My partner Olivia and I arrived in Suva airport on 24/6/2013
for the start of a 2 year stint in Suva. Olivia has a role with the UN Women’s
program through VSA which is the basis of this little jaunt into the Pacific
and myself, well I’m keeping an eye out for an exciting job but I can’t say I’m
in much of a hurry. I’m on Fiji time!!
Most flights come into Nadi, but several flights a week come
directly into Suva from New Zealand and we were lucky enough to jump on a direct
flight. Getting off the plane, the heat wasn’t as intense as expected, it’s
actually quite nice but the immigration and customs was like nothing I had ever
seen!
It was the biggest line I had been in in a while, but 40
minutes and a shoe inspection later we were catching a ride into Suva!
The airport is around 20k’s out and the road conditions stop
vehicles in most places exceeding 70k’s so plan a little extra time to get
around, the drive takes you through the outskirts though and there is plenty to
look at! Most houses are painted some pretty vibrant colours, a theme that
continues throughout the country and is different from anywhere I’ve seen
before. Expect maybe Matai!
Housing
Housing is somewhat expensive in Suva, we are living in a 2
bedroom apartment in Central Suva (under 15minute’s walk to the main part of
town) which runs at around $2500FJD. This is pretty good for a modest 2 bedroom
place, and what it lacks in hot water (there is none) it makes up for in being
above the Tsunami line! BONUS! Security is also a key issue in housing; we have
barred windows, dead bolts on doors and security gates. Also, the entire complex
is gated (all of which is totally normal here) and a lot of complexes offer
round the clock guards. You can get your own personal house guard for around
$50FJD a week… That’s for a good one that doesn’t sleep on the job!
Around Town and the
Markets
The first thing you
will notice when you go exploring is the amount of people that will say hi to
you as you walk past. Bula is Fijian for hello, and you will hear it a lot
walking around as people are super friendly.
While there are plenty of malls with everything you could
ever want (pricier than NZ in regard to most things that are imported) and a
few bulk stores similar to NZ’s ‘The Warehouse’ where you really want to go and
explore are the markets!
Three pineapples for $5FJD? 80cFJD for a coconut? More than
you can eat from the huge array of small food stalls for less than $5FJD? Yes
please! (Please note, when a Fijian-Indian says it’s salty, he means your
tongue will shrivel on the first bite. Don’t worry though, once you stop
gagging it’s quite delicious and throughout the market they sell cups of fresh
fruit juice for around 30c a cup.)
With a fish market beside the main market (beside the Suva
bus station, along the waterfront street if you look on a map) you can eat like
a local. Which is pretty damn good! And it’s so cheap! Upstairs of the main
market is where they sell Kava (get the root itself not the powdered stuff
which has less kick and is seen as cheap if you give it as a gift to a local),
more spices than you can shake a coconut at and loads of things I don’t have
word to describe!
If you are like me, and whipping up a curry is easy if it
comes in a jar then never fear! Just ask at the market what it is, how you kill
it, skin it and cook it! I asked a Indian lady what spices she would recommend
to make a curry and 20 minutes later we were great friends, I knew exactly what
spice to use for what, how to make a kick-ass curry and her cell phone number
in case I had any questions! I LOVE FIJI!
Oh yea, don’t forget
the flea market, its 100m north of the main market on the other side of the
street. It’s the best place to get your hand woven mats, bowl’s baskets, tapa
cloth etc etc. Oh yea, and coffins. They do great rates on coffins....
Security
While some people were worried I was going to be robbed,
mugged and used as a scratching post I have found Suva to be relatively safe. I’m
not saying I recommend having your camera around your neck while walking around
at night holding a map and going down dark alleys… but with taking reasonable care
I feel perfectly safe! I try not to have anything in my pockets in town, and
when it’s crowded I usually carry my bag in front of me. That’s not from any
bad experience here, it’s just habit.
Still, after dark take a taxi! They are everywhere, super
cheap and metered so you don’t have to haggle over every taxi ride! I have been
told by locals that walking around at night is fine if there is more than one
of you, but I might not risk that just yet. I’ll keep you posted :P
Vinaka vaka levu, Sa
moce! Thanks for reading and catch you next time!
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