Suva - city life again

After two weeks of drinking kava and sleeping in hammocks we were sliding into a vegetative state which we were worried might become permanent. Amazingly enough we were totally beached out and ready for a bit of city life. So we headed off to Suva, Fiji’s capital and currently declared off limits by the British Foreign Office due to the recent military coup. At least if anything dodgy happened we’d be woken up from our beach-coma.

We hadn’t been on a local bus since leaving Africa and were so excited by the prospect of getting on a crowded, sweaty, hunk of rust for the four hour journey down. Sure enough we climbed aboard a 1960s monstrosity and took our seats, hoping the chickens would get on soon. Sadly animals don’t seem to ride with the people here but we were delighted by the reappearance of the snack sellers hovering around our window.

Joining the military coup

The journey down along the southern coast of the main island was absolutely beautiful. Deep, green highlands line one side of the road whilst the opposing windows frame endless expanses of calm blue waters, stretches of white sand and an endless queue of coconut trees. It was just wonderful to be clattering along again, taking in the scenery and really feeling like we were back on the road. And to add to the excitement we were occasionally soaked by the good aim of children outside continuing the New Year tradition of throwing water over everyone.

Considering the warnings, we were expecting to see a high military presence in Suva but apart from one checkpoint on entering the city, any soldiers were inconspicuous during the day time. In fact, any that were around seemed more concerned with having their photos taken with locals and tourists alike than upholding any state of emergency. There was no sense of tension as we negotiated our way out of the bus station and took the short walk to our Backpackers, the wonderful Colonial Lodge.

Although the capital, Suva is relatively small with a population of 385,000 it is a stimulating city. There is a large Indo-Fijian population here as the Brits brought thousands over as indentured labour to work on the sugar cane plantations and help build the infrastructure when we colonized Fiji. As such you almost feel like you’ve stepped onto another continent, and are treated to the sights of colourful saris, the smell of curry spices and the sounds of Indian music.

There is a fair amount of racism towards the Indo-Fijians and they have been discriminated against by successive governments. Indians traditionally owned the sugar cane plantations but native Fijians are now refusing to renew their leases, leaving many homeless and with no choice but to move to the ever growing shanty town in Suva. The recent coup should actually be good for the Indo-Fijians as the previous government were keen on populist, anti-Indo-Fijian policies.

Many in Suva, Fijian and Indo-Fijian alike, say the capital is actually a lot safer since the coup. The police were allegedly very corrupt and were colluding with the thiefs and pawnbrokers. Since the army has taken over the crime rate has plummeted and the owner of Colonial Lodge no longer worries about staying alone with her kids in the house. Still, there will always be supporters and detractors of any coup and it is not a desirable method of ‘regime change’. With four coups in 19 years though it seems as though the precedent has been set.

We spent about two days in Suva, wondering the streets and enjoying the shops and fantastic, cheap curries. Not even a shark dive seemed to have awoken me from my hammock-induced lethargy but finally a trip to the city seems to have done the trick. It was great to have the sense assaulted again and we drank in every minute of it. Things that had started to irritate us when we were jaded at the end of the Africa section were suddenly things to relish. Souvenir sellers, taxi drivers beeping aggressively at us to offer us rides, drug-hawkers, we welcomed them back with open arms.

It’s good when life’s in your face.