However, there are two nightclubs where things can get rough late at night after heavy intake of warm beer, generally Australian. If you want your beer cold, the Vaiaku Lagi Hotel's bar is equipped with refrigerators. But don't expect local versions of Chubby Checker twisting the night away. One of the nightclubs is up near the far end of the runway, which becomes something of a lovers' lane after twist nights. On a quieter stretch, farther from the music, people often spread their mats and sleep on the concrete runway during hot nights, hoping to catch a cool sea breeze.
Food is plain, hearty fare - a legacy of the British colonial heritage.
Creative cuisine it ain't. But there's also plenty of fresh tuna, lobster and crab from Tuvalu's pristine Pacific waters. For variety, I find myself switching, for this same dish, between the Vaiaku Lagi and the Kai Restaurant, next to the runway. Aside from aid personnel, there are also six Caucasian permanent residents - mostly through marriage to Tuvaluans. A linguist from Austria, who learned Polynesian tongues in Slovakia, is pondering adoption to enable him to stay permanently.