‘E BASI ma’awa, io na music ji’o ‘ina (The bus might be old, however there’s music in it) is a popular phrase coined by Anaseini Laweibau and that very phrase is what some Fijian fans would have heard in Hong Kong yesterday because the woman herself was there.
Laweibau was one of the many passengers flying to Hong Kong via Fiji Airways flight FJ393 on Thursday night and calmly walked into the departures lounge with a smile on her face, however there was a twist.
She did not have a ticket to get into Kai Tak Stadium but willed upon her faith and determination to get her one with the blessings of a Good Samaritan.
Laweibau’s fame stemmed from a viral social media post where she stated the phrase as a metaphor for how age was not a barrier to worry about, as long as spirits were high and all was well.
But getting to Hong Kong was a dream come true for her.
“The only reason was because I always wanted to go to Hong Kong. I wanted to be up close and then I wanted to feel that atmosphere in Hong Kong this year,”she explained.
Laweibau is not just a social media sensation, she’s an entrepeneur whose pieces are hot cakes amongst her followers and clients and she revealed how her orders for customers needing items months away were already delivered prior to her heading to Hong Kong.
And if you thought she would be jet lagged and would not make it to see the Fiji Airways Fiji men’s and women’s 7s sides battle it out in day one, she said patience and rest were key for her before she got grooving and going.
“I’ll wait, yes, when we get there because it’s a ten hour flight. The “basi makawa”(old bus) needs to rest but I’ll make it,” she said.
