Tongatapsu, Tonga- Thursday, July 19^th 2019 5am

I arrived in Tonga this morning at about 9:30. My flight was delayed by about half an hour, but luckily it didn’t interfere too much with my schedule. I refused to change currency at the currency exchange at the airport, refusing to get sucked in yesterday’s trap in Fiji, where they took about 15% commission when all the tax and charges got deducted, instead, I waited until I got downtown and the rate was much better. 

As soon as I left the airport, I got approached by a woman with a badge. I assumed that she was of importance because she stopped me and aggressively asked me where I was staying and I thought that she was someone of importance. I told her the name of the Air BnB and she tried to direct me to her taxi, still aggressively trying to shove me in her car. I told her that I wasn’t looking for a taxi, she then began to get even more aggressive, until I finally began to walk away, after realizing that her badge was of no importance at all. I left the airport premises and got approached by two more taxis before I had even been out of full view of the airport, I waved them on and began walking in the direction of the city, following Maps.me on my phone. I was about halfway to my Air Bnb’s house, when another taxi approached. I gave in and he took me to my destination for a much cheaper price, I just wasn’t in the mood to argue again.

I located my Air BnB, only to find the owner was not at home. The cleaner directed me to the sitting room, where I waited until he arrived. I had another short sleep and then he drove me to the nearby supermarket and took me on a mini tour of the island which was nice. I definitely want to go back downtown tomorrow, once I can get some much needed rest and once I’m fully recovered. I’m still fighting off a cold that I picked up in Hong Kong a few days ago. 

Tongatapsu,Tonga- Wednesday, July 18^th 2019- late in the evening

I had another pleasant stroll around the downtown area. There is an amazing pizzeria called Marco’s Pizza, and it is famous throughout the island for obvious reasons. I’ve been spending too much time there, in fact, almost every day since I’ve arrived in Tonga, can’t wait to hit the gym again soon, my diet has gotten so bad over the past week, I’ve been eating nothing but junk food, terrified that I will inflate and go back to the 2017 world trip careless diet, when I carelessness gained over 30 extra pounds. I usually pass some nice shops on my random stroll and it’s enjoyable to see everyone out doing their shopping. My Air BnB host has been ok so far, he’s fairly easy to get along with, pushy at times, but he has organized a lot for me, transport, ticket to a traditional show, food, coffee and information about the island. It’s so difficult to get a Wi-Fi signal anywhere, I was gifted with a hotspot voucher earlier on, upon pursing a coffee at a local coffeeshop, though it was only 50MB, only enough to check my emails and catch some of the news headlines. I’m going to plan on going out for another stroll later on, hoping to go for another walk down in the direction of main city area. There are a few more coffee shops down in that direction, just trying to keep as active as possible and trying to get enough footage for my YouTube video, that I’m hoping to upload, once I can get a strong connection, which will possibly be tomorrow when I return to Fiji.

Tongatapsu, Tonga- Thursday, July 19^th 2019 5am

Just arrived at the airport, picked up my ticket and now waiting to clear emigration and board my flight back to Fiji.I don’t think my Air BnB host was impressed when I told him that my flight departed at 6:30am, he kindly dropped me to the airport and only charged about 20USD, which is prefect, and an actual bargain when you consider that there is no public transport on the island. I really don’t like asking people to go out of their way, but there was no airport bus at all, not at that time of the morning, but I’m sure that he’s used to people asking him at all times of the night/early morning for all types of requests.

I’m looking forward to returning to Fiji. I’m going to stay at Ace Airport Hotel again because I have an early morning bus ride to Suva tomorrow morning. I hope that they will let me check in early, I’m scheduled to arrive at about 9:30 and I really don’t have the time to try to plan a trip to downtown Nadi. There is nothing else to do nearby the airport, so I’m going to hope that I can check in early.

Overall, Tonga wasn’t so bad. I got to do a lot and see a lot in only a couple of days. I could walk to the downtown area and it only took about half an hour. There were a couple of good spots downtown, a few really nice restaurants with delicious pizza, something that I’ve been missing terribly, a market, selling souvenirs, some supermarkets and a couple of nice shops. The king’s palace is also nearby and you can get a glimpse into his palace, and the surrounding areas. I asked my Air BnB host if he had ever seen the king, but he hadn’t. The palace features a lot of security, so I assume it’s difficult/almost impossible to see him. I can’t wait to get a strong Wifi connection again. Only one coffee shop on the island offered Wifi access, and that only lasted for about 10 minutes a day.