totally jealous of you travelling (I took last year off and did a similar journey - the 'countless games of Shithead' struck a very familiar chord) but you get to sit on gorgeous beaches reading Perdido Street Station without and distractions to... er... distract you from it!
Enjoy your travels and make the most of them!
Nathan.
Posted by: Nathan | March 25, 2006 05:57 AM
thanks nathan!
glad to see more travellers coming to the site. nothing like playing the same card game over and over again to while always those beachside afternoons (or train journeys or unexpected layovers...).
Posted by: andy | March 25, 2006 04:27 PM
I read Peridio Street Station on my flight to and from Singapore for a friend's wedding. I really enjoyed it, but the ending felt a bit abrupt and left lots of loose ends hanging. Mieville did a great job of creating an atmospheric world that I loved though.
I'm also jealous of your traveling ways, but I don't do very well in the sun. BTW, I just arrived in Japan two weeks ago myself, started my post-doc research gig, and am awaiting a Tokyo walken gathering.
Posted by: Dave Evans | March 31, 2006 01:57 PM
i agree, i didn't think the ending of the book was very good. but the book itself was overall a great page-turner and excellent vacation read.
looking forward to meeting up with you in tokyo! i'll send you an email when i have my timeline a little more defined, but it should be around mid-june.
Posted by: andy | April 4, 2006 03:46 PM