Going to India-almost

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Thu 4 Sep 2014 06:38
One of the great benefits (and tensions for the people who live here) to be in Fiji are all the strong cultures that reside here.
The day before yesterday we took a bus to Labasa. 
We started early morning and the bus station is like an energy field full of people that are on their way.
Most buses have no windows, wich makes them look like small rolling theaters....

Our bus driver and his gear stick... (they have big big covers on them (sorry if you have an imagination that...))









Why make things complicated? A bicycle bell with a long string that goes back the bus, if you want to get off, pull the string...


On our way, small villages... very clean, very orderly


Delivery along the road... Lots of land under fire when they clean the fields from sugar cane


Geting closer to Labasa you understand this is a town that lives from sugar cane processing.




As you get closer to the town more and more trucks will  turn up with big loads.
Most people that live in Labasa are Indian heritage, imported by the English to work on sugar fields when the islands were colonized.

To Erikas joy, Indian culture is full of colors and glitter...


I love the phone booth

Yes here is a melting pot, muslims, hindus, christians and all kind of tastes....



There are 2 way of getting the sugar canes to the plant, one is by road and the other is a narrow track train. 

These guys are cleaning the track from spilled sugar canes, need some help?



These poor guys will wait til midnight before they can unload their cargo.


Outside town, about 10 km there is a Hindu temple that is called by us "The Cobra Rock Temple"
Do not ask for it, nobody knows where it is. It is called Naag Mandir Temple.


Inside the temple is a rock that is supposed to look like a cobra, and according to the local legend it is growing every year.

In the temple there is also a function called 108 steps. You are supposed to walk each step repeating you gods name.


The taxi driver who took us there was indeed a Hindu and a great guide. Pure luck!


As it is election time (the 17th of September) you will find a lot of posters-or papers



well to get home on the bus to Savusavu was just another adventure, but we made although it was FULL!