Present day Suva bears little resemblance to the one horse town it was in the 1880s or the pride of British imperialism of the 1950s or even the melting pot it became in the early 1980s.
Now it is awash in neon lights as a city that never sleeps, with its multi-storey skyline completely changing the character of the city.
The charms of its wooden buildings and its colonial architecture have been replaced with imposing multi-storey buildings transforming its landscape into a concrete jungle.
Only the older parts of the town like Waimanu Road, Marks Street and Cumming Street have retained their old looks. The area is crammed with quaint small shops that seem to have escaped the fact that we are well on our way into the 21st century. It is also home to some of the oldest businesses in the city.
One such shop is Lala's Store which specialises in menswear and has been in existence since 1966; now managed by the third generation in the Lala family. The family is one of the many Gujerati families that formed the heart of the Suva business community over the years.
Lala's Store boss Atish Lala was sitting with Parbu Bhai, another shop owner who ran a sweets and confectionary shop along Toorak Road, when we visited him.
From Lala's Store, one can clearly see the junction where Waimanu, Mark Street and Toorak Road converge, the heart of the old business district.
From this seat, Atish saw Suva change right in front of him and it has not been the same ever since.
"We have seen a lot of established businesses that have closed down and a lot have migrated. We've got new companies coming, especially Asian companies coming in.
"We've got new and bigger buildings all around the place especially shopping centres. Before, it used to be all family oriented, but now people prefer shopping centres than privately owned companies and they mostly go into shopping centres. The more established businesses are okay with their name as they've got the identity themselves. The new ones that are trying to establish themselves are finding it really hard if they're not located inside one of these shopping centres," Atish says.
Parbu, another Gujarati man preferred not to talk, but I always remembered him as grumpy old man whom I used to buy mithaai, soft and mixed bean from.
He recently closed his business after running it for more than 50 years. In its place, now stands a shop that sells virtually everything and anything.
Just down the road at Cumming Street stands another iconic Suva business - Whaleys Butcher has also seen the changes that Suva undertook throughout the years.
Whaley's manager, Amelia Bulabalavu agreed with Atish saying that there are more Asian companies in Suva.
The influx of Asian businesses, mainly Chinese, happened in the 1990s which was largely driven behind the national government's pro investment policies. This saw the exit of many Gujerati businesses which dominated Suva for many years. Not only are the Gujeratis leaving, other businesses too are leaving the city's central business district as Atish puts it.
"A lot of companies are moving away from town as well, they're moving down to Sports City, Garden City and we have Damodar City happening now, so there's a lot of people spreading out, congestion is still one of the major problems in town, you can't find parking and that is why people are leaving town now for the outer suburbs," Atish says.
Suburbs have been re-zoned to accommodate industrial and business areas which make the city look like one long business street where you wouldn't know where residences begin and where the town ends.
One Suva landmark which is perhaps the true heart of the city is the bus station and the municipal market. Sometimes considered an eye sore and heavy polluted part of the city.
This part of town never sleeps as commuters and night owls change shift early in the morning trying to catch a mini bus or bus and taxis.
Nitendra Singh, a second generation market vendor has been selling at the Suva market for 25 years now. He said the city has undergone many changes.
"Actually after the coup, there has been many changes, you can see Suva City has changed a lot; the construction has changed, you can see a lot of people coming in; a lot of tourists also coming in; there are a lot of new faces you can see now," Nitendra says.
Nitendra says he would not trade his vegetable stall for any other job in the world as he enjoys what he is doing. He now employs people to help him look after his stall and his business.
"You see every day you meet people; all races of people and all sorts of people. They come around and they mingle, you can talk with whoever you want freely; it doesn't matter which race you are and what culture you have," Nitendra says.
18 year-old Shalvin Raj is a newcomer to the Suva market, but he has no other option but to look for employment in order to survive and he does not mind selling pineapples and watermelons for his survival.
Another man who frequents the Suva market, Niumaia Salusalu of Nakorotubu in Ra travelled in with his grandson Joni Marika to sell his capsicum crop at the market.
Niumaia travels all the way from his village in Ra to the market every fortnight to deliver his cargo of capsicum.
"I have been doing this for ten years now and I only sell in Suva," Niumaia says.
His grandson is elated about the trip because he gets to come and enjoy the city before he goes back to school after the holidays.
Just a few steps away stands Vilikesa Kalou with his wheelbarrow, awaiting market vendors and buyers who needed their cargo to be transported anywhere within the city.
Vilikesa is part of a group of youths and men who have been dubbed the Bara Boys for their unique service of transporting heavy stuff, shopping, crops and sacks in the city area.
They look more like a pack of ruffians than anything with their trademark three quarter pants and t-shirt fashion style.
Vilikesa became a bara boy way back in 1992 and when he was schooling used to do it after school and during the holidays in order to pay
for his bus fare and lunch.
Now he is working full time and through the years he has seen this unkempt part of Suva change.
"The town has really changed a lot, many people have their pockets picked around here. We used to see all these things happen around here. Yes, before this is not a good place to be
and we also used to get hustled by those people," Vilikesa says.
Even though the price of living in the big city has increased drastically over the years, earning $100 or $200 a week is something he would rather live with.
"No one to boss you around, no one to be looking for you, if you want money you have to work hard for it, it is just up to you, otherwise you would just spend the day lounging around," Vilikesa says.
Along with the Bara Boys are also the shoeshine boys. They are in fact part of the city. The shoeshine boys mark their own territories and operate their businesses within that territory.
The city has been through four coups, three riots and numerous fires, but everytime fate knocks this city down, it still manages to rise again and continue.