An evening with....Fijians

After a flight during which I only narrowly avoiding talking to a strange middle-aged ex-surfer for 3 hours about the break up of his marriage and "the worst year of [his] life", I bounded off the plane to the astonishing sight of 5 Fijian guys in the requisite 'South Pacific / Hawaiian' shirts playing ukeleles and singing traditional songs to welcome people to Nadi. Wicked!!

I ditched my bags and caught the $1 bus into the town. After a few weeks travelling the expensive hubs of Aus and NZ, these prices were very much appreciated.

It was pretty baking hot and a lot muggier than I imagined, and after being in two predominantly white countries I was struck by how dark-skinned some Fijians really are. For some reason, in my head South Pacific Islanders had a colouring closer to Asian people, but I've absolutely no idea where this would have come from - probably the same place as my mistaken but strongly-held assumption that Michael Stipe had AIDs, when in fact he's just getting older and balder. Note to self: engage in fact-checking more often.

The main drag of Nadi, which is not the island's capital (that's Suva on the Eastern side), is small and fairly beaten-up in a lot of ways, but the most striking feature of the town is its people - or more specifically, their smiles. At first glance the people of Nadi seem to have the same small-town despondency of any other area, but the second you smile at them, they break out into the biggest grins and nod to you. They may possibly be the friendliest people in the world at this point, and I loved sitting waiting for the bus and people watching - their interactions filled with a contagious positivity.

As befits an island quite affected by poverty but frequented by many tourists, there are the usual attempts to part you from your money:

"Bula!"
"Hey."
"Where are you from? Shake my hand - it's ok, Fijians are friendly people...Where are you from?"
"England"
"Ah, the motherland! How long is your stay?"
"About 5 more hours."
"We have a fantastic Polynesian handicraft store just down this way. I will take you..."

...at which point you politely wrestle yourself from the situation and try not to be too condescending in your denials. This exact conversation took place about 4 times in the one evening I was there.

The goods at the proper stores were all fairly tacky so I bought nothing, but did wander into a Hindu temple. After almost flouting custom by wearing my shoes inside, and being told off accordingly, I got chatting to a Fijian Hindu man about the temple and the religion itself. He taught me about Ganesh, the elephant god, and his rat friend on whom he used to ride around. The building was delightful, colourful and inspirational (as I suppose all religious architecture should be, if you're into that sort of thing).

I realised that my short time in Fiji was slipping by and I should be heading back to catch my flight, so i had a delicious $5 daal and rice (these prices!!) and accidentally got chatting to a very excitable American in the departure lounge. I was attempting to dispense of my Fijian dollars in an interesting and non-tacky way, and she pointed me towards a bag of kava, a drink with supposed analgesic and relaxant qualities (like a glass of good scotch or a really mild valium, along with the requisite straining bag and drinking coconut*. Sold!

*As of writing I have not tried this. It could be total bullshit.