A Bumpy Ride to King Solomon Hotel

I have so much to write I don’t even know where to begin. I arrived into the Solomon Islands refreshed from my stay in Vanuatu. I was going to be in the Solomon Islands for three nights – mostly because it’s the only way I could get my flight patterns to work with all of the islands I wanted to visit.

I found a taxi outside and told him where I was going – King Solomon Hotel. Off we went. Benedick was name, or just Ben. We chatted the 40 minutes or so to the hotel, driving through a city – Honiara – that was crowded and smelled of pollution. There are no traffic rules in the Solomon Islands, or at least if there are, no one follows them. The main road, there’s really only one road, was under construction. “The Japanese are paying for it to be done,” Benedick told me. The 2023 Pacific games (I assume soccer) were going to be held in the Solomon Islands, so a brand-new stadium had been constructed (by the Chinese, as I understood it) and the road construction was underway for the influx of guests expected next year. All that being said, the road we took was a dirt road, full of very, very large potholes and obstructs. Hence, there are no traffic rules.

He dropped me off at the hotel where I attempted to pay him with US dollars, and then Australian dollars. I had failed to get out the local currency at the airport; it just completely slipped my mind. Of course, I didn’t have the proper change, and neither did he, so I gave him $50 Australian dollars and he left, explaining that he would be back with change. I checked into my room, had completely forgotten that he was bringing me change, and came down for lunch where I found him waiting in the lobby for me, change in hand.