Suva, Fiji 1/25/18

Sulu is a skirt for men with two large pockets on the side and one in the middle.  .  The first sulu was made patterned after the Scottish kilts, crosses one hip to overlap the other hip.  Men find these very comfortable in the heat.

Queen Elizabeth visited Fiji as a young bride and again in 2017.

Suva, Fiji  A total of 330 islands comprise the Fijian archipelago.  Sand beaches, green-hills, and coral reefs can be enjoyed.  Suva, the capital is located on the island of Viti Levu.  It is the largest city in the South Pacific.  We did not see any beaches on our tour today.

Port in Suva, Fiji  Varied weather.  Cloudy, sunny, hot, humid, rained as we drove on the rainforest side of the island during our island bus tour.  Very professional guide offered volumes of information during our tour.  

Botanical Garden Suva, Fiji

Entrance to the Botanical Gardens, King's Palace Suva, Fiji

When a low income housing person has paid the full value of the house in rent, the property becomes theirs for fifty years.    They paint the house in an effort to make it unique.  Many government employees (police, firemen, civil servants)  live in government housing.  I think it is housing that used to be  used as a military base in the past.  

Suva, Fiji  A total of 330 islands comprise the Fijian archipelago.  Sandy beaches, green-hills, and coral reefs can all be enjoyed.  Suva, the capital and political, economic and some say cultural center, is located on the island of Viti Levu.  It is the largest city in the Fiji and is built on a peninsula in the South Pacific.  The combined Suva-Nausori Corridor is home to 330,000 people.  The population includes indigenous Fijians, Indian, Chinese and European ancestry.  The average high is 82 and low is 72.  On average, Suva receives 118 inches of rain per year.  

Our tour today featured the highlights of Suva, Fiji.  We passed the Old Parliament Building, Albert Park, Grand Pacific Hotel, Thurston Gardens, and the King's Palace.  Queen Elizabeth has stayed at the Grand Pacific Hotel three times in 1953, 1977 and 1982.  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently stayed there too.  

Government housing appears to be former military housing.  When a low income housing person has paid the rent equal to the full value of the house, the property becomes theirs for fifty years.    They paint the house in an effort to make it unique, so there are some colorful houses.  Many government employees (police, firemen, civil servants)  live in government housing.  One fourth of the people live in poverty.  The politics of Fiji is complicated.  Fiji had four coups in twenty years.  New Zealand and Australia are helping Fiji with developing agriculture and a skilled, educated workforce.  Institutionalized corruption is a problem.  

Fiji Museum was interesting.  It has archaeological findings going back 3,700 years.  Some of the things we  saw included canoes, house rafts, fish traps, dishes, weapons, breast plates, Giant Fijian long-horned beetles and Masi bark cloth which is a traditional valuable.  The Giant Fijian long-horned beetle is one of the largest living insect species at about 15 cm long, excluding legs, antennae or mandibles.  Masi bark cloth has quite a story and is important because the cloth houses the power of ancestral gods.  We learned about the Thomas Baker tragedy.  Thomas was a Methodist missionary who was killed with seven of his Fijian followers in 1867.  They were hacked to death and eaten by Nabatataus.  It's a little more complicated than this, but Baker touched a chief's head.  This was taken as a threat.

Men wear skirts in Fiji. Sulu is a skirt for men with two large pockets on the side and one in the middle.  The first sulu was patterned after the Scottish kilts, it crosses one hip to overlap the other hip.  Think about a wrap skirt.  Men find these very comfortable in the heat.