Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Suva, Fiji!


There was this one girl I went to Uni with while I did exchange in Australia, and she went to visit Fiji on her Spring break. ever since than I always wanted to go there. I remember thinking..."aww I wanna go." lol. Now, when you hear of Fiji you think of Tropical paradise. I was so happy to be able to visit Fiji.

I went out to go on my tour. Another Island drive! Hooray! But we also were going to a village. It was an hour drive to get out there. Before boarding the bus, the air was cool, the sky was cloudy, and the locals weren’t what I was expecting. I don’t really know what I was expecting to be honest. They were light skinned with really course curly hair. Afros is the best word to describe it. They all had this certain look. The eyes were very distinct looking. Needless to say it wasn’t the Fiji I was Expecting, but at the same time I enjoyed what I was experiencing, and seeing.

The guide was cool, she kept it real for us. She told us about the dangers, and they people they try to rip you off, and all that. Who to buy from, who to avoid. The houses in the city are all fenced in by electric fences. If that doesn’t tell you something about safety - nothing will. Lol. Most locals that you encounter working in the city are coming 3 or 4 hours commute to sell their produce. Our guide included.



We were told that they had to stop for lifejackets. Now, there was nothing in the tour booking form about a river cruise. The passengers had no idea either. I was just as surprised. We all got into these small boats heading to the village. By this time it started to rain. Light rain that wasn’t too bad.




The boat ride wasn’t long. What was long was the waiting for everyone getting into a boat. They only took 4 at a time. We had two busloads of people.

I was finally headed to the village. It was raining full on now. The river ride was really quick, only a few minutes.

As soon as you reach the village, you see this big church. The guide told us in a village the biggest building must be the church. She wasn’t lying. There were houses, and a school, all in one spot. All the kids were really nice. I had one guide me, I wasn’t really expecting that either. Everyone was really nice. Inside the church there were some drips, some repairs needed as well. It wasn’t like a pristine building. It had character. We gathered there for a few minutes to hear some woman talk-where not a soul heard her except the person right in front of her. Lol.

The school kids started singing, and that’s where Amber started rolling. I hate picking from our music folders. It’s such a pain finding a good song, so I used the kids singing. It's way better than the music we have. Plus, it adds a little something when you have music from that day. I do it whenever I can.

We were there to watch a Kava Ceremony. It was pretty much the same thing like the Ava Ceremony. The kids did the ceremony though. The kids did a few dancing things. I was stuck shooting in the rain. It was really heavy at this point.



It got cut short because of the rain. So, the long bus ride, and the long wait to get into the boats, was for a short visit. I didn’t have much material for an edit. So I bothered the kids. Lol. I was asking them about their life. It was good.




After my tour I went out with Joe. Let me tell you, I felt like I was back in India! Joe kept saying how it felt like home for him. We had fun going through the markets. We went to a bakery, and got the best homemade swiss roll(ya know the kind you buy in the stores…like little Debbie) ever! We exchanged money so I got some Fijian money for my dad. We had a good day out. Oh, but it still was pouring out. Lol. I remember when I went to buy a postcard and stamps at the post office for my niece and nephew, how cold it was going into the building. The ac was blasted. We were wet, and I was freezing!!!


Joe, and I heard about what other crew were saying about the port. No one liked it. Needless to say we didn’t see many people from the ship anywhere we happened to be hanging. They were all scared. They kept saying how unsafe it was, and how scary it was. We just laughed at them. I guess since I’ve been to Bombay nothing intimidates me now. I guess I have to see reeeeeal bad to be scared. Suva was not bad in the least. It was crowded, but clean. The people were nice too. So, I wasn’t bothered at all. Some people were pissed it was raining, we were on the wet side of the island though, that’s why everything was so green. Joe and I got soaked, but I didn’t mind. My hair has been soft ever since!! ☺ I left Suva being a fan of Fiji!


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