Nadi is Fiji’s 3rd largest city with a population of 45 thousand.. city. Pronounced Nandi, Nadi is located near the west coast of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu.. The village of Viseisei, where I stayed, is west of Nadi.. One of the largest Hindu temples in the southern hemisphere, the Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple is located in Nadi. This Hindu temple is also located to the west of the city of Nadi.
Fiji’s largest and busiest airport, Nadi Airpot, is located 9 km from the city.. Since Nadi Airport is the choice of those who come to Fiji for holiday, this place is even more crowded than Suva Airport.. After the missionary activities of the Westerners; Fijians who were once cannibals are now staunch Christians. On the other hand, Hinduism is one of the most common religions.. It is also possible to see Muslim Fijians wearing headscarves around because of Indian Muslims.
I woke up around 07:00 in the morning, went back to Fi after breakfast and made a reservation for my next stay.. The Beach House is the place called Coral Cost in the south of the Main Island of Fiji where I am, I plan to stay there for 2 nights. I left around 09:00 and waited for the bus to Nadi, I was on the bus 10 minutes later and I think I was at Nadi 45 minutes later.
I found a market and bought noodles, canned beans, biscuits and jam.. There is a backpacker kitchen at The Beach House and I will cook my own meals. Bed and breakfast price is 45$ per night, all inclusive price is 105$ I think.. Instead of paying an extra $120 for meals for 2 days, $9 shopping seemed enough.. There was a public market next to the bus terminal where I got off, and I dived into it.
There were lots of raw kava plants, prepared and packed kava in many stalls, and the mud smell of kava was in the air.. It is very crowded, but there is a quiet market where everyone wanders calmly.. It is possible to find all kinds of handmade souvenirs from vegetables and fruits.
There are lots of papaya, banana and pineapple in the fruit aisles.. For $1 you can get a few papayas or 2 kilos of bananas.. The pineapple I bought for 50 cents was delicious, juicy and sweet.. Bought apples, bananas and 5 fresh corncobs. If I had a longer backpacker adventure, I would buy lots of eggplant, spinach and other fruits and vegetables.. It was a complete irony for me to see the eggplant, which I bought and cooked a few times, for this price, because it costs NZ$ 3 each in New Zealand.. A vegetable I like is cheap, plentiful, but this time the conditions are not suitable for cooking.
A group of 10 people was promoting Christianity with banners on their way to the market.. A white man, barely 1 meter tall, was making fiery propaganda with a megaphone in his hand.. There was a more professional organization in the other corner of the market.. In a place like the election offices established during the election periods in our country, a Fijian with a microphone in his hand was making propaganda with a loud and aggressive voice, together with the established sound system and even the music group.. It is possible to see Muslim women wearing headscarves and even veils in the same market.
Nadi city center consists of several streets, I think.. When I saw the internet cafe on the corner, I immediately jumped in, but all the tables were full.. As I went out and looked, the Fijians sitting a short distance away greeted me and started talking to me.. After classic questions, when I asked where I could find it on the internet, after some thought, they said why don’t you go to our shop and have a look.. I thought they had internet in their shop, when I followed the man in front of me and invited him to the gift shops, I thanked him and left.
I stopped by a few clothing and souvenir shops on the way.. Prices seem pretty cheap.. I searched for thin, similar but large things that I can use on the beach, but I couldn’t find it.. Easy to carry and dry. I spent up to 2 hours in an internet cafe on the second floor.. I got over my internet crisis a little bit, I’m full.
By the way, there was an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude during the 4 days I was in Fiji.. I have already remembered the sentence that my friends often tell me, you shake the place you go.. The day I set foot in New Zealand, there was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, 20 days after my visit to Christchurch, many people died.. there was an earthquake. The interesting thing is, I was considering Christchurch English language school in the first place, but due to the cold weather, I chose Auckland instead.. More than 90 students at the language school died in this second earthquake.. Who knows, if I had chosen…
I waited at the bus terminal for about 2 hours. The bus, which was supposed to arrive at three o’clock, arrived at 4 o’clock.. I took the bus from Nadi to the capital Suva with the ticket I bought for 9 FJ$.. Most of the passengers got off in the city of Sigatoka, it was about 6 pm when I got off in front of The Beach House at Coral Cost after a journey of almost 2 hours in total.
I registered at the reception. And following the boy in charge, I passed through the magnificent trees and greenery and went to my room.. After the village life and the dorm room on Kuata Island, this place seemed quite luxurious and cool to me.. On the wooden and rather high Scandinavian style roof 2 fans were working, the room for 6 people with 3 bunk beds with twin beds is quite nice. All the windows are covered with mosquito nets and it is cool inside.
I am staying in my room with 2 men, a French and an Englishman.. The French one is on vacation with a surfboard.. I took my laptop and went to the kitchen.. No microwave, no fridge, not enough equipment, but a kitchen that could still work.. I boiled fresh corn and made some noodles with it.
Finally, I had the opportunity to edit the photos and upload them to Picasa and Facebook.. Internet is pretty bad. 256 Kbps, I guess dial-up, disconnects frequently and sometimes not working at all even though it’s connected. It reminded me of the old days for Turkey.
Day 280: Fiji:12. Coral Cost, April 10, 2011
