All the way from the UK for a wedding
Arriving at Sonaisali Island Resort in the dark is quite an experience mainly because of the short crossing to the island but also because of the flaming torches surrounding framing the restaurant and bar in surreal flickering light, like something out of Survivor!
There is no surviving or hardship here though, just pampering and enjoying and, oh yes, wedding!
I bumped into Chris and his mates because I heard their Southern England accents and wondered what the were doing here, so far away from home, only to be told that they had come here for Chris’ wedding! Not only that but the resort seemed to be awash with British accents, most of them going to Chris’ wedding! I never did find out the bride’s name of the wedding on Monday, but Chris told me that his bride to be had chosen the location, but had never been here before.
I suppose what I found a little hard to understand was that Fiji is pretty well on the opposite side of the world to the UK and a long way to come for a wedding, not only for Chris and his bride, but for all the families and friends.
What it does show is the quality image and reputation of Fiji as far away as the UK as a romantic destination for a wedding irrespective of the distance. It also shows that Fiji must be very competitive as there are heaps of other destinations they could have chosen closer to home including the Caribbean, Mediterranean or even the Indian Ocean Islands.
The great news is that everyone in Chris’ group was having a fantastic time and thought Sonaisali was amazing, with the resort staff coming in for particular praise.
The guys did say though that they had paid for the trip programme before the coup happened and they had no real alternative but to come, but they checked on the internet and agreed to go with it as their travel agent in the UK had been no help.
They had visited Australia on the way and even in Australia checked on whether they should continue to go to Fiji and they told The Mole that Qantas told them not to go to Fiji!
They also said that they had been all over the place since arriving in Fiji and had seen no problems or coup related issues at all and now really wondered what all the fuss was about.
Asked if they though Fiji was a safe place to visit they said resoundingly and without any question, yes!
Special on location in Fiji report by The Mole
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