So, it's been three weeks (four weeks for Patrick) since we landed in Fiji, and we're slowly easing ourselves into the Fijian lifestyle. Here are ten things that I've noticed in my first three weeks here:
1) The four things you can find in abundance in Suva are aubergines (eggplants), Gloria Jean's coffee shops (the Aussie 'Starbucks'), places to top-up your mobile phone (including booths especially for this purpose), and taxis. I thought Bangkok had a lot of taxis until I came here!
2) The three things that are pretty much impossible to find are legal DVDs/CDs, Vonu beer, and decent cheese. We've found some places that stock Vonu now; we're still hunting for the cheese.
3) Unlike in our Western cultures where special opening hours are almost obsolete, Sundays in Suva are truly a day for relaxation and family time. The only things open in the city centre are the two malls, a few cafes and the swimming pool. Though the city centre is dead, you'll see many smartly dressed Fijians around the suburbs heading to church. A lot of Fijians take their religion very seriously; behind every door in our apartment is a black and white picture of Jesus.
4) In terms of where to eat in Suva, I'd recommend the boat restaurant Tilo's Steak and Seafood House. I had to hobble to get there (football injury from the beach), and felt ever-so-slightly from the constant rocking (yes, I'm ridiculous), but it was worth the acute agony and sickness for their grilled prawns and baby octopus with basil- mmm mmm MMM!
5) Coming from somebody who is directionally challenged, it's pretty tricky to get lost in Suva when you're walking- it's not big by usual city-standards- but very easy when you're driving (I would imagine).
6) Remember how much I love Australian TV and adverts (she says sarcastically- except when it comes to Masterchef, which I actually do love)?? Well, Aussie TV seems fantastic compared to Fijian terrestial TV. OK, so we shouldn't be watching that much TV anyway...but the best shows we've found so far are an English-dubbed Chinese soap about a 'human wolf' (not sure if this is different from a werewolf), and Glee. Think that says it all, really. Though that might be a little unfair when it comes to sports- the Rugby World Cup coverage has been pretty good, and the Pacific Games helped me add to my limited geographical knowledge. Who knew Norfolk Island was a country? Everybody, probably.
7) Clothes-shop assistants are very, very attentive. As in follow-you-around-the-shop attentive. I understand; there's about 50 shops on the same street selling similar things. But it's still a little unnerving!
8) Food that's cheap to buy here- fruit/veg at the market, potatoes at the supermarket, bottled water, Tim Tams (cappucino ones- didn't even see them in Oz!). Things that aren't so cheap- other vegetables at the supermarket (FJ$8 for 1 red pepper!!!!), pasta.
9) They don't seem to be prevalent, but there is the odd 'truck tuk-tuk' as we lovingly called it in Thailand. Taxis still seem the popular way to go.
10) When out with Hasneet and others from Entec Engineering (Patrick's company), Patrick and I learnt a Fijian style of drinking called taki. This involves a jug of drink- in our case Kentucky whisky and coke- and one glass. One person drinks- or should I say downs their drink- at a time, continuing around the circle. Good times...
Ah go on, I'll throw in another cheeky fact for luck...
11) The Suva bus station looks chaotic, but is surprisingly easy to navigate. We caught our first 'public bus' on Saturday morning for the hour-long journey to the nearest beach at Pacific Harbour (where my foot had an unfortunate collision with Patrick's). Cheap, pretty comfortable- definitely a good way to get around the country! And it seems that you can hail them at any point along the road.
That's all I can think of for now! We're off to Natadola Beach this weekend, staying at Natadola Beach Resort...will be nice to spend overnight at the beach! Will just be a little less vigorous in my football-playing this weekend. Until next week!...
1) The four things you can find in abundance in Suva are aubergines (eggplants), Gloria Jean's coffee shops (the Aussie 'Starbucks'), places to top-up your mobile phone (including booths especially for this purpose), and taxis. I thought Bangkok had a lot of taxis until I came here!
2) The three things that are pretty much impossible to find are legal DVDs/CDs, Vonu beer, and decent cheese. We've found some places that stock Vonu now; we're still hunting for the cheese.
3) Unlike in our Western cultures where special opening hours are almost obsolete, Sundays in Suva are truly a day for relaxation and family time. The only things open in the city centre are the two malls, a few cafes and the swimming pool. Though the city centre is dead, you'll see many smartly dressed Fijians around the suburbs heading to church. A lot of Fijians take their religion very seriously; behind every door in our apartment is a black and white picture of Jesus.
4) In terms of where to eat in Suva, I'd recommend the boat restaurant Tilo's Steak and Seafood House. I had to hobble to get there (football injury from the beach), and felt ever-so-slightly from the constant rocking (yes, I'm ridiculous), but it was worth the acute agony and sickness for their grilled prawns and baby octopus with basil- mmm mmm MMM!
5) Coming from somebody who is directionally challenged, it's pretty tricky to get lost in Suva when you're walking- it's not big by usual city-standards- but very easy when you're driving (I would imagine).
6) Remember how much I love Australian TV and adverts (she says sarcastically- except when it comes to Masterchef, which I actually do love)?? Well, Aussie TV seems fantastic compared to Fijian terrestial TV. OK, so we shouldn't be watching that much TV anyway...but the best shows we've found so far are an English-dubbed Chinese soap about a 'human wolf' (not sure if this is different from a werewolf), and Glee. Think that says it all, really. Though that might be a little unfair when it comes to sports- the Rugby World Cup coverage has been pretty good, and the Pacific Games helped me add to my limited geographical knowledge. Who knew Norfolk Island was a country? Everybody, probably.
7) Clothes-shop assistants are very, very attentive. As in follow-you-around-the-shop attentive. I understand; there's about 50 shops on the same street selling similar things. But it's still a little unnerving!
8) Food that's cheap to buy here- fruit/veg at the market, potatoes at the supermarket, bottled water, Tim Tams (cappucino ones- didn't even see them in Oz!). Things that aren't so cheap- other vegetables at the supermarket (FJ$8 for 1 red pepper!!!!), pasta.
9) They don't seem to be prevalent, but there is the odd 'truck tuk-tuk' as we lovingly called it in Thailand. Taxis still seem the popular way to go.
10) When out with Hasneet and others from Entec Engineering (Patrick's company), Patrick and I learnt a Fijian style of drinking called taki. This involves a jug of drink- in our case Kentucky whisky and coke- and one glass. One person drinks- or should I say downs their drink- at a time, continuing around the circle. Good times...
Ah go on, I'll throw in another cheeky fact for luck...
11) The Suva bus station looks chaotic, but is surprisingly easy to navigate. We caught our first 'public bus' on Saturday morning for the hour-long journey to the nearest beach at Pacific Harbour (where my foot had an unfortunate collision with Patrick's). Cheap, pretty comfortable- definitely a good way to get around the country! And it seems that you can hail them at any point along the road.
That's all I can think of for now! We're off to Natadola Beach this weekend, staying at Natadola Beach Resort...will be nice to spend overnight at the beach! Will just be a little less vigorous in my football-playing this weekend. Until next week!...
It's a long time coming, but I was wondering - WHERE DO YOU FIND TIM TAMS IN SUVA?! I am a desperate Australian
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