"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #30 Lautoka, Fiji October 24, 2016 Monday Sunny & 84 degrees Part #1 Of 3 85 Pictures

Known as "sugar city", Lautoka is the second largest city in Fiji, with a population of 50,000 people. The sugar mills employed mostly immigrant workers in the early 1900's. Even today, this is the largest mill in the Southern Hemisphere.

Due to the workers coming from India and China, this area is a multi-cultural city. The food, the clothing, and the markets cater to the Hindus, Sikhs, and even some Muslims. In town, there is the Sri Krishna Kallya Temple, a Sikh temple, and a mosque. Near the market is a Catholic Church. Bet if we looked closer, we would find Protestant and Mormon. Restaurants offer curries and seafood dishes, exotic and spicy.

To add to the mystique, a reminder of the British heritage is the game of cricket, which is played in the local park. We would guess that the layout of the city in a grid is also a British thing. Sure reminded us of Fremantle in Australia, with a 1950's feel about it.

It is also all about the water here. That is, the dozens of tiny islands with sandy beaches and coral reefs…..a paradise for snorkelers and divers. Many tours were offered pier side today, but the timing was off. Boats left at 8am, then came back by 6pm. Unfortunately, you would miss the ship as all aboard was 4:30pm. Checking the prices, booking these boat tours here were about ½ the price compared to the ship.

Speaking of excursions, there were 9 offered today. Trips to villages ran between 3 ½ to 4 hours and were from $100 to $145. Most included the ava ceremony, like it or not. Better trips were 5 adventure/water tours for 6 ½ to 7 hours. Most included an island lunch from $170 to $190. But the one that caught our eye was a trip to a mud spa at thermal mud pools. A kava ceremony there came with a warning. The drink, kava, is non-alcoholic BUT, it has a mild sedative or anesthetic effect and may cause stomach upset. The method of preparation does not meet HAL's health and safety standards, so participate at your own risk. All of this for $150. No thanks………

We were here about two years ago, and found we wanted to stay in town instead of going boating. We did the same today. The Amsterdam docked in a working pier, where wood chips are manufactured. They are used for gardening as well as for cooking we heard. Sometimes when we dock in a port like this, you are not allowed to walk to the gate. There is usually too much harbor traffic with the cranes and the containers. We were not sure about this port, but we did remember that the department store, Jack's, ran a shuttle bus to their store in town. After checking with Gene, we found out they were also running their buses again today, but not until after 10am.

So we had a nice dining room breakfast, then left the ship by 11am. Instead of a bus, there was a small van waiting to take some folks to town. So we were lucky to get the last seats for the short ride. Turned out, it was only a couple of miles to the center of town, but in this heat and humidity, we did not mind taking a ride for a change.

The drop off was at Jack's, of course. This is the nicest and largest department store in the islands. We would check out this store later. Our destination was the marketplace, always the most active and interesting of local activity. This one did not disappoint us. It was bigger and better than the one in Suva, which happened to be closed yesterday. Half of the produce market was run by Fijians, while the other half was occupied by the Indians. All of their fruit and veggies were stacked in piles, called heaps. It was priced in Fijian dollars, which is about double the US dollar at the moment. Even doing the math, some products were expensive. Such as eggs. Two dozen were 11 Fiji dollars. We heard that even fresh chicken was 6 Fiji dollars a pound.

The fish market was kept separate by a glass enclosure. This made total sense, because it kept out the flies. We hesitated going in there, but it was the only way to see the catch of the day. It was a surprise to us that it was clean as a whistle and odor-free. Everything is sold daily, nothing is left for tomorrow. We saw barracuda, trevally, octopus, snapper, and other strange tropical fish.

Outside the market, we came across a food court near the bus station. Soda bottles had been recycled and filled with other juices. We guessed they were mango and papaya. Since it was nearing noontime, the food court was getting crowded.

Across the street was the Sugar City Mall, but not exactly the type we are used to seeing. It was a collection of small shops with parking down under. One of the shops happened to be a fabric store, which is a downfall for one of us. Promising just to look, there was a sale on their satin fabric. The only thing was they would not accept US dollars, and we did not want to use our credit card here. We could have exchanged some money on the ship, but we did not do it. So, the vendor suggested going to the local money changer in the Sugar City Mall. A guard let us in, as they control how many people go in at one time. For $20 US, we got 40 Fijian dollars. They made a few cents on the deal. The ship would have charged more, plus a 3% fee. Most times, we do this on the ship for convenience only. Anyway, three meters of fabric ended up costing a little over $13 US dollars. Now I just need the time to make perhaps a jacket for formal evenings.

Walking back to Jack's, we ducked in and out of Indian shops, checking out the sarees and the jewelry. Sure reminded us of Mumbai, except the prices here were higher. Back at Jack's, we went upstairs to see the entire floor was dedicated to the Indian clothing. Made us wonder, with such an industrial town, where do the local ladies wear these gorgeous sarees? Last time we were here, we got a mask and a cannibal fork. Gross, huh? So we did not need to buy another one today.

The bus arrived in 15 minutes, and we were back to the ship by 2pm. Had to check out the tables of treasures on the dock before going back inside. All the same stuff was there, except more expensive. A Polynesian dance began while we were looking at the souvenirs. So we watched the show of dancers before boarding.

The gangway was so steep, we had to pull ourselves up it. Those with walkers or wheelchairs needed help from the crew. It sure wasn't that steep when we left in the morning.

Since the dining room was closed for lunch this afternoon, we ordered room service. Much to our delight, the Caesar salads were back on the menu…….the big shipment had arrived early this morning. Although romaine lettuce was not ready yet, iceberg was. That was fine with us. Bet everyone orders some kind of salad at dinner tonight.

Sail away was changed from the aft pool deck to the lower promenade deck. There was an announcement made, but we missed the reason why. It was windy by 5pm, but it was comfortable. The worst of the heat and humidity was gone by then. We went to the back pool anyway, and the serious photographers were also there. The promenade is fine, but with too many people on one side, you cannot get to the railing. This would have been a good port for the marching band performance like we saw yesterday. However, the best it got was watching the vendors take down their tables and displays.

The ropes were dropped, the tug was ready, and the pilot was in position as we sailed easily away from Lautoka. We are now headed for the small island of Dravuni. We stayed long enough to watch the sun go down by 6:13pm. This time, it was worth the wait.

There were six of us at dinner, where we all shared our experiences of the day. Our British friends did not attempt to go to town….it was just too hot for them. We agree, it was much hotter on the pier where the trinkets were being sold. Once you got into downtown, there was a breeze blowing down the cross streets. They probably would have been fine.

We ordered the cordon bleu, made with veal. Sure was good. Reports were positive for the arctic char, best ever. As always, Philip, the dining room manager, made his rounds among the tables, asking how we liked our meals. He actually sticks around long enough to get our answers. He promised there were more things to come with the new delivery today.

The ship seems to be rocking and rolling a little tonight, but that was due to our slower speed. The stabilizers were out, but they are not as effective unless we are going faster. Everyone remarked how smooth this trip has been, as we all kept our fingers that it stays that way.

Some of our tablemates were going to see the former police officer/turned comedian, Kevin Johnson, in the Queens Lounge after dinner. That might be a whole different type of humor we assume.

Bill & Mary Ann

Fiji sign