October 10th, 2018 South Pacific

This trip was the last one before my career had to change.
I felt it was just get through these countries, not that they have super exciting destinations. I believe that I have missed a couple diving spots, Truk in Micronesia, for example.

October 10th, 2018 Financials

This trip ended up costing 5960.07 USD, close to 6000 USD. This brings my total cost up to 47.124.26 USD. It was as expected, with certain areas more expensive due to a lack of infrastructure and tourism.

September 23rd, 2018 Majuro, Marshall Islands to Los Angeles, California

7AM I woke and bought some drinks from the supermarket. I took a boat trip to the Eneko Island at the end of the atoll. Accompanying me are one elderly American who sailed here from San Francisco and a French man who is visiting from his temporary home at Tokyo.

10AM We got to the island. The boat ride was very choppy. They were playing with their DJI drones and I swam a little bit.





1PM We walked a bit along the beach and went back to the boat to go back. The way back was much smoother.

5:30PM I got a milk shake and sat until 5:30PM and took a taxi back to the airport. The flight took off at 8 PM.

September 22nd, 2018 Majuro, Marshall Islands

7AM The morning manager was only willing to give me the room at a fan room rate of 40 USD. I had time to kill so I took a taxi to police. We came back and they actually forced me to pay more. I paid 50 USD and went to the dive shop.

9AM The Japanese Dive Shop Owner didn't budge on the 180 USD he wanted for 2 dives. When I agreed, he wanted the SSI license print out on paper. I couldn't make it with just 1 minute that I had.

10AM I got to Tide Table and saw Chris took off to tour the rest of the island. I basically sat there until late evening. I took the room for 99.17 USD. I had dinner with Chris and went to bed.

September 21st, 2018 Truk, Micronesia to Majuro, Marshall Islands

6AM I woke up and took at taxi to the Blue Lagoon Resort. It was hot outside. The beach was decent. It was low tide so I was able to walk out for a while on sand.





9AM I had a Dr. Pepper at the cafe and then headed back to High Tide. The local banks didn't change PNG currency I had left.

11AM I left for Majuro, Marshall Islands.

7PM We had 3 stops before reaching Majuro. I called Joe the Airbnb host who asked me to meet him at RRE Hotel.

10PM He didn't answer after I tried calling him after dinner. I waited until 12PM and we had to start looking for something else. The manager at RRE Hotel, which had no availability anyway, drove me to Marshall Island Resort. They had no rooms either. I didn't like paying 50 USD for the local room so I kept on looking myself. There was a place behind the Chinese Supermarket called Flame Tree. They had dorm rooms and AC rooms which is equivalent to the one I didn't like just before. It was 1AM and I had no choice.

September 20th, 2018 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to Chuuk, Micronesia

6AM I woke but there wasn't much I could do. The water was not cold but wasn't warm enough for shower. 

11AM I had the manager drive me to the airport. I chatted with the people working at the tourist information for a while before boarding.

3PM The plane left for Chuuk, Micronesia.

7PM We arrived. Truk Stop drove me to High Tide. They had a 10PM to 8AM deal for just over 34 USD. I shared a room with 2 Filipinos heading to Majuro also. High Tide gave me a ride to Truk Stop to have dinner. I had grilled tuna mixed with reef fish, which is parrot fish.

9PM I came back and went to bed after showering.

September 19th, 2018 Honiara, Solomon Islands to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

6AM I woke up and Kate wasn't there. She waited until last minute to show up and wanted 50 SBD each way. I was getting really annoyed with her methods. I nodded and gave the cousin the 41 SBD I had left and she drove me to the airport. I gave her the rest of my change from Vanuatu and she didn't have any further problems.





10AM Our flight left for Port Moresby. We arrived just before noon. The driver was not at arrival so we had to call him. There wasn't much to do besides going to the nature park. So he let me drop my stuff at Hohola Apartments and I spent most of the afternoon there.



3:30PM I called the Hohola Manager to pick me up. He took me to to a local fast food where I bought some sheep tongue. I got to Vision City Mall. There wasn't that much you can do here. I had some fish and chips at the food court. I walked around what is supposed to be the largest mall in the South Pacific. It was only 2 stories and smaller than most malls in America. I had a white hot chocolate at Cuppa Coffee.





8PM I took the blue comfort taxi back to Hohola.

September 18th, 2018 Honiara, Soloman Islands

7AM I left to bargain with Tulagi Dives. I had to wait 1 hour before the staff got there. I was able to get it down to 1000 SBD.



9:20AM We left for Bonegi and reached there in 1 hour. The dives were pretty good. They are 2 Japanese WWII ships. I met Toby Hicks who works for private equity and got some financial advice. I saw him and his girlfriend again at Coral Sea. I had a couple of juices there afterwards.



Coral Sea Resort





6PM I returned to the guesthouse. Kate forgot to buy fish. I had to get a little bit of coconut fish from the Bangladesh Restaurant a block away just to try it. I was getting sick so I drank a lot of water and went to bed.

September 17th, 2018 Brisbane, Australia to Honiara, Solomon Islands

4AM I couldn't sleep for more than 2 hours today because of the cars and the cold. I drove around Fortitude Valley for a little bit. I got a coffee from Bellissimo for 4.3 AUD.



7AM I refueled too much gas but returned the vehicle with no issues. I checked in and got to the lounge at 8:30AM. Flight for Solomon Island departed at 10AM.



1PM I arrived. Kate, Annie's mother, wasn't there to pick me up. I got lucky. They were giving out sim cards with 60mb of data so I was able to get her number. We called her and she was able to pick me up. She sent me to town after dropping off my luggage.

TripAdvisor said the only thing worth doing here are the Bonegi dives. The Australian owner at Tulagi Dive Shop wanted 1,000 SBD. I couldn't change my money anywhere. ATM had a 45 to 75 SBD fee. 

I stopped to use the internet at Coral Sea Resort. Afterword, I got lucky finding a Chinese Restaurant who changed my money 1 USD to 8 SBD, which is great. I went to bed at 9PM.

September 16th, 2018 Port Vila, Vanuatu to Brisbane, Australia

5AM I got to the entry to the Hideaway Resort. They didn't open the ferry until 8AM. I drove to Wet N' Wild, which was not open either. I drove back and took the first ferry across. I wanted to save my contacts for possible dives in the next few days so I opted for the glass bottom boat at 10:30AM. I then drive back and got 3 slingshots and 1 zorb ride for 50 USD.



10AM I finished with the rides and then went back to Hideaway. The glass bottom was definitely a better choice. I saved the 1,250 VUV island entry fee. The corals were mostly dead and I saw fishes better. There were no turtles.

11:30AM I spent the next hour looking for coconut crab. The Thai restaurant had the best one but it was 2.3 kilograms which made it 5,500 VUV. I settled for the 1.2 kilogram one from the Chinese restaurant. Chef was awful and the taste was too mild. I wish the Thai restaurant had a smaller one. I would have taken that one.





2PM I got back to the airport without having to refuel. I almost got stuck. Australia required ETA even for Americans. I had to pay it on the spot.

3:45PM Our flight was slightly delayed. We arrived a little after 6PM. I called the 800 number for East Coast Rental, which is Sixt in Australia. The car they assigned me was a manual car and I had take a midsized Toyota for 10 AUD more. I drove to George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant. The waiter suggested the Seafood Paragon which is just a mix of shrimp, small lobster, oysters for 59 AUD plus my ginger rale. I didn't think it was good enough to warrant a review which thought it was great enough for "palliative care" patient as her "last supper". Anyway, they didn't validate parking so I went to Friday's and they gave me one so it was half off at 7 AUD. I drove to Fortitude Valley and had a couple of drinks there. An Australian guy bought me a drink. I spoke to a Dutch girl working there. I went back to the car at 2:30AM and slept.

September 15th, 2018 Vava'u, Tonga to Nadi, Fiji, to Port Vila, Vanuatu

6:30AM I woke up to meet Grant out of his home. We drove to another beach with a nearby cave. It was rainy really hard so we skipped a lookout that we were meant to climb.





9AM We got to Mt. Talau. It had a good view of the harbor. I then drove back to town. The lady who rented the car wanted to drive me to the airport. I only had 7.5 TAP for gas. I got 5 TAP from a couple of New Zealanders to appease her. It ended up being fine.



12PM The flight left for Nadi again. I spent a few hours in the lounge and I boarded the 3PM flight for Vanuatu.



6PM I arrived at Vanuatu. Europcar was waiting for me. I drove to Blue Marlin for an ice cream, which was mediocre. I slept in the car. There was a bunch of local clubs going but I was too tired.

September 14th, 2018 Vava'u, Tonga

6AM I woke up by my 4 alarms to catch a ride to Beluga Diving. I borrowed a towel. The boat left at 7AM. Wow, it is gonna be cold.

10AM Except it was not! We didn't get down for the first singer until 10AM or so. I didn't really see anything. I think I heard myself rather than the whale.

12PM We got down again and saw part of the whale this time but it was only for a few seconds. It dove down and swam away.



1PM The best one was the one at 1PM. Apparently it was sleeping and just stayed on the surface, about 10 meters below, for most of the time. I saw it up and close when it was coming up. The next group then took over.

2PM I got back. The Chinese stores both ran out of cars. I then rented from a local for 60 TPA. Grant took me to a beach and cave. I didn't want to stay with him alone and dropped him off at his other home and went to town.





7PM I had dinner at Refuge, which was awful. I then had a drink at the tavern before heading home.

September 13th, 2018 Vava'u, Tonga

4AM I started heading back to the airport. It only took 5 FJD to fill up the 1/8 tank I ran down and I asked the manager to charge me 10 FJD so I could keep 5 for souvenir. 

5AM I took a shower at the lounge. I had a lot of rest there and boarded my flight for Vava'u at 8AM. 

11AM I arrived the very small, one gate Vava'u International Airport. I hopped onto a van with a girl going to the whale house. The driver took me to the police station. Hr argued that he was a taxi driver and not working for the whale house. His wife came and rescued me. I met the owner of the guest house at Tropicana Cafe at noon. The whale watching excursion was expensive, ranging from 425 to 495 TOP per day.

2PM I got 700 TOP plus the 12 TOP service fee at ANZ Bank. I paid Beluga Diving and put my stuff back in the guesthouse. There was nothing to do here so I just had some water at a tavern where I can get internet.



6PM I had some mediocre tuna dish at Mango and played trivia until 9PM. I won with an Australian couple and got a free drink. I went back to the guesthouse at 10PM.

September 12th, 2018 Upolu, Samoa to Nadi, Fiji

5AM I finally arrived at To Sua. At 6:30AM, I decide to mount the side wall. I walked around for a little bit. I got caught in 15 minutes. They wanted to call the police. I apologized and they let me go for double the entry fee. This left me with no more cash though. To Sua was very nice. It was connected to the ocean outside. It was high tide so it was too risky to swim out.




9:30AM I left and drove to the cave pool. I ended up getting in for free after bumping my head in the tree and having a conversation with the guard. People here are extremely nice.

1PM I arrived at the sliding rock. There wasn't enough water to slide on. I paid just 1 USD.

1:30PM I headed back to the Jewell Cafe. Paul wasn't there but I was recommended to go back to the Seafood Gourmet. I did a visa exchange at the Frankie Supermarket. I then had some oka at Seafood Gourmet and started driving back to the airport.





2:30PM My tank is down to 1/2 from 3/4. It only went up 1/8 of a tank with 30 WST. I didn't stop at the entry gate at the airport and no one stopped me. The renter car manager didn't seem to mind when I told him the meter isn't all the way back to 3/4. Apparently they just don't care how much gas you have left, as long as you are able to drive it.

3:30PM I checked in. They wouldn't check my bag in for Tonga. I have it with me and boarded for Nadi at 5PM.

6PM They wouldn't have me transfer and asked me to check in the next morning for Tonga. I went to Europcar for the rental. I took the advice for Tu's place. It is supposed to be the best of Fiji. I would say it is decent and worth trying again.



9PM I parked in front of Sheraton and used their internet connection for the next 2 hours. It was a hotel with a massive open lobby. I had a drink and talked to a couple of Australian sisters before going back to Sheraton.

September 11th, 2018 Savai'i, Samoa

5AM I arrives at the ship dock. The ferry left at 6AM. 

7:30AM I arrived at the other side. The ferry took an hour and half. I went back and forth to the market. I got a free ride back after finding out that the first bus out to the swimming with the turtles is at 9AM.



9AM I found out that I could drive a scooter around here. I took another bus to transfer to the bus that was heading toward Lano Beach. This was where the scooter renters were. I got there at about 10AM. The last scooter was out and the driver apparently extended it. The owner there advised me to take a taxi for 100 WST. I took it and the driver arrived in 30 minutes.

11AM We arrived at the turtle swimming sanctuary. It was 45 minutes away. Turtles were friendly.






11:30AM We started heading back. The taxi driver didn't like the deal he made by now. The 100 WST should have ended long ago. We didn't get to the blow hole until 1:00AM. I spent some time getting the coconut into the hole by myself. It looked hazardous. I gave up and had the old lady help me for 2 extra WST.

3:30PM I bought a taxi soda and chatted with an Australian couple. I was able to fall asleep on the ferry at least for 45 minutes before arriving at 5:30PM.





6PM I drove back to Seafood Gourmet. They were out of sashimi and oka. I had a seafood platter. I then had their homemade coca Samoa ice cream, which is essentially home chocolate fudge. I started driving toward To Sua.