Capital City Not So Capital!

We made a visit to the capital city of Fiji, Suva, on the 12th to explore what we thought would be a bustling and energetic city with lots to see as most capital cities are.

On the contrary, both Chris and I found Suva to be a bit of a disappointment. It was pretty boring, rather dirty and there was nothing really major to offer in the city except for a handicraft market, some small shops and a large park. We didn’t see any large buildings that defined the city or large museums or galleries of any kind either. It was rather laid back and not the normal hustle bustle you would associate with a capital city.

We spent some time walking through the quite large handicraft market where my “bargaining” skills had to be put to the test. Each vendor had a small 3 by 10 foot area and as you walked by they would all call you in and tell you to come in to just take a look. Once inside, it was pretty much impossible to get out. Anything you would touch or even glance at for a millisecond would be considered something you wanted and the prices would start to be called out. It was very similar to my trip in India although I found they are not as aggressive in Fiji as they were in India. At the end of the day, if you offered them a price they were not happy with and walked out, they let you walk away and did not call you back. For me, it was very hard to not want to buy lots of souvenirs as there were many beautiful things that I found in the market. I was reminded by Chris (the more level headed one when it comes to shopping) that we do have to carry everything we buy and there would be more souvenir shopping in all of the other countries we would be traveling to. Some of the Fijian items that impressed me the most would have to be some of the jewelry pieces, hand woven hand bags and beautifully carved statues and bowls.

The best part of our day in Suva was our time spent in the produce market. The fruit/vegetable markets in Fiji are AWESOME. You walk into these warehouses and there are rows and rows of tables with different folks selling different fruits and vegetables at prices you would never and could never find in Canada. A small plate of red peppers (around 30 I’d say) for $1, 6 papayas for $1, bag of carrots for $2. This day reminds us of an Indian man who was so kind to both Chris and I. We had wanted to make coconut curry that night at our bungalow and needed some Indian spices. At the market, this one Fijian man was selling spices but by the kilo and Chris and I literally needed one tbsp each of three spices. The man couldn’t stop laughing as he wasn’t sure how he was going to measure just one tbsp. In the end, he decided to just give it to us for free. Although this may not sound like a lot, Chris and I were very thankful and were amazed at his generosity. So although the city Suva itself wasn’t that appealing to us, our trip to the city revealed to us how friendly and generous the Fijian people really are and reminded us that although the Fijian people live a tough life and barely get by money wise, they put others before themselves in acts of kindness. In a city so full of poverty, its hard to believe the poor can be so happy helping others before themselves.

Streets of Suva

Streets of Suva

Catholic Church

Entrance to Market

Extreme Generosity