So Day 1 in Suva didn’t go as planned, nor did day 2. It was bucketing down outside and I didn’t have an umbrella. Not ideal for a walk around the city. I finished off my novel while waiting for the rain to stop then walked a short distance down to the gardens by the Museum of Fiji. As it looked fine at that point I thought I’d go for a walk and save the museum for when/if it rained.
Thurston gardens were small but beautiful and tidy. When I heard yet another friendly local say ‘bula’ I replied as usual but was mostly looking down at a map on my phone wondering where to go next. When he then asked ‘are you busy?’ I looked up only to realise he was standing there holding out his manly parts for all the world to see. Ew… I responded ‘what are you doing?!’ and quickly walked away from him. He didn’t reply or say anything else and I spent the next hour trying to forget what I’d just seen. I tried convincing myself that he was probably working in the gardens and perhaps took a leak (he was standing next to a tree) and hadn’t quite got round to putting it away. It grosses me out to think the far more likely alternative was the reality. When at the Fijian Museum the next day I asked the lady if the museum had staff working in the gardens. No, only gardeners from the city council who wear a special uniform. Oh. I told her what had happened and she explained it wasn’t the first time. There were apparently a couple of guys who weren’t quite right in the head as she put it who hung out there indecently exposing themselves on occasion. Hmm… not a good look outside the national museum!
I marched off along the waterfront, along Queen Elizabeth Drive away from the city. It was a calm overcast day, workmen were repairing the road which was closed to traffic, the odd person was trying their luck fishing off the shore. I walked past the presidential palace (built 1928) also known as Government House. It had large grounds with good views of the harbour and the hills and mountains that surround Suva.
President’s residence & the view across the road from it.
** oh dear – it’s now more than 2 years since I was in Fiji and since I last blogged. I’ve noticed this in drafts so will publish it as is. I can’t remember what happened the rest of the day in Suva… hence why I write a blog – to remind me of what I experience! My memory is really terrible 🙁 Unfortunately it takes a lot of time for me to blog about travels and I have got behind AGAIN! I only got through blogging about half of our one year trip in 2016. I had dreams of finishing it as I really wanted the record of our adventures but the reality is it’s unlikely… same with finishing blog posts about Fiji… so I’ll move on to current travels and try to keep up this time! **