In the early planning stages of our RTW, the hubs and I knew we wanted to stay in a few quirky accommodations. From renting a campervan to sleeping in an underground motel surrounded by opal mines, we were looking forward to changing up our accommodation options as we bounced from place to place. One of our favorites? A traditional Fijian homestay. Obviously, when we first imagined one week in Fiji, pictures of luxury beachfront bures clouded our vision. But spending time experiencing the real Fiji and genuinely connecting with the local culture quickly became very important to us. I scoured…

Though our trip to Fiji didn’t go as smoothly as a travel day should, all was not lost. It was, in fact, raining when we touched down, but we weren’t feeling stressed for long. For one thing, this was our view as we landed: In the ultimate case of irony, a joyful Fijian band was singing and playing—yep, you guessed it—ukuleles at the arrival gate. This set the mood, but also served as a very clear example of an appropriate time to sing and play the ukulele. More importantly, every single airport employee was smiling! The customs agent wished me…

Our journey to Fiji started off with a travel day where everything went wrong. The driver of our shuttle from Waikiki to Honolulu was unaware of road closures that affected his route. Our bags were over the carry-on weight limit (because the carry-on weight limit was .00002 ounces). Plus, due to mass amounts of rain in Hawaii, my hair was frizzing. Real life problems, you guys. Then, as we boarded our near-empty flight to Nadi, an attendant gleefully told us most had cancelled. Apparently, it had started to rain a few days earlier and there was no end in sight.…