Suva - where cruise ships stop & traders know it

Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Pacific Harbour, Viti Levu, Fiji
Still intrigued by our determination to catch the public bus into Suva, Seru walks with us to the road to flag one down. Buses are a mix of 12-seater minibuses and conventional ones and all run on Fiji time... timetable open to negotiation!

We score a minibus, decked out inside with plastic and upholstery fabric throughout ... dashboard and ceiling included. It is full of locals heading to work and most of them are not petite. Personal space is decidedly cosy!

The bus flies along at what seems like an alarming rate, overtaking bigger vehicles with infectious Fijian music on the radio. It sounds like a curious blend of Polynesian and reggae.

The Suva bus station is opposite the flea market with the Handicraft centre nearby and the food markets a little further along. It's a leisurely amble through tight arcades of stalls selling fabrics, clothes, pandanus garlands, woven baskets, traditional wooden souvenirs and mats. Many have sewing machines with mainly Indian ladies taking alterations or making clothes to request.

The food market has an assortment of familiar and strange produce. It is ruled by the 'barrow boys' who wheel their wheelbarrows up and down the aisles delivering goods and clearing rubbish . Some are using them for resting or sleeping in but a photo isn't achievable at the time.

A little closer to the cruise terminal, two more handicraft centres vie for our business. There is a cruise ship due in in two days with 2000-3000 passengers spilling off for 8 hours of sightseeing and shopping. No wonder then that the stall holders are masters at selling and that competition is fierce.

The prices vary according to a customer's nationality it seems. One stall tells me one item bears 'the Japanese price' at FJD$285. For me, not 265 or 200, but FJD$50! (And I don't doubt I'm still being hoodwinked on price, authenticity or both!) If l pay in a mix of local and Australian currency, a second item is similarly discounted and a third is free...

Suva sits on a harbour and has an orderly if not grubby feeling about it, not unlike the side alleys of Singapore's Little India. The main thoroughfare has many commercial buildings up to 8-10 storeys high. Quite a few are in the Art Deco style. At the far end is the Grand Pacific Hotel where the Queen stayed in colonial days. We wander in for a peek and a coffee.

Returning to the bus station, we find peak hour in full swing with buses of all sizes and colours moving through. School children are heading home around 4.30pm and our bus is almost full with them. With no iPods or phones to retreat into, they are a chatty lot. This bus is not an express, so we get a one hour trip as it stops on request, sometimes only 50m apart!

It's a flying trip in to get changed before dinner. We have a 7.00pm invitation to the General Manager's table, and Jacques and Cathy Reymond are joining us. What to wear?!

We are assistant guinea pigs for three new menu items tonight, as Jacques trials more local produce - crabs from a local farm, soursop for sorbet. He has taught the staff how to prepare pork belly correctly today and the crackling is perfect! There is apparently much to be sorted out with the logistics of supply, working in a kitchen the size of a bathroom, refining presentation and achieving consistency across dishes with all staff.

The conversation is lively... Karen is an excellent hostess with many stories to relate about her 20 years in hospitality, much of it in Fiji. The night winds up around 10pm. We will need another day of luxurious not-much tomorrow to recover from such a BUSY day today!

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