Friday February 22:, 2019
PORT 9, SUVA FIGI
Perhaps, the biggest pleasant surprise of all of our ports thus far. The people are unbelievably nice going out of their way to be informative and helpful. If we could change anything, it would be the weather because it was really too hot, and we did not have enough time to really see the beauty of the Island.
There was a major outdoor market a very short walk from the port, and we spent a lot of time walking around that market, part of which had a roof over it and part of which was entirely outdoors. There was no air conditioning.
As many know, popcorn is a staple of BGM’s “diet” and we brought hundreds of packages of microwave popcorn. However, we have found that most places we have been to sell some form of popcorn that is just the corn without butter or salt added and we have bought it on a few occasions. We bought some at the market and BGM says it is the best.
Everyone says “Bula” which is a friendly greeting.
I also was given a little cup of Kava which was okay and the polite thing to do as it is the native drink.
We then spent the rest of the day basically shopping, eating and talking to the native people who were more than happy to tell us about Fiji. This is a place we would love to visit again. There is one outstanding five star hotel and lots to see.
The major department store we were in was surprisingly nice. It was really a terrific place. On the 4th floor was a huge food court which is the best food court I have seen. It sat hundreds of people and, when we left, people were waiting for tables.
It is the first time that we have experienced a sales clerk offering us a discount when BGM made it obvious that the price quoted to us for a very nice wooden cheese board was more than she had hoped. We bought it at a much more satisfactory price.
Also, BGM was looking for a particular brand of a product. The store did not carry that brand, but had very similar, virtually identical items it could have sold. Rather than to try to convince us that what they had was just as good, the salesperson told us that only one place had this brand, and sent us to that place. We have all been to department stores and had to hunt for a salesperson or a salesperson with knowledge. This store had loads of sales people and one was nice and more knowledgeable than the next.
HOT TIP: Get up early, get ashore as soon as you can and plan to spend as much time as possible without missing the ship when it sails away. There is lots to do and see and not enough time.
BGM gives our experience A- only because we did not get to do enough and because it was so hot. JFM gives it an A and I give it a little more than that because of great lunch.
Vijesh Datt, Photographer (Unsplash)
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