Fiji Redux: Suva

30 Oct: After returning from Navala village to the farm in Sigatoka to celebrate a sweets-filled Diwali, I embarked on a 2-week trip to eastern Viti Levu and Fiji's larger islands. Began with a 90-minute bus ride to Suva, home of Government House (above).
Bus made its first stop in a dusty riverside town called Navua. As is common throughout Fiji, men rushed to the bus's windows, hawking homemade rotis & savories.
Driving in Suva is either a madcap demolition derby or inexplicable slow crawl.
Downtown Suva is choc-a-bloc with colonial buildings bursting with shops, restaurants, banks & after-hours clubs.
21st-century shopping & dining startles the senses in Suva's new MHCC mall, which is as modern & shiny as any found in Sydney or Melbourne.
Cumming Street, once Suva's red-light district but now referred to as Little India.
Treated myself to a forgettable Bollywood film called Heroes at Suva's Village 6 Cinemas. Hand-painted murals ring the cinema's exterior and include this one of Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukherjee & Aradhna's childhood fave, Shah Rukh Khan.
Stayed at a shambolic hostel called Suzy's Colonial Lodge in the Suva neighborhood of Toorak. Fiji's capital was relocated to Suva from Levuka in 1882 when a self-proclaimed Tai Viti (King) named Cakobau cut a deal with two Aussies who owned land in the Suva peninsula. The Aussies named a chunk of their parcel of land after one of Melbourne's poshest inner suburbs. Sadly, Suva's Toorak palls in comparison with its upscale Melbourne counterpart.
Met several interesting people at the hostel and once again found myself shadowed by a fuzzy feline, shown here peering outside the Colonial Lodge's gated front door. Unlike most of Viti Levu, where only Indian-owned homes are protected by window bars & high fences, all homes & businesses in Suva are heavily fortified.