We were up and about fairly early on Monday morning, partly because daylight saving had kicked in the previous day, so we were all set to head to the airport by 8am. We had an Uber pick us up at 9am, and we had a dream run with no traffic (unexpected) so arrived at the airport at 9:20. Our flight to Nadi was scheduled to depart at 1pm. It was later delayed and we ended up leaving at 2:15pm. It didn't really matter because we were in cruise mode. It was just wonderful to be underway.
The flight was exceptionally smooth and the 3 hours seemed to go quickly. We quaffed a glass of white wine at lunchtime and, even though it was warm, it was the highlight of the meal! That doesn't say much. We'd spent a bit of time organising some new noise-cancelling headphones for me to use when flying but unfortunately we couldn't get them to work. They cancelled out all sound but I couldn't hear anything, particularly the movie. However, the airline-supplied earphones worked a treat and I thoroughly enjoyed a Downton Abbey movie.
Exiting the plane into 30 degree heat was a buzz. A short 5 minute walk saw us roll up to the airport hotel we had booked into for the night. 1st stop - throw the bags into our room. 2nd stop - buy an ice-cream. 3rd stop - jump in the pool. It was wonderful. We started to unwind straight away. 4th stop - a cocktail. 5th stop - a leisurely meal at the hotel and just sitting back and enjoying the surroundings. Everyone was incredibly friendly and all the staff very welcoming. Two guys on guitars and vocals clearly enjoyed providing the live entertainment. Their renditions of songs of the 70s and 80s we related to only too well.
This morning we again woke early and had a very leisurely start because our check-out wasn't until 11am. A late continental breakfast hit the right note, and with a slight repack we walked the short distance back to the airport in good time for the 1:25pm flight to Narita airport, Tokyo.
We have been heeding the advice of Fiji Airways and packing our cabin bags with plenty of spare clothes/necessities, so that if our large packs went adrift somewhere on route, we'd have supplies for a few days. It worked well. We maxed out our cabin bags to 7kg each, which has left our large packs weighing only about 12kg. They have been delightfully light to trundle along.
Big smiles now adorn our faces knowing that we are finally on the way to Japan. We'll be arriving in Tokyo late this evening. It's been an awfully long time getting to this point, partly because we've been reading books, watching documentaries and generally prepping for Japan as much as we've been able for a few months now. Going to the kimono shop with Rhonda on Friday was an extra bonus.
