Fiji and Indian food

We've been in Fiji for a few days now and we're starting to get to know a few things about another country. This is the first time we've visited a tropical place and rented a car at the same time. This has given us much more freedom to explore the area than if we just stayed at an all encompassing resort, something we tend to do for March breaks when we go to Mexico or the Dominion Republic with the kids.

We're staying for a week at a place near Nadia town. It's a separate house next to the owner Lynn's place, a British lady who is married to a Fijian. It's a nice enough place with a pool. There's no air conditioning, but luckily the nights are cool. It does heat up to 30 degrees Celsius during the day pretty quickly though, so we make use of the pool often to stay cool.

I can see why Fiji is a famous vacation location that everyone seems to have heard of. The weather is near perfect with a warm ocean and cool breezes. The people are friendly and welcoming, and say bula, meaning hello. This is a popular holiday destination for Australians and New Zealanders mainly, since it's relatively close by.

On Sunday and Tuesday we visited the Hilton and Radisson resorts respectively. We were surprised at first that we could visit these resorts but they have both been welcoming to day guests like us. Since these resorts make their profits selling meals and drinks to their patrons, they are happy for us to show up to buy a few drinks. I think it also helps that it's off season and the places are not fully booked up, so there are always lounge chairs available.

On Monday we visited the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, a property with many walking paths with orchids, lily ponds and other cultivated gardens of various trees and flowers. The place used to be owned by Raymond Burr, the actor who played Perry Mason in the popular 50's and 60's TV show. He had an interest in orchids, and helped discover many previously unknown orchids.

We visited the market in Nadia this morning. I didn't recognize some of the local fruits and vegetables, but we did enjoy looking around the stalls. They sell a lot of pineapples, and a root called kava, which is ground down into a powder and used to make a popular drink. The drink is an acquired taste and apparently makes you very relaxed if you drink enough of it. It will also make your face feel numb. The local Fijians drink this every day. It's not a drug and is legal in Canada and the U.S.

We've been trying some of the local Indian food, which has been really good. Half the population is of Indian decent, the descendants of indentured labourers who came to work here from India in the 1870's through 1916, when indentured work was finally banned. Indentured workers often had a five year contract, after which time most people stayed on. Most couldn't afford to return home even if they wanted to. Fiji was a British colony from the 1870's until 1970, when the country gained its independence. The country has had an interesting period since then with four coups and four constitutions. I'll save that story for the next blog though - it's quite the tale.

Here we are at the Radisson resort today.