When Steven and I arrived in Nadi the night before from Sigatoka, I was excited to pass by the Handicrafts Market in the center of the town. Sadly, even though Nadi is the port of entry for tourists visiting Fiji from almost anywhere in the world, there is not much to do or see. One travel writer opined that, "Its ramshackle urban chaos, as well as a solitary beach at Wailoaloa, is hardly worth writing home about ..." But, since we've always been huge fans of visiting markets when we travel, it would take a lot to disappoint us. I swear that Steven and I must already have the biggest collection of coasters, but surprise, surprise, we now have another set! I know we bought some other doodads, but I can't remember what they are now.
The fish combo dinner sold for the equivalent of USD19, not cheap for locals when the hourly wage is a paltry USD4.50. As I wrote previously, I don't know how locals make a go of it with food prices taking such a big chunk of the take-home pay.
You probably know by now that there's hardly been a religious institution we've not visited on our travels. We've always been curious about how people pray to their god or spiritual leader, and that was no different in Nadi. We took advantage of being able to visit Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple, the largest Hindu temple in the South Pacific.
Before entering, however, we had to pass muster with the Hindu guards to ensure we were dressed appropriately by renting saris to cover our legs and removing our shoes. It's been a long, long time since there has been any semblance of a dress code in the Catholic church. While I understand the pros and cons of such a code, there should be a basic expectation of how to dress when attending Mass, in my opinion.
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I read that the riotously bright house of worship is one of the few places outside southern India where traditional Dravidian architecture can be seen. The temple style emerged by the 7th century and was characterized by pyramid-shaped towers, massive walled compounds, and ornate towering gateways.
The wooden carvings of deities that were enshrined at the temple came from India, as did the artists who adorned the building with the vibrant, colorful artwork on its towers, known as gopurams in Hinduism.
Before entering the main shrine, we walked past the flag mast or Kodimaram. A small deity was partially enclosed directly in front.
The rear of the main shrine was decorated as profusely as the front had been.
From the main shrine, we had excellent views of the secondary shrines on the property, which were also embellished in a similar fashion.
After walking around the exterior, we wandered inside and admired the impressive ceiling frescoes, which were dated 2025. The inner sanctum was reserved for followers of Hinduism who brought offerings with their prayers. Some people had left plates of food. I wondered if they went to needy people in the Hindu community at the end of the day. No photographs were permitted there.
A few minutes earlier, this shrine was empty. I don't know why so many worshippers chose to pray at this shrine instead of the main shrine.
After getting our "dose" of both shopping and religion out of our systems, we headed to the country to explore the Garden of the Giant, a sprawling garden with more than 200 varieties of orchids and indigenous flora, located on a hillside in Sabeto Valley outside of Nadi.
"Outside of Nadi" was code for in the boonies along a desperately bad, dirt road! What a shame that the private owner hadn't at least improved the condition of the road to his garden. Officials from the Methodist Church and the Seventh-day Adventist congregation had been smart to place their houses of worship closer to the main road, so their parishioners didn't have as far to travel on the terrible road.
Though the prime orchid season was still several months away, several looked radiant.
You definitely need to stay clear of the Calabash tree, known for its large, spherical fruits that are often the size of basketballs!
You'd be safe under the feathery Calliandra, however!
Too bad Denver's climate would be too chilly for these Traveler Palms, as otherwise, one would look great in our yard.
I don't recall seeing any striking red decor on the Hindu Temple's exterior, like these Pandanus flowers.
Gail and Janina: You both would have loved these flowers, although the road in was hellacious!
Bamboo plants:
I don't recall seeing a Chinese banyan tree before. I was a huge fan of its vine-like appendages!
As the garden was on a hillside, we kept walking up and down many levels.
The garden had several varieties of ginger flowers, which were popular in bouquets.
A cycad palm like this one is considered to be the world's oldest plant because it is a "living fossil" that has existed for over 200–300 million years, even predating the dinosaurs. These ancient plants are not true palms but are closely related to conifers
I think I overheard that these were called Flamboyant trees because they bloom at Christmas.
Remember that in the first post I wrote about Fiji, I mentioned that the traditional Fijian welcome is Bula, meaning hello or aloha?
The lovo is an underground oven used to cook for large groups in Fiji. We only found that out the night before at the Fiji Culture Village, when part of our dinner was prepared in a lovo.
We knew from our experience at Sigatoka Sand Dunes the day before that these tree huggers owed their existence to the Chipko Movement in the Himalaya!
As the garden's fruit orchard consisted of just one avocado tree, one soursap tree, one jackfruit tree, and one rose apple tree, it was a mighty small orchard!
Weren't the painted fingernail bromeliads too cute for words!
All guests were treated to a refreshing glass of juice before leaving. As I mentioned at the top, there is so little to do in Nadi that we invariably kept seeing the same tourists everywhere we went in the relatively small town. It became almost comical when we ran into the same people three and four times!
I can't imagine the air quality in Nadi was optimal, as fires were commonplace.
That evening, Steven and I attended a dance celebration hosted by Vou Hub at their open-air performance center, again located on a dirt road on the outskirts of Nadi. We were curious to see how the dinner and show compared to the one we'd attended the night before.
Right from the get-go, it had a far different vibe, with some of the entertainers warmly greeting the other visitors and us with hearty "Bula, Bula" as we drove up!
Rather than the elaborate dinner performance the night before, meals at Vou Hub were prepared to order right in front of us.
While eating, the fifteen or so guests were entertained during the pre-show. It was sweet when a young girl and her brother were invited on stage to practice playing the instruments. I'm sure that experience made their day!
While we ate dinner, the staff took turns sitting down with the guests, trying to get to know us and encouraging us to ask questions. I remember being asked what we thought of Fiji and their telling us what a privilege it was that we had come to support the performing arts troupe.
The entire experience was very heartwarming and welcoming, unlike the previous night's more distant approach. Though the audience was awfully small in my mind, the entertainers seemed genuinely delighted to perform to a group of that size. Once, a full show was put on for a single guest!
After the pre-show, we were led to a large tent where the main show, called From Fiji With Love, took place. There were about eight performers in the show, but one had told us earlier that there was also a traveling Vou Hub troupe that plays throughout the South Pacific and also has entertained in Australia and the United States.
After the fun and fascinating show ended, the audience was invited to dance on stage with the performers! The evening had been a blast from the moment we arrived until we were escorted to our car and thanked profusely for coming. That was the first time that had ever happened to us.
Here are photos of our two-bedroom apartment on a dirt road in Nadi. It worked out pretty well, although it had a few idiosyncrasies, like being directly under the flightpath, so the house would shake, minimal blankets, parking was on the grass, which made it tough to get out after one of Fiji's heavy downpours!
Though the kitchen was large and well-equipped, we've only cared if there was a toaster and kettle at each place we've stayed on our trip, as we eat out almost nightly.
Next post: A drive to Fiji's first village, and since it was Easter, a visit to a Chinese church service, an indigenous church service, a Fiji cemetery, and experiencing a mud bath and hot springs. How was your Easter?!
Posted at almost midnight Western Australia time on April 28th, 2026, from Margaret River, a booming wine town close to the tip of a spectacular peninsula where we saw the Southern and Indian Oceans meet a few hours ago. How lucky are we - we still pinch ourselves to wonder if this wonderful life we lead is real! Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
