Today was our “day in the life” experience. We’ve already visited a village, so this was to be a look at city life. It was a reminder that Fiji is still a developing nation and that even the “cities” have an essentially rural atmosphere.
Our local guide took a lot of time pointing out various industrial sites on the way into town. She even asked the driver to stop in the middle of traffic (well, such as trafic is) so that we could take photos, through the bus window, of the “historic” sugar cane mill. In this instance “historic” could be translated as 100 years old and in very bad shape. She also seemed very proud of the flour mill and the brewery.
We eventually arrived at the town market. I must admit that, as markets go around the world, this one was cleaner, better organized, and less chaotic than most. It didn’t even smell! Even the fish section didn’t smell terrible, and the fish on offer were far more colorful than those in most places.
Interestingly, produce is not sold by weight — almost none of the merchants had scales. Everything was simply priced by the “heap” or by the “bundle.” Exact measurement was unimportant, but the heaps were remarkably consistent in size.
Some of the unusual produce on offer included Kava root (see yesterday’s post), and dora (a local variety of taro root), and “spinach” that was actually dora leaves. It wasn’t clear why the leave weren’t being sold along with the root. They were always sold separately.
A significant difference between village and town is that the Indian population is concentrated in the more urban areas. We stopped at an Indian sweets stand and our tour leader purchased a variety of items for the group to try. Most were identical to things we had had in India, or even at home, where Indian immigrants and Indian cuisine are both in abundance.
We were driven a short distance to the “modern” shopping center. The local guide was clearly very proud of this, and assumed we’d be impressed. But Mall of America it was not. There was one department store, that did seem pretty well-stocked, a small food court, cell phone shop, travel agent, one liquor store, and a not-so-super supermarket. We spent our time in the supermarket because the variety of foods is always interesting.
We left modernity and drove out of the city center and into the suburban hills. The area was described as “middle class,” but we learned that some neighborhoods had only recently gotten hooked up with running water or electricity. We were on our way to our home-hosted lunch.
The home we visited was one that had only recently gotten running water, and they were looking forward to getting electricity later this year. The home was quite basic, but the family was exceptionally welcoming and we enjoyed a delicious “Findian” lunch. Our host was the Mormon bishop of the local ward.
Our return trip was via the “back way,” which was entirely rough, gravel road. Scattered houses featured chickens and junk cars in the yards. The natural beauty was stunning, but so too was the poverty. Fiji is a scenic land of proud, happy, friendly people. But it is still a work in progress, developing slowly.
Back at our thoroughly first-world resort, we enjoyed a dip in the pool, a couple of cold beers, and a cooking lesson from the restaurant chef, followed by our “farewell to Fiji” group dinner. Tomorrow, it’s on to New Zealand.
Our local guide took a lot of time pointing out various industrial sites on the way into town. She even asked the driver to stop in the middle of traffic (well, such as trafic is) so that we could take photos, through the bus window, of the “historic” sugar cane mill. In this instance “historic” could be translated as 100 years old and in very bad shape. She also seemed very proud of the flour mill and the brewery.
We eventually arrived at the town market. I must admit that, as markets go around the world, this one was cleaner, better organized, and less chaotic than most. It didn’t even smell! Even the fish section didn’t smell terrible, and the fish on offer were far more colorful than those in most places.
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| Kava roots and a scoop of kava powder |
We were driven a short distance to the “modern” shopping center. The local guide was clearly very proud of this, and assumed we’d be impressed. But Mall of America it was not. There was one department store, that did seem pretty well-stocked, a small food court, cell phone shop, travel agent, one liquor store, and a not-so-super supermarket. We spent our time in the supermarket because the variety of foods is always interesting.
We left modernity and drove out of the city center and into the suburban hills. The area was described as “middle class,” but we learned that some neighborhoods had only recently gotten hooked up with running water or electricity. We were on our way to our home-hosted lunch.
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