Tonga

Trip Start Feb 13, 2005

Trip End Jun 01, 2005

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Where I stayed

Toni's Guest House Nuku'alofa

(Nuku'alofa hotels)

Flag of Tonga Nuku alofa, Tonga
Tuesday, April 26, 2005

So its late on the 25th when I'm due to board NZ26 to Tonga, I still haven't booked accommodation, shit, I'm screwed, having repeatedly tried to call the 'Backpacker place' which the Lonely planet, (which i have come to affectionately call the 'Lonely Liar') said was the best place. I later find out that the place closed nearly 2 years previously, nice one Lonely Planet. This still hasn't helped my situ. In a last ditched effort i ring Toni's backpackers with my remaining pennies on my phone card. A woman picks up. I can feel the remaining 1min fall from my grasp like an demented otter at a butter factory, or some other analogy that those creative among you will surely better. Scrambling for words, i condense all my wants and needs in before she can say, 'Sorry me no speakie the English'. Putting the phone off the hook, she goes to get someone that can understand me. The seconds evaporate, so that by the time i franticly attempt to rattle off that i need picking up from the airport, my proverbial pips are spent and last call is made for my flight

kava

. I nervously broaded the flight, Shit!
Arriving in Tonga it is gone midnight and sleeping in the airport is starting to cross my mind. And then before ever hope is lost their is a guy sith a 'Toni's Guest house' board. God bless him!

After a few chilled out days in Tongas capital Nuk ulofa, i venture out to a small island of Tonga called Pangimotu with my new friends Pete and Sarah. Pangimotu, the island retreat with a insanely well positioned shipwreck just off the beach. After a few days here, with no other tourists on the island we head back to Toni's where he organises a Kava night. Now Kava if obtained from a root, and a dissolvable powder. It looks a lot like dirty dish water, and tastes like it looks. Its apparently a narcotic, and now band in the UK. I don't see it my self though. Anyway drank about 15 litres of this stuff, with little effect. Did i mention its a diaretic. Well it is, and i peed all night.

Sunday, with little to do as absolutely everything closes, i went on a tour of the island. Now an interesting fact, Mormon churchs are the Starbucks of Tonga, as they, (with excess American money) are trying to make Tonga the first mormon country. All the church have cult like similarity, and its kind of errie. Other than that i saw coastal blowholes, a stonehenge thing which i climbed on top of, and an ugly looking fruit called a Noni fruit, which western science is looking into as a wonder drug. Jim take note! Sunday night i watched to Big Lebowski on Tom's (my new Swiss travel buddy) and it took me back to the good old days at uni!

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