Intro: A Long Weekend To Fiji & Australia

Intro

With the beautiful Yemen series all wrapped up yesterday, I figured it is time to introduce the next series that I will begin writing about tomorrow.

Why I Went To Fiji

Back in August 2024, after returning from a whirlwind Aeroplan adventure, I had discovered that my university gives us Labor Day weekend off (the Monday). Considering I have the urge to escape California anytime that I can, mixed with the fact that I am attempting to see every country in the world, I figured that a trip was in order.

When most people get told they have three days off, they either plan on resting or maybe taking a short hop down to Mexico. However, in order for this trip to be worthwhile, it had to, for one, be a new country for me, and secondly, be somewhat relaxing. With most of the Western countries already finished, I settled on Fiji

Gosh, the beaches here are out of this world

Now, to be clear, there was one other reason for booking Fiji instead of Europe: Mileage space.

I managed to come across a decent fare on Fiji Airways in economy for 10.5K BA Avios+(roughly) 220$ from Los Angeles to Nadi. Considering the flight left at just shy of midnight, and my class finished at 9, this worked out perfectly for me.

Now, for the way back, I came across the "I" space on United Airlines from Sydney to Los Angeles. Ordinarily, this award would cost 100K miles, but when flying from Nadi-Sydney-Los Angeles in Business Class, it knocks it down to 85K miles. It also got me in on Tuesday morning into LA, 3 hours before class.

So yeah, the stars aligned and it was perfect!

What To Expect

Just like my previous trip to Yemen, I will plan on posting about 2-3x per day for this series, all in very short bursts to help break down each experience. Below is what you can expect to find for the next week:

• Intro (this post)

• Fiji A350 review LAX-NAN

• Stay in an Airbnb 

• Coffee in Nadi 

• ATV tour in Nadi 

• Meeting a lovely Indian guy in Nadi/pizza 

• A night out/ meeting with an ATV friend 

• Boat trip 

• Drinking contest with friends 

• Night out with the captain 

• Virgin Australia review 

• Rebooked in a free hotel 

• Review of hotel (Brisbane)

• Review to Sydney (VA) 

• SQ lounge Sydney 

• Polaris review to LAX

I met some truly beautiful people during my time in Fiji, who treated me with such kindness. Also, yes, I am so sunburnt I could be mistaken for a lobster in this photo

So, while I didn't get the opportunity to hit up every island in the archipelago, I had a lovely time in Fiji, and I cannot wait to share it with you!

Something very interesting happened on this trip, where Virgin Australia gave me a free hotel even though the delay was due to weather. I'll be curious to hear people's thoughts on this.

Final Thoughts

Last August, I had the opportunity to visit Fiji for 2 nights and Australia for one night during Labor Day weekend in the United States. What was a very short trip for the distance covered, it has been one that has stuck with me until today. I look forward to sharing this, and stay tuned!