Hitchhikers
Travelling east meant crossing the Pacific, so might as well throw in a Pacific Island eh! Fiji seemed the obvious choice, the cheapest flight I could get to L.A. was with Pacific Airways which just happens to stop in Nadi, in Viti Levu, the biggest of the Fijian Islands. I arrived at 5am to three blokes in skirts strumming guitars and although exhausted, already knew I was going to like it here, it took me no time at all to slow down to Fiji time, it is after all my natural state to go slow. There was some one going to pick me up but he wasn’t in a hurry, so I sat around for an hour waiting. He sauntered along and took me to the hotel where I immediately went to sleep.
I was surprised to see that there was very little development and the area I was staying was pretty run down. I was in the poor tourist area but venturing into town showed me it was also the case there. There was a bit of reclaimed swamp, south of Wailola beach, where I was staying, that’s where all the big resorts are, catering for the package tourist with golf courses and everything you could wish for. I was expecting Fiji to be a tropical island paradise, with crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches, dancing girls in grass skirts and grass huts with hammocks hanging outside. The small outer islands, are exactly that but have been developed that way for the paying guests. I was more interested in the main island I was on and didn’t bother to venture out, I was only here for a week so decided to hire a car and drive around Viti Livu. It is Green and mountainous with sugar cane growing up the slopes, the roads are incredibly bad with pot holes everywhere, wouldn’t want to be riding a bike here. All the towns I passed through were poor and dirty and the Indians have a monopoly on all the business which dosn’t go down well with the indigenous Fijians. The country in the north west where the road gets even worse, runs through little villages with a huge river running alongside, this was the area that caught my attention most. I picked up a few Fijians along the way, it was a Sunday and they were all on their way to church, all in their Sunday best. I picked up one young lad who insisted I come and see a cave in one of the villages, he got a paraffin light set up and off we went. He showed me where his ancestors used to club neighbouring villagers to death before eating them… we don’t do that now though, not since the lord came and showed us it was wrong….hallelujah brother…I went through Suva the capital which is a modern and bustling city, passed through the coral coast where I spent the night and met a very interesting Fijian gentleman who introduced himself as Arthur, you know he said, like the King, he had worked around the world and was very articulate, he told me many stories about Fiji, it’s past, cannibalism, the present time and how he thought Fiji would progress.
It was this gentleman that gave me a true perspective of Fiji.
I am….THE LONESOME TRAVELLER….travelling east….BE HAPPY!