Vanuatu so far
Vanuatu so far
Things I have noticed so far:
– Bob Marley is still hugely popular here
– There is no bartering for anything – what joy!
– Just about every mini-van on the road is a taxi or a bus (as indicated by the ‘B’ or ‘T’ on the number plate. You flag one down and tell them where you want to go (provided it’s in the right direction; there is only one road around the island of Efate) and they take you. So easy.
– Men and women don’t seem to get along too well here. Men talk down to women, women ignore them, everyone is slightly irritated.
– Most people speak English and Bislama, the local dialect, is pretty easy to interpret – ie ‘blong’ = belong or of, as in ‘product blong Vanuatu’.
– When people sing Happy Birthday here, they sing ‘Happy Long Life to You’. How nice is that?!
– Everyone seems to be able to sing in tune.
– The sea is teeming with life. The lagoon outside the Holiday Inn has more hermit crabs, starfish, crabs, garfish and all sorts of other little swimmers than the whole of Sydney Harbour.
– No one is particularly interested in you. No one hassles you to buy souvenirs. No one makes lewd comments about you or stares.
– The ladies mostly wear t-shirts and jeans or frilly cotton muumuus; fashion is no big deal.
– At the wet market, they sell plantains, manioc (an edible root), taro, fresh peanuts (still attached to stems and covered in dirt), breadfruit, bananas, lots of leafy greens, papaya, herbs, habanero chillies and tiny chillies (I don’t know what kind) and raspberries.
Vanuatu is a natural, peaceful place. It’s such a relief to be here.
I hope you are having an amazing time. Sounds like the place hasn’t changed too much from when I was there over 15 years ago.
It really is just lovely. Glad you’re having a relaxing time!
Oh memories!
I could not get over the sexism! It was mind blowing… I was once made to sit at the back of a bus… yes marked “B” hehehehe!
Oh and the Bob Marley fanaticism… thanks for reminding me. Now where’s my reffa?