Had a four hour bus ride from Nadi to Suva yesterday. My landlady was nice enough to give me a lift to the bus station, and I got there just five minutes before the bus was due to leave. Perfect. As I was waiting with the other passengers there was the usual exchange of Bula - the Fijian greeting - and there was a family of five that was interested in were I was from and so on. Having relayed this story many times a day, I told them too, and the father of the family decided I was now under his wing. He took my luggage to the right storage place in the bus, and told me that in Fiji nobody stands in a line, everybody just crams in. He made sure I got on the bus and had a good seat. After a lot of smiling and thank yous I setteled down next to a lady from one of the villages. She had been into town to meet her daughter.

The bus had a 'no eating' sign, and I was a little bit dissapointed, as I had managed to get something to eat from were the locals did - I was quite proud. It was funny to see how these big men were crammed into small bus seats next to each other. Three + two seats on each side of a very small isle. Enough to say that we were snug as bugs in rugs (just had to). The entertainment was a poorly made thriller with David Hasselhoff. A HUGE snake was eating up a lot of people - whole, and they tried everything to get rid of it. I can't tell you how it ended, but some of the passengers were enthralled.

I enjoyed the view from the bus instead - endless beaches, flowering trees, pigs, goats, a horse, cows, several villages and people selling their various crafts and food along the road.

After a couple of stops, the lady next to me got of, and a burly man sat down next to me. He was a bit restless, probably bored, and used every oppertunity to get off the bus to strech his legs. A father and his little girl got on the bus after a while, and there were no seats for them together, so the girl sat on the edge of our seat. She was a bit shy, but settled down quickly. The man next to me took his arm around her, so she shouldn't fall off the seat. She fell asleep shortly after, and her father across the isle didn't bat an eyelid. The famous "it takes a village to raise a child" applies to the Pacific mentality, and here in Fiji men take a big part in raising children.

The busdriver put on the radio, and the familiar songs of the '80s and '90 were upon us. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was an amusing backdrop to the scenery, and the sumo-wrestler-apprentice-size Fijian man on the seat behind me knew all the words! Fantastic! He managed to reach all the high notes as well.

In Suva I said goodbye to my 'foster family' and got to get my backpack. Not so fast. The father was talking to his wife in Fijian and when they learned that I was going to the Indonesian Embassy to get a visa for Bali, they imediately gave me the name of a friend - the only Fijian who works in the Ind.Emb. I was to say hello from them, and could I pleas e-mail the mother to let them know that I was ok? And oh, here is a taxi for you - he will take you to the Tourist Burau, and don't pay him more than two dollars. I gave them my e-mail addy, and in my baffelment I said goodbye in English and in Norwegian (?), and they happily answered 'ha det' back to me!

The taxi driver had a brother in Canada, and man, he was never going back there! It was very clean but nobody was talking to each other! The Canadian taxi driver had asked him to be quiet; he was driving. After two weeks he was begging his brother to go back to Fiji... Was Norway clean? It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

People here in Suva are celebrating the Hibiscus Festival, in the Albert Park. The festival lasts for a week, and the hibiscus queen will be there, I think Miss Kidney Cancer will be there as well, and Mr. Bodybuilder of Fiji as well. Big event.

Went to the museum today. Tried to escape the hot temp at noon, but no use. People were drowning in their own sweat in there. More canibal stuff and a couple of theories about why these particualar Pacific Islanders are so big. Will tell you another time. Maybe.

Everybody tells me to be careful, and in the travel literature people are warned not to walk anywhere after dark, not even in a group. Don't go to clubs and pubs alone, and take good care of all your belongings. Everbody is so friendly, and there are never crouds of people anywere, but I am not going to learn the hard way, so I guess Saturday in the hotelroom then. Shouldn't be too long anyway, I'm still jet lagged and fall aslepp exhausted at 9PM. A couple of days ago it was 5PM, so I am getting into the time zone.