Beachcomber was a totally different experience and I loved it too. More of a resort with parasailing, jet skis, etc. It is a small island you can walk around in 12 minutes time. A live band would play in the evenings and I was Bula king twice. The “Bula” dance was something like the Macarana and may have been made up by the band. A guy and a girl got to lead it. The word “Bula” is used as a greeting and can have different meanings.

  There are cabins on Beachcomber island and dorms. I chose the dorms which were cheaper.  I learned a traveler’s trick from an English girl that I met there who always carried a paperback book with her. It gave her something to do rather than just sitting by herself and looking bored. It could be used to ignore people and put down when she wanted to engage someone in conversation. Sort of like an i-pod.

  I wore a sarong which you wrap around and then tie it off and tuck the ends under. One thing I did learn that if you are wearing kahki shorts and get them wet in the ocean and then put on a red sarong you end up with pink kahkis. They had great meals and fans in the dorms. I took a large schooner back to the main island from Beachcomber and was then off to New Zealand.