What this post is about
Bula! Hello! We've just spent 18 days in Fiji. And what a time that was!
Before we went though I had so many questions! Well, now that we're home and I've found the answers to some of those questions, I thought I might share my discoveries. After all, sharing is caring.
Also, I thought that by sharing my discoveries, I might help you save time, money and perhaps add to your safety and comfort!
So, over a series of posts, I hope to tackle some topics that might be of interest to you to help you in your preparation for a holiday in Fiji.
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Fijian Christmas Tree
(Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo)
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So here's the second question I'm going to tackle today especially now that we're settled into our hotel on Denarau Island -- how does one get into Nadi (pronounced "Nun-dee") town centre and what is Nadi like?
From Denarau Island to Nadi town centre
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| Denarau Island to Nadi town/market(Google Maps) |
So what are your options for getting into Nadi town centre? You can either take a taxi or catch one of the yellow "dollar buses" as the locals have dubbed them.
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A yellow Dollar Bus
(Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo) |
A taxi will cost anywhere from FJ$10 to FJ$12 one way while a bus ride will cost you just over a FJ$1. Taxis seem to only accept cash payment while the buses, on the other hand, operate a cashless system. What this means is that you'll need to purchase your bus tickets from your hotel. If you are planning to return by bus as well, make sure you buy two tickets.
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A bus ticket
(Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo) |
The trip is about 15 to 20 minutes on the outward journey but about 30 minutes or more on the return journey - this is because the bus stops off at Port Denarau from Nadi before going to Denarau Island.
You can catch a yellow "dollar bus" from the sheltered bus stops on the main road in front of your hotel.
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Bus shelter
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The buses seem to run quite frequently - about every 10 to 15 minutes. These buses are not very large and they can get rather squishy at times. I didn't feel unsafe though along the route with the close press of bodies as most of the passengers were hotel or tour operator staff.
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Inside a Dollar Bus
(Photo taken by Copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Inside a Dollar Bus
(Photo taken by Copyright Maria Ngo)
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Inside a Dollar Bus
(Photo taken by Copyright Maria Ngo)
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I noticed something quite interesting though on my bus trip - the bus drivers stopped for and picked up passengers right on the main roads at seemingly unsigned road intersections which also appeared to lead into a cluster of dwellings in the 'forests'.
If you happen to be around from around the end of November to early January, Denarau Island is ablaze with beautiful orangey blossoms from the locally dubbed "Christmas tree" (vaya vaya) - that's because these trees flower around Christmas time.
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A bus ride
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Fijian Christmas Tree blossom
(Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo) |
The bus route terminates at the bus depot in town almost next to the fruit and vege market. You can catch your bus back from here. Just look for a sign on the bus windscreen indicating that it is a Nadi-Denarau Island bus. A taxi rank can be found here too. We were warned about taking a "taxi" just off the street at non-designated taxi ranks.
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Nadi bus depot
(Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Nadi bus depot
(Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| A quick mobile phone top up at the bus depot? (Photo taken by copyright Maria Ngo) |
What is Nadi like? What can I do and see there?
As mentioned, the fruit and vege market hall is right next to the bus depot.
Look, a picture paints a thousand words, so I'll save you a few thousand and give you the pictorial version. (I am still working on my YouTube vlog, so when that's up and running, you might like to check that out too.)
Let's take a walk through the fruit and vege market first ...
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Nadi fruit and vege market
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The fruit and veges are displayed on plates. You pick the one you want and they tip it into a plastic carry bag for you.
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A crunchy sweet tropical fruit - called an Ayer Jambu in Malaysia
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo)
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Brinjals - a variation of the Eggplant
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Only cash is accepted at the market
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Everyone understands English at the market
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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The sellers maintain an amiable chatter among themselves
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Kava root
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
It is good to come early in the morning to get your fresh produce as there is no refrigeration here.
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More fresh veges
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Coconuts with their outer green husks removed
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
The market hall is closed on Sunday. This doesn't stop some sellers from plying their goods outside the market hall. Most of the shops are also closed. There was even an open air gospel tent meeting in the big field nearby. I also saw a father with two children go past me with a large bible in his arms.
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The unofficial "Sunday market"
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Brinjals on a Sunday
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Fancy some crabs for your Sunday lunch?
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
We encountered a lady at the bus depot who picked us out as fresh tourists and offered to take us to a genuine Fijian market. We were led down a side street and found out that her definition of a "market" was different from ours. We found out later that they were not highly regarded by even the locals. Nevertheless, they did perform an engaging kava ceremony but I thought that Jacks of Fiji and other reputable retail outlets did offer finer quality timber products.
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Street signs and names are in English
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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Three very typical timber urns made in a variety of wood from their native islands
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo)
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Here in town we also encountered a small local tour operator. She seemed to have enough customers to keep her and her team occupied and worked hard to gain our business although we didn't end up going on any of their tours.
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A local hardworking Fijian business woman
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
If you need to replenish your supply of pharmaceuticals, there are a few chemists/pharmacists in Nadi. I recognised many familiar brands here and felt confident about making my purchases here. I did find though that the price for sunscreen is quite a bit more than in Australia.
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Some things we bought from the chemist and resort supermarket
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A typical timber urn made in a variety of wood from their native islands
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo)
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You don't have to be without your mobile phone or mobile data in Fiji. You can easily purchase SIM cards from Vodafone in Nadi. There is a set up and SIM card cost though, but this is pretty minimal. We paid FJ$5 for the SIM card, FJ$11 for data, FJ$5 for calls and text. Do
bring your SIM card tray eject key as part of your luggage!
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Vodafone deal
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
There were also a number of banks in town with ATMs. There is a transaction fee of FJ$15 that the bank applies at these ATMs though. That seemed to be pretty much the standard fee. We had not expected to use cash quite as much as we did. While some larger businesses provided credit card facilities, all of them applied a credit card processing fee of about 2.5% to 3%. I saw ATMs at Port Denarau as well as at the resort where we were staying.
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ATM at Wyndham Resort
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
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| ATM at Port Denarau Passenger Terminal(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
We stopped for lunch at the Curry House on one of the main roads. Mocktails are pretty popular in many restaurants. Not sure how they were prepared but we didn't suffer any noticeable ill effects.
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Sea food lunch
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo
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Another mocktail!
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) |
Hope you've enjoyed that brief tour around Nadi and found the information useful.
Vinaka! Thanks for reading. Hope to catch you at my next post.
Good to know that that English is spoken in addition to the Fijian language.
ReplyDeleteThe difference in the taxi fares to the "dollar bus" is quite marked but if savings is your thing and getting close to the Fijians this sounds like the way to go.
The exchange rate compared to the A$ is approximately FJ$1 to about A$0.60 to A$0.70 cents.
And for those who get data starvation there is a solution!