23 June 2010
Within an hour and a half, all our entrance papers were at last completed having whisked from one department to another by taxi across the city. It was interesting to see Fiji still retains some traditions from its colonial past. We were just in time to see the changing of the guard at the gates to the Presidential Palace, the soldiers resplendent in their royal blue jackets and white silk "sulus", the Fijian equivalent to the Tongan tupenu.
The next "must see" was the fantastic municipal market. On two levels, the lower one was dedicated to fruits and vegetables of every description. The produce is arranged in piles on a plastic or paper plate and you pick your pile and pay for it. Upstairs was where the Indian spice merchants and kava sellers plied their trade. Kava is big in Fiji and varies in quality and strength. Not into kava ourselves we returned to Voyageur laden with goodies from the lower floor.
The following morning we again set off with Irene and Dick to the city museum. It houses the finest collection of Fijian artefacts in the world. Its centrepiece, a huge "drua", or ancient double hulled canoe complete with steering oars, the kind of vessel that the ancient Fijians used to cross oceans. There were other fine examples of river craft still in use today which bring produce from the fertile inland areas. Upstairs in a specially air conditioned room there was the most exquisite display of wedding gowns made from "masi" or tapa bark cloth. The best tapa comes from the mulberry tree. It was the most interesting and worthwhile morning we have spent in quite some time. We walked back into Suva city centre through the immaculately kept Thurston Botanical Gardens full of the most wonderful mature trees which included many fine examples of the "Rain" tree or weeping fig.
The city architecture is an interesting mixture of colonial, art deco and modern high rise buildings. The Indian influence felt much stronger than ever since we were last here and appears to dominate the world of business and retail. Our city trip ended with lunch in a Chinese restaurant. We left Irene and Dick to return to Voyageur for a late afternoon departure. On the way we made a brief stop at the Handicraft market full of little stalls. We had only reached as far as the second one when we were collared! It was fun haggling over the carvings, the majority of which are made on the island of Fulaga in the Lau group. Every time we said no, the price came down but in the end we agreed on a price and happy with our purchases.