Nadi

The hostel Drift Inn is run by a family consisting of Junior, his wife Donna and their kids. They also have some staff that, according to Junior, wish they were part of the family. Donna and Junior opened up Drift inn a obout 5 years ago, and a couple days before I got there, they opened another establishment, The Drift inn 2. This was where we were heading for BBQ, and the place was located right by the beach. The family was already in process of opening two more inns on some other islands. The other resorts in the area were trying to file law suits against the owners of The Drift because they charge so low rates. The resorts are afraid they will loose money, and especially when The Drift started advertising a "$3 bar", where everything in the bar was three Fiji Dollars. This is 25% cheaper than the cheapest resort, bu most of them were a lot more expensive. One night in a good doorm bed, including breakfast, dinner, pickup and return to the airport, and several rides between then hostel and the beach/Drift Inn 2 was only $18 Fiji Dollars. That is less than $10 USD.

The barbeque was tasty, and very Fijian, so it was a great experience to be tossed stright into. everyone else had already eaten, so Laura and I joined the rest of the guests and the staff on a large matt on the ground. The staff was passing around drinks, and people were talking about the various islands they had been to. I tried a few different Fijiian beers, and the one called Fiji Gold was very good.When I was on the plane to Fiji I was expecting a quiet and relaxing evening, maybe I would even get some tome to catch up wit my blog. The story goes like this:After a while I was starting to know everyone, multiple drinks were sent around in our big circle, and the guests at the neighboring resorts were getting more and more jealous as they walked by us. Then, all of a sudden, the staff figured it would be good to go to a couple nightclubs in the Nadi city center. (The hotel area is right outside the urban city, which was quite alright since the area was far more beautiful than the city. Mostly for its natural beauty with forests, beaches and cleaner air. The hostel would pay for this taxi as well as the one on the way back home later in the evening. The clubs they took us to were all locals, and excep for the tourists the Drift had brought inn there before, I doubt that there had never been tourists at these places. The locals were very different from one another. Some were more modest and polite, while others were straigt up alcoholics. Fiji has been through a few decades of political disturbances, and as a result of this the country has been having employment issues and been suffering severly since the sugar cane production has been disrupted. The suggar cane industry is owned by the government, and as a result of various military coups and inefficient management. The falling sugar prices are also not helping. I guess that the unemployment and low wages are contributing factors to making these people alcoholics. Quite a few people seemed to me sleeping on the ground along the side walks, but with the warm climate they have in Fiju, I don't really think that sleeping outside is an issue. The locals don't get bitten by the mosquitos either. Me however, they loved. That next evening I got eaten alive, and countes 19 bites just from the ankle and down on my right foot.

The music they played in the clubs was a mix between American popular party music, Indian dance music, and some local tunes. Many may be a little surprised about finding Indian music in the pacific, but when looking at the island nation's history, it all make sense. Fiji was a British colony, and they brought inn labour from India. Just a few decades ago 50% of the population on Fiji was Indian. In 1970 when the British pulled out of Fiji, the Indians were sent back to their home country, but if they wanted to stay, they could. Of course many stayed, and Junior's parents did. There was a second emigration wave in the 1980's brought a lot of the Indians to New Zealand. Now the figures show about 30% Indians on Fiji. As many other places, the Indians run the business scene. Almost no businesses on in Nadi, or the rest of the neighboring islands are run by the Indians.

The differences between the Polynesian tribes on the various island groups that make the Fijian nation are also amazing. In the south, according to Junior, the women do nothing but to carry children. The men workshop to make the family an income, he washes the house, the clothes and the dishes. On the central Islands it is traditionally oposite. The men provide an income there as well, but when he comes home he Will sit around, and have nothing to do with the house keeping. From what I could see, Junior and Donna split all chores among them. Donna is completely Fijian, and when Junior comes to see her family, he is not even allowed to look his mother in law in the eyes, and usually he will sit with his back to her. He thinks this is ridiculous, but he does want to respect the Fijian traditions. Many of the Fijians from other islands who stop by his hostels react very hard to the way Junior does a woman's job, but he also notices that the old traditions are left by more and more people as the islands imports more and more technology and foreign customs.

The next morning I went for a walk with Laura and another British girl. We waded in the water, which on the shallow beach was so hot that it almost was unpleasant. It was good to step in the water and then let the breez cool down the feet. Most of the day was spent on the beach and by the pool at the resort next door. It was low season, so they did not mind, and I did buy lunch in their restaurant. I kept putting on sun screen, FPT 30, and felt good about staying out in the sun for a little while. I spent some amazing Fiji-time in a hammock suspended by two tatched roof sunbrellas. When I went in the pool to stay out of the sun someone said my name. It was an English guy I met in Khao Sok Narional Park in Thailand. The world is truely not big. He pointed out to me that I was extremely red. in the sun I could not see it myself, and since I continuly had put on sun screen, I did not expect to get burned. I got in the pool, and the tomato red front of my body almost made the water in the pool vaporize. I have never been that burned before. It hit me how this happened though. When flying to Fiji I packed wrong and put my sun screen in my carry on, they took it at the airport, and I had to use one I bought in Thailand, but had not used yet. Those b******s must have filled an empty bottle with a cheap mosturizing lotion and sold it for the price of sun screen. Laura, the British girl did not get burned; she had real sun screen. Even after I left the country the Thai people make me upset.

We had dinner and hung out at our hostel the rest of the night. Laura was going on a five day trip aruond Fiji. This trip is something that a lot of tourists do when they get to the islands. I wanted to go to Mana Island since I heared a lot of good things about it, but most of all since they had diving there. There was two decisions I had to make. What island did I want to go to, and if I should go at all. The messages about "Tropical Storm Thomas" started arriving that day. Whoever I asked was sure that the syclone would stop as it hit the main island in the north of Fiji, about an estimated 700 miles away. I landed on that it was safe to buy the ticket, did so, and went to bed.