November 2005
G'day
Another trip to paradise
My scheduled week long trip was cut short due to my wife falling sick but while in Fiji I was able to get most of my tasks done - including the inclusion of a new exotic and isolated Fijian Village which will appear on FijiBure.com shortly - more next month!
A meeting with the hosts resulted in some positive outcomes for some of the
growing pains that we are facing. It is our commitment to you to act on all
complaints or suggestions with the aim of improving our service to you.
In particular
- our lovely hostess, Emma at Namuamua, (wallpaper on this email) has taken over as host from her father Tomasi
- the bedrooms at Namuamua will have their curtain walls replaced by bamboo walls for better privacy
-
we have set up village cells that are now co-ordinated to assist if one host
cannot be there to meet a guest (in two cases in the last six months guests
were not met or not expected as a result of poor communication in Fiji).
This is not acceptable - but not bad as we had hundreds of guests over this
time.
These village cells will:- Maintain close communication by way of mobile phone (all our hosts have mobile phones) and
- Organise to have another host meet a guest if they cannot get to the meeting point (example - bad weather stopping boat travel from Beqa Island)
- a copy of the booking schedule will now be sent to Island Travel Tours and Judith at Namatakula every month to ensure that all hosts get two phone calls confirming every booking made through FijiBure.com
- the sleeping arrangements at Rookwa have been reviewed so that only one couple stays at Aisake's house at a time - the larger secondary home in the village will be used if there is more than one family or couple.
Namatakula under renovation thanks to you!
We are delighted to share with you some of the first tangible visible impacts that are resulting directly from FijiBure.com. While many of the flow on benefits within the village are not often seen by way of visible renovations the community benefits such as sponsored children, disposable income and improving lifestyles is occurring in all our participating villages.
The guests who have stayed with Simon and Judith have directly contributed to the complete renovation of the community hall (which now boasts electricity and a CD player (for Fijian music) and the implementation of a series of concrete paths around the village - that will soon reach every home. (See images below)
Simon and Judith have also purchased an Australian made Speed Heat water heater that will now provide their guests with warm water when they shower. This is a first in their village and FijiBure.com - although Sirelli at Naroro has also ordered a Speed Heat system which will be installed in the guest house next year.
Our hosts also wanted to extend a big thank you to all their guests who helped make this possible.
 |
 |
 |
More at this
link
Some classic signs seen on my travels:
In a Yugoslavian hotel:
In a Japanese hotel:
In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox
monastery: |
The village of the month:
The village of the month is Galoa. We are getting nothing but good reports from guests who have visited this tiny and remote village on the minute Galoa Island north of Vanua Levu.
Image right: The tiny isolated island village of Galoa
For those who love fishing, adventure, isolation and snorkeling check out this exotic spot!
Congratulations Disele!
Scott Balson