BULA!!!
(Which is a common way of saying Hello!!! in Fiji)
The first response I got from many people when I told them that I would be travelling to Fiji was, “Oh, you’re going to Japan??” I guess they got confused with Mount Fiji in Japan hehehe.
That’s pretty much how unknown the country Fiji is to us folks in sunny Singapore and it’s little wonder, because a flight from Singapore to Fiji easily used to take 20 hours and always required a stop-over/transit, until now!
Fiji Airways recently launched a direct flight from Singapore straight to Fiji, and it now takes all of 10 hours to get from Singapore to the exotic island country that is Fiji!
Even if the name Fiji doesn’t sound familiar to you, I’m sure Fiji Water rings a bell! That’s right, that brand of premium bottled drinking water? It really does come from Fiji, and I can now tell you that practically everywhere serves Fiji Water in Fiji, which is still somewhat of an amusing novelty to me.
Where/what is Fiji exactly? It is a tropical country made up of more than 330 islands, and its closest neighbours familiar to us are actually New Zealand and Australia.
A useful infographic from Tourism Fiji’s website!
To be honest, I knew just as little about Fiji as the next person before my trip to Fiji happened, but I’m so glad I got the opportunity to experience Fiji for a week, and discovered for myself that Fiji is an amazing country filled with beautiful people, sights and sounds!
If you love the beach life and enjoy gorgeous beaches and blue waters, if you love exploring fascinating cultural experiences, and if you love outdoorsy activities or sea sports in the most scenic of surroundings, you will LOVE Fiji!
My week in Fiji was exactly the holiday I needed, especially after a very stressful two and a half months of being involved in Hear Me Sing’s singing competition (for which I managed to make it all the way to the Top 4, in huge part due to the tremendous support from family, friends, and readers!!). I flew off exactly two days after the grand finals of the competition, and I felt free as a bird! Prior to Fiji, my last flight out of Singapore was in late March, and man, that feels like it was a life-time ago!
Firstly, a big thank you to Fiji Airways for flying us out to Fiji as well as Tourism Fiji for arranging such extremely memorable experiences: From enriching village visits to exhilarating white-water rafting to incredibly scenic island-hopping, I’ve come back with a newfound appreciation of beautiful Fiji that I hope I’ll be able to share with all you friends and readers on this space!
Flying direct from Singapore to Fiji via Fiji Airways
I’m really quite the seasoned traveller. So when it comes to airlines and flights, I’m not all that picky, whichever and whoever gets me from Point A to Point B safely, is good!
That being said, I’ve also flown with many different airlines so many times that I know great service when I see it, and Fiji Airways definitely ranks among the top when it comes to the flight experience. From checking-in to our 10 hours onboard, I don’t have a single negative remark to share because it was a great experience all round!
Fiji Airways very generously put me up in Business Class on the way to Fiji (don’t worry folks I experienced Economy Class as well on the way back and it was all good), and for someone who didn’t sleep the night before the morning flight, I probably had the best flight of my life aboard Fiji Airways!
The big and warm smiles started from the on-the-ground crew, and was just as effusive on-board Fiji Airways!
Something interesting I found out, Fiji Airways hires 100% Fijian crew! That’s kinda awesome to me because it shows how much national pride they have.
And of course we were served with a bottle of Fiji Water, because, what else, right?
A pre-flight thirst-quencher for all us special people in Business Class.
I’ve only travelled in Business Class just a couple of times in my life, really, and this Fiji Airways flight from Singapore to Fiji was undoubtedly the most comfortable flight I’ve ever, ever taken!
Apart from the luxury of having your food come on actual dinner ware.. The cushy and fully-reclinable seats were just so damn good. We were even given actual comforters instead of just a thin piece of blanket, as well as sleep masks for better sleep. And the headphones in Business Class are really serious business, they were so good in noise-blocking that I couldn’t hear a thing with the headphones on!
Some flights are only a few hours but feel like they’re forever. My experience on-board Fiji Airways was the opposite, the 10-hour long flight breezed past and hardly felt anywhere close to 10 hours!
This is a very excited me that’s excited about going to go on holiday. YAY HOLIDAY!
It’s quite amusing to see that the in-flight magazine is called Fiji Time, which I think is something of an inside joke. In Fiji, “Fiji Time” is such a common saying! Because everyone in Fiji is so relaxed and noone is remotely uptight about time and punctuality, “Fiji Time” really just means… No one is ever on time, ever. HAHA.
(Fiji Time sounds like it ought to have far more repercussive effects, but somehow with the entire nation on the same Fiji Time, didn’t actually pose too great a problem during our trip… strangely.)
My fellow travel companion, Joyce, and myself, we really had an extremely comfortable ten hours on-board!
The Fijian crew aboard Fiji Airways certainly gave us our first taste of classic Fijian hospitality and warmth! We were always greeted with a warm smile and impeccable service.
Just in case I never get on another business class flight again in my life… HERE, BEEN THERE DONE THAT!
Obviously, all the seasoned business class travellers all around us looked totally bored out of their wits while we were ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything. But, no shame at all, I had a ball of a time enjoying my business class experience!
Yummy canapes, look at that giant chunk of crabmeat on a crusty base!
Starter for our first in-flight meal. My salad never tasted this good. And those buns too!
Thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of enjoying a steak on-board, silly as that sounds.
Desserts consisted of cheese and fruits, if you like them but I preferred a chocolate mousse cheesecake since I’m not a cheese person,
Which was delicious and disappeared off my plate in mere minutes.
Most of the Fijian crew have been flying for years and they are so experienced and also extremely extremely friendly and nice! We were well taken care of during the entire flight and it was an absolute joy to fly with Fiji Airways.
Here I am, looking refreshed even after ten hours!!
Remember what I said about Fijian hospitality? We were lucky enough to get to meet our friendly Fiji Airways pilot right after landing, and he gamely plopped his very cool (and too huge for me) pilot’s hat so that I could have a photo with it!
Thank you, Captain!!
And one with the entire crew aboard Fiji Airways, it was by far the most excellent flight I’ve been on!
In case you feel that my experience was warped because not everyone flies business, Fiji Airways also gave me the oppportunity to experience Economy Class on my way back, and well though Business Class is obviously very much more luxurious and comfy, my 10 hours Economy Class flight didn’t fare badly at all and I had a great flight as well 😉
This was one of my Economy Class meals: Loving the huge meat-to-carb ratio of my in-flight meals, can’t say the same for every airline!
All in all, it was a very pleasant experience flying with Fiji Airways, and the fantastic flight experience certainly contributed to how incredi-balls the entire holiday was, honest!
So now you know about the ten-hour direct flight to Fiji via Fiji Airways from Singapore, and next up I’m gonna be sharing with y’all the crazy good times we had in Fiji!
Fiji #0: “Is Fiji in Japan?” – Flying direct from Singapore to Fiji via Fiji Airways
Fiji #1: An Afternoon on Cloud 9, Floating Bar & Staying at Radisson Blu Resort
Fiji #2: Sigatoka River Safari & Mavua Village Experience
Fiji #3: White Water Rafting Through Fiji’s Grand Canyon
Fiji #4: Yatule Resort & Sofitel Fiji Resort
Fiji Airways‘s online website is right here, should you feel compelled to book your tickets straight away, hehehe.
Be right back with more,
xoxo