Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ket square off to one side. East of the market and beyond the
bus stand
is a tiny grandstand
overlooking Prince Charles Park, venue for Nadi's football and rugby games.
The
northern side
of town is by far the most pleasant, with several excellent restaurants
serving Indian dishes, and some interesting boutique handicraft stores, although persistent
taxi drivers vying for attention distract from its charm. The further south you walk along
Main Street, the seedier things become and by
Westpoint Arcade
beyond Hospital Road, the
sidewalk touts take over, hassling tourists with “Bula mate!” or “Best prices in my shop!”
From here on, the road is dominated by
kava
saloons where the locals gather to play pool.
The markets
The busiest part of Nadi is off Main Street, down Clay Street and into Market Road towards
the lively covered
Nadi Municipal Market
,
an attractive place to escape the sun, pick up
local produce and
yaqona
roots and mingle with the locals.
A few hundred metres south in the Children's Park are 25 wooden stalls that make up the
Nadi Handicraft Market
;
you'll need to negotiate on prices.
Sri Siva Subrahmanya Temple
Nadi Back Rd • Daily 6am-7pm • F$5 • Remove your shoes before entering.
In 1994, the impressive
Sri Siva Subrahmanya Swami Temple
moved from beside the
flood-prone Nadi River to the southern end of town, where an evocative three-tower Hindu
complex was created over a ten-year period by eight specialist craftsmen brought in from In-
dia. A leaflet for visitors details the stories behind the vividly coloured murals. The Dravidian
temple is dedicated to the deity Murugan, whose statue, specially carved in India, is housed
within the 12m-high main pryramidal
vimanam
with a rectangular toped roof. The two towers
at the rear of the temple with colourful domed shaped roofs are dedicated to Ganesh and
Shiva.
