Kava nights, Suva days.

I had an interesting few days away from the Seashell resort. I went along the south part of the main Island Vitu Levu, towards the capital Suva, stopping off at Sigatoka, where a local girl took me round a few of the sites, including Tavuni hill fort, and ended up in the local pool hall for a couple of games.

Suva was pretty hardcore compared to the rest of the island; the street-traders are more ruthless, the litter worse, and the diversity of poverty more extreme. It was also far from peaceful, as the hostel where I was staying at was undergoing an extensive refurb, plus they had a hyperactive 4 year-old and a dog with paranoia, so sleeping was more of a luxury than a basic human right.

I was informed of a mugging that had happened a few days before, 100m away from the hostel, and on the morning I left, a restaurant was burnt down and a family stabbed to death in their beds. Apart from the museum and a very large market I thought it best to leave Suva and find somewhere better to sleep and relax.

After a 5 hour bus journey across roads of dubious quality, I arrived back at Seashell and the friendliness of the place hit me. Like Cheers, everyone knows your name, Rakesh the barman new I would want a Fiji Bitter with a straw, David the co-owner welcomed me back, Margaret seemed very happy to see me, and pleased I had heeded her warnings about the sword sellers in Suva. Rob was still kicking around Seashell after going to the Yasawas, and I managed to have a last drink with him. 'Its all good'.

I fly out to Rarotonga on Wednesday so another night of Kava and Fiji bitter and a giggle by the pool then Im out of Fiji. Its a good place, the locals are very friendly, and there is an interesting contrast between the Fijians and Indian Fijians. The Indian Fijians have a very serious work ethic and are very industrious, while the Fijians are more on Spanish time with their laid-back attitude. This does mean a discrepency generally between the wealth of the Fijians and the Fijian Indians. I was half expecting some sign of tension between the two groups but they will all readily admit that there isnt and everyone gets along fine.

The east side of the island is also generally wetter and more lush, with a lot more tropical jungle covering the craggy hills, while the west seems to have more rolling hills covered with sugarcane, tobacco and grasses.

Top places to visit in Fiji:- Seashell Surf and Dive near Momi Bay, The Beachouse near Korolevu, any of the Yasawas (reports have been good), Bequ for diving and of course go to Seashell if you fancy surfing the world famous Cloudbreak as they can sometimes get a slot on a saturday there, which is still cheaper than staying on Tavarua, the exclusive resort for Cloudbreak. BeachComber Island is meant to be a bit of a giggle with one dorm housing over 100 people and non stop parties.