On Location South Pacific

A casino in Fiji???

2011-12-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

I just saw this news today. An American multimillionaire has won the right to build a large casino on Fiji's Denarau Island. Whilst the whole Denarau area is made up of brand hotels such as Hilton, Westin, Sheraton, Sofitel etc. and the marina equipped with Hard Rock cafe, I have my doubts as to whether the Fijian atmosphere will be completely eroded from the addition of a casino.
Military ruler Voreqe Bainimarama has over-ruled long standing chiefly and church objections to announce that Larry Claunch, who describes himself as an investor, will get an exclusive license to build a 500-slot machine and 54-table casino on the island.
He will also be allowed to build a smaller one in Suva.
The license will be held by Claunch's One Hundred Sands Ltd, which will run the casino with the Snoqualmie Tribe from Washington state and Seventh Generation LLC, a Native American company.
The deal includes a US$290 million ($378 million) five star, 190-room resort on the manmade Denarau Island, which already has several hotels on it and timeshares.
Bainimarama said they would protect the rights and interests of Fijian people. A casino "provides a malleable fusion between the Western ideals of casino gaming with the strong cultural virtues of tribal and community life", he said
He said the casino would provide 800 jobs.
"Fiji does not wish to imitate Las Vegas in the Pacific. Fiji already has a unique brand, one defined by its uniquely pristine environment, tranquillity and world class hospitality."
I am hoping the gambling areas will be in restricted areas so that visitors to Fiji who come to see the real Fijian people, culture and lifestyle, can still do that without having to feel like they never left home.

SOFITEL QUEENSTOWN VOTED #1 SPA IN THE WORLD!

2011-11-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

The most memorable treatments don’t just help travelers unwind and unplug, they actually deepen your connection to a destination. So it’s no surprise that many of the World’s Best Spas offer treatments that highlight native ingredients or healing techniques.

Earlier this year, Travel and Leisure readers were asked to rank their favorite hotel spas on criteria including ambience, treatments, service, and value. So which peaceful retreat is the World’s Best Hotel Spa? CONGRATULATIONS SOFITEL HOTEL & SPA, QUEENSTOWN - YOU ARE #1 IN THE WORLD!

No. 1 Sofitel Hotel and Spa Queenstown, New Zealand

The Sofitel’s French-inspired LeSpa, set within this 82-room Queenstown hotel, is the place for classic European facials and traditional Maori rituals using greenstones and Manuka honey. The space is also home to the country’s only infrared sauna, which helps boost circulation and soothe sore muscles.

(Info provided by By Sandra Ramani for Yahoo Travel.

Fiji now has its very own Willy Wonka!

2011-11-19T23:16:00.001-08:00

Lance Seeto who is the Executive Chef at Castaway Island Resort was telling me about a sensational discovery for sweet tooths....Fiji now has its very own Willy Wonka! Introducing local resident and Japanese chocolatier Tomohito Zukoshi. With his knowledge of industrial chemistry combined with his wife's skills as a Japanese chef, their Adi's Chocolate company is now at the forefront of fine quality Fijian chocolate which is now being recognized around the world by top chocolate judges from the USA, Belgium, France and London. Their Fijian rainforest chocolate is used exclusively by Fiji's top resorts, including Castaway Island, as guest amenities and in dessert menus. Castaway Island developed the Volcanic Chocolate Fondant with Fijian chocolate, a warm baked souffle with an oozing chocolate centre that best showcases the tropical influences of his chocolate. Says the owners Tomo and Harumi: We make our chocolate by hand, ancient way, using just two ingredients: tropical sun-dried Trinitario beans grown in the deep rainforests on this island, and raw cane sugar grown on this island. All natural from planting to processing, our chocolate forms while breathing uncontaminated South Pacific Breeze. We never add chemicals. but we always add laughter and love. I have tasted it and yes, it is that good! Even the Chilli Chocolate offers a bizarre yet incredible sensation.

TRAVEL TIP:	You wont find it in stores.. its created in a climate controlled area and made specially for orders.

INSIDE SCOOP ON BEST SPA DEAL IN FIJI

2011-11-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

An advantage of being in an expat in Fiji is knowing where the best deals are. I just had the most amazing 1.5 hr spa treatment for F$99 which included facial, aka non-surgical facelift, hour body massage & manicure .. yes all of that for about US$45. At those prices I can pretend to be rich and famous and have them weekly! It’s not in a fancy hotel or large shopping complex, but in a nondescript building 15 minutes from Nadi town. A professionally trained, locally owned Fijian called Ini who was born with magical healing hands runs such a popular spa, I cant even find it listed in the phone book. To quote Arnold S. “I’ll be back”.

	Insiders info: Tel: 6726317 Email: style.beauty@hotmail.com No cell phone number given here or Ini will kill me!

ACROSS THE PACIFIC POND

2011-11-13T16:28:00.001-08:00

I live in Fiji

I do retail therapy in Australia

So now I have Facebook, Twitter and Skype I am catching up to the average 5 year old who has yet to teach me how to text ! Oh, don’t get me started on that – I am running out of Advil

Can I sit back and relax ? Hell no! Now I am told that I “MUST have an I-Pad”

Come on guys – give me a break .. I am on brain overload

Where’s my passport?

STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF

2011-11-13T16:26:00.001-08:00

I live in Fiji

I like the simple life

I have slower internet speeds than back in USA

Some places I go to in the outer islands have dial up

In one place I found carbon paper

Another place didn’t even have paper

I have finally found the place called OFF

OPEN A NEW WINDOW, OPEN A NEW DOOR

2011-11-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

My nephew in Australia has 3 monitors on his desk and seems to be using them all at once. Ok, I did see him load a video on one of them, but even so, are 3 monitors necessary?

Unless I have a trick for leaping through a dozen windows on my computer and trying not to miss emails, facebook entries, several skype calls at the same time, and tweets going faster than a tickertape, then I am going to have to set up my office like NASA with wall to wall screens.

Perhaps there is an easier way to do it all.
I must remind myself I live in Fiji I like the simple life.

Darn it..now I have the song from the musical Mame going through my head over and over …and over
"Open a new window, Open a new door, Travel a new highway, That's never been tried before.."

THIS OLD DUCK TAKES TO WATER IN THE FACEBOOK POND

2011-11-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

FINALLY I have my own Facebook and a Twitter account

So who was the fellow who said “build it and they will come”?

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

It seems I have to ask for people to LIKE my page

Now people, couldn’t the designers of Facebook come up with something more flattering such as

“tell me my page is awesome”

“tell me Michelangelo would be jealous”

“tell me George Clooney’s phone number”

I feel like a kid back in school waiting to be picked on the winner’s side of a basketball team

LIKE me … Ha!

Well if you are reading this, you obviously have some time to kill, so please go over and click the darn button

FIVE REASONS WHY I LIKE FIJI

2011-10-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

I live in Fiji

I like the simple life

So people are asking what I am doing here in Fiji – here’s the first 5 things that come to mind

1. Everybody smiles and waves...and I mean everybody.

2. If you see a boy walking down the street with a cane knife, you don’t have to dive into your purse for pepper spray

3. Nobody is a stranger in Fiji

4. You don’t need designer clothes - nobody cares

5. You actually get COMPLIMENTED for being fat.

Resisting Facebook Arrest

2011-09-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

I live in Fiji

I like the simple life

But running a business demands I jump into the deep end of the high tech pool of social media and sink or swim.

This is no mean feat.

As a child my job at school was topping up the ink wells in those creaky wooden desks with rude words carved by poxy-faced boys who stuck pencils up their noses.

This week’s project was getting my head around Facebook and Twitter.

After hours of research online my head aches, my eyes hurt and I have renamed the programs Faceache and Twitcher.

Holy cow – there are a lot of entries of waffle – don’t people have jobs? Or are they at work looking busy on their computers, while asking everyone in the universe “what are you doing?”

Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

But I will persist and wade through the nonsense to find out what the buzz is all about.

Who knows – I might enjoy it! It sure beats trying to get the ink out of my pigtails courtesy of the nasty little boy who sat behind me!