Packed coach adventure / Leaving Fiji
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2006
1
237
244
Trip End
Dec 23, 2008
Fiji, Fiji
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
I wander down towards the pool/café area, to get my complimentary breakfast. It’s basic toast, jam, a slice of pineapple and coffee. Yes hot coffee in boiling hot sunshine, the colonial influence clearly. Mikeala and Michael the Swedish couple I have been eating with quite a bit appear, as does the American guy who was eating with us last night. I need to get ready to leave, but I struggle to find the energy to get up and leave the conversation. The mosquito bites and huge gash on my leg frustrate me, I have only been here for 4 days and I’m practically in need of a stretcher. The flies continue to bug me, even at this early hour.
Packing is completed fairly quickly, and to my surprise everything seems to fit. This is quite concerning, as clearly something must be missing. I decide to throw away my main shoes, as they are falling apart. Briefly I struggle to find my credit cards, then they appear in my shorts pocket. I need them to pay my tab, which over the course of four days has grown to about $125FJD. They are quite trusting of people, it would be very easy to leave without paying that. I’m honest though, and even honest enough to tell them that the Powerade I’ve just got from the bar isn’t on the list.
Getting to the airport was a bit of an unknown. I’d been told that there was a bus at 12, which quite possibly went to the airport. At about ten to twelve I walk up to the road and then moments later the bus arrives (it was only later that I’d discover that it was scheduled to arrive at 11:45am and not 12:00pm!), I was lucky in that respect. The bus itself is fairly modern, and large, I get in and see a sea of faces, literally, the whole bus was full of heads all looking my way. Whilst not trying to bring race into it they’re all dark Fijian faces, about a hundred eyes looking my way in unison. There is one seat at the front which I perch onto, above me is a clearly pirated DVD playing some Hollywood movie. The fare is $8FJD, about £3. This is clearly a bargain as the airport is the best part of 80 miles away.
The coach pulls away and I cling on for dear life as myself and dozens of Fijians head towards the west coast of the main island. Progress isn’t particularly fast as we pass slower cars and weave around road works. By the side of the road are endless fruit sellers, spaced about a few hundred meters apart. They all look bored and don’t seem to be actually selling anything! How they can possibly justify this business activity with maybe one piece of fruit sold an hour I’ll never know. Near Nadi we pass a boy selling fish, he has a table and no more than 3 fishes sat waiting to be purchased. Somehow I doubt whether his small table has been verified as clean enough to sell fresh produce on.
At Sagatoka we stop for twenty minutes. Many people get off for perhaps a light snack. I have no intention of getting off and instead lean over to look out of the window, mainly to ensure my bag isn’t being stolen from the bag storage area under the bus! We are parked next to what can only be described as a shack, full of people waiting for a bus. It looks dirty, and old, perhaps last painted minutes before Geoff Hurst got his hat-trick in the ’66 World Cup Final. Everywhere I look looks decayed, in need of painting and somewhat dirty. Surely the town council can afford a tin of paint? Somebody in this bustling town must have a spare brush? I declare it third world in my head, and mentally count down the minutes until we leave.
Most of the passengers get off in Nadi. I stay on and get my ticket checked for the third time. It was bizarre. I got on and clearly purchased a ticket from the driver, halfway down the road an inspector gets on and looks at the tickets, this happens twice more. Clearly revenue protection is more important than well painted buildings here!
Finally after nearly two and a half hours we reach Nadi airport. I’m relieved to collect my sports bag from under the coach and proceed into departures. There is no air conditioning, I’m not impressed. Eventually the check-in desk opens and I get my boarding pass for the flight to Melbourne. Up in the departure lounge things stay somewhat third world, they don’t appear to have the lights on! I therefore walk around duty-free shops in semi-darkness, trying not to trip over anything! I don’t think there had been a power cut as I could get power from the mains for my laptop. I can’t rule out that possibility though as sat here an hour later it does look brighter.
Things look up when I’m able to pick up a free unprotected wi-fi signal. Dehydrated, bitten and with half my foot missing I wait to board the plane to Melbourne, Australia. Which compared to this will seem very futuristic I’ve no doubt!
