Ia Orana (hello), Tahiti
Well, after successfully tying the knot, we couldn’t think of a better place to go than the beautiful, tropical islands of Tahiti — Moorea and Bora Bora to be exact. Many people asked how we chose this location and there are many factors that helped us decide.
Almost a year in advance, we began researching honeymoon locales. We mutually wanted to go somewhere tropical so we could just “veg” on a beach after what we anticipated to be an exhausting year of wedding planning (and we were right!). We also wanted to go somewhere new, where neither of us had been, which cancelled out places such as Hawaii. We wanted to go far away, where it would feel really remote and where it might be a difficult place to return. Let’s face it, when you settle down and start a family, it might be a long time before you feel comfortable jetting off to some remote island and leaving little ones behind. (no pressure, I know!). It also helped knowing family members that visited the islands on their honeymoons and remembering the amazing photos I saw of their adventures. All in all, it sounded exactly like what we were hoping for.
After spending almost two weeks in the closest thing to paradise, I believe we couldn’t have chosen a more perfect place to begin this new chapter of our lives. Although the succeeding paragraphs are a synopsis of our adventure, I’d like to warn everyone of the length and to remind you that you may need to take breaks!
On Tuesday, May 4, Oren and I departed from Bush Intercontinental Airport and headed over to Los Angeles, California where we would stay the night before heading off to Tahiti. This flight was wonderful because thanks to Orna and her accumulated mileage, we were able to fly first class. It was definitely a spoiled trip complete with cocktails, good food and comfortable seats. Too bad I was so exhausted from the wedding events I couldn’t manage to keep my eyes open the entire time! We stayed that night at the Marriott LAX, which was actually a beautiful hotel. Unfortunately, they put us in a tiny, crappy room right next to the elevators where you could hear the dinging and people getting on and off as if there was no wall between us. Oren went back down to speak with the management explaining that it was the first night of our honeymoon and although this wasn’t our final destination, we expected to be treated a little better than that…especially since the reservation was under Orna’s rewards club card. They ended up putting us in a much better suite where we slept very soundly.
After a delicious breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Tahiti. It took about 8.5 hours to get to the capitol of Tahiti – Papeete. We arrived at about six in the evening, but it was already pretty dark because it is currently their winter time there. As soon as we entered into the airport, attendants were handing out little honeysuckle buds to put in our hair and the entire place smelled like honeysuckle. It was so fragrant and refreshing after sitting on a plane full of recycled air. Yuck! We then found our agency tour people where they proceeded to put fresh leis around our necks, decorated according to gender. We were then transferred to our hotel called Le Meridien. It was a beautiful hotel with a large room. The main thing we noticed was everything was very open. The room was spacious and had a large window to the bathroom. And the lobby and hotel restaurant were all open-aired. We ate dinner at a local place near the hotel where Oren had one of his favorite meals of the trip, which was a veal and mushroom dish resembling beef stroganoff. I had one of the French Polynesian specialties, which is called Poisson Cru- raw fish (shrimp in this case) marinated in coconut milk and lime juice. So yummy!
The next morning we had our first Tahitian breakfast, which was always provided by the hotel throughout the trip. It is basically a buffet of tropical fruits, French breads and croissants, eggs, potatoes, meats, cheeses and even miso soup! We always ate way too much because it all looked so good. We do remember the pineapple and watermelon being the most outstanding in Papeete, however I never ate one bad or non-juicy piece of pineapple. We were then transferred back to the airport to take a flight out to our first main destination, Moorea. The flight was only 15 minutes long. They managed to sneak in a glass of pineapple juice to all the travelers as we were all staring in amazement outside the plane windows at the aerial view of Moorea.
Once we arrived, we were driven all the way around to the northwest corner of the island where few other hotels are located. We planned to stay at the Intercontinental Resort Moorea for four nights. Once we arrived, the concierge served us tropical fruit drinks and gave us cold, damp towels to wipe our faces and hands. This was a nice detail we saw at each resort upon arriving and before lunch or dinner meals.
We had reserved a beach bungalow for our time on the island, which would overlook the water. The concierge asked me if we were aware that their pool was under construction and once she saw the look of disappointment on my face, she upgraded us to a premium over-the-water bungalow for the entirety of our stay. (I later read in my guide book that the pool was basically the only thing lacking in the resort as it was small and not as beautiful as one would expect, so it only makes sense they were actively working on that!)
The over-the-water bungalows on this island are technically half-way over the water with the entrance coming from the land and the balconies jutting over the water. But still, it was much nicer than what we were planning to have. Our bungalow had an amazing view to the east of some of the mountains as well as the transparent blue water. We had a ladder from the balcony deck that led us right down into the water where we swam in the most perfect water temperature. We also saw our first sunset of the trip, where I became enthralled and took at least 50 frames. That evening we received a free split of champagne as a honeymoon gift, which we sipped on as we watched the sun go down. Talk about romantic! That night, we ate at my favorite restaurant of the trip called Le Mayflower. It was a quaint little French place that is famously known for its lobster ravioli. Of course that is what I ordered and have to admit, it was mouth-watering. I didn’t want it to end! Oren got the duck, which was also pretty tasty.
On Friday we took a hotel speed boat over to a private small island owned by the hotel. Small uninhabited islands are called Motus. We took some snorkeling gear with us where we would get our first viewing of the most amazing sea life I have ever seen! As we arrived on the motu, there were probably about three couples there who all took our boat back to the hotel. And then it was just us! We literally soaked up the sun on our own private island for four hours. The only other human being was the bar man, who played the ukulele the whole time, providing our entertainment. We tried to keep him busy by ordering some local beers, called Hinano. You must look at the label at this link because it is pretty much the monopolizing logo on any souvenir throughout the islands: http://www.getlostonpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/hinano-252×300.jpg. Granted, it’s a pretty label, but I didn’t want to come home with all things representing beer! After snorkeling, resting and writing various things in the sand (see below), we returned to the mainland and went to dinner at a great local restaurant called Les Tipaniers. I ended up not feeling too well at this point but I was able to keep down a yummy pizza and fresh, homemade coconut ice cream with little chunks of coconut inside. Oren had shrimp and crème brulee made with the famous Tahitian vanilla. Needless to say, it was great.
On Saturday morning, Oren bought me a beautiful black pearl necklace from the Robert Wan store in our hotel. Black pearls are the primary industry of Tahiti besides hotels and tourism. You can get them almost anywhere and from anyone, but some places have better reputations and can provide you with official certificates of the pearl’s authenticity and quality grades. Robert Wan is reputed to be one of the most trusted and well-known companies on all the islands. We found an awesome Grade A round pearl that was given an aubergine (eggplant) color designation. They are rarely a pure black and they can go as light as a rose pink.
Later we rented a car from Avis for the day (which costs the equivalent of taking ONE taxi ride somewhere!). We drove around the entire island of Moorea. It doesn’t take that long since it is so little (61 kilometers around), but with all the photo-op stops, it took up a good portion of our day. We stopped for lunch at a roulotte, which is basically the island’s version of fast food and the cheapest meal you can ever get. Most locals eat at one if they aren’t catching and preparing their own meals! We had really good hamburgers there that cost probably the equivalent of $6 each. Anywhere else, it would have cost the equivalent of $20! We got some great shots of some churches that seemed almost fake and very conspicuous against their lush, tropical backdrops. The majority of Moorea practices Catholicism and it seems based off of the number of churches compared to population, religion is a big deal there!
That night we ate at one of the most famous restaurants on the island: Te Honu Iti. The chef is well known for his culinary mastery of French cuisine. We were taken there by a friendly driver who works at the restaurant and feeds sting rays every night around 8 p.m. (By the way, one surprising fact about the islands is that most restaurants provide a free cab service that will come pick you up from your resort and drop you back off.) We sat on the deck right where the feeding took place. It was pretty entertaining to see dozens of huge rays swarm around the restaurant. Oren ate another one of his favorite meals of the trip, a classic beef bourguignon and I had a delicious Mahi Mahi with a trademark vanilla cream sauce. We returned to the hotel and decided to hang out in the bar lounge where a woman was hired to sing karaoke. We both had yummy champagne cocktails. The singer was pretty bad, and on top of that she would leave to go change her shoes or go to the bathroom mid-song. During one of her random vanishings, Oren went up to the performance area and was ever so close to taking over, but he didn’t!
On Sunday, we rented a car again to see the remainder of the island and to drive to a local beach we had heard was a must-see. Our first stop was up a mountain where ancient, open Polynesian temples still stood. They are called Maraes. Unfortunately, we weren’t sure what they were supposed to look like, nor how many there were so I kept walking and Oren kept following. After deciding that the large piles of rocks were the temples we were unimpressed and decided it wasn’t worth our time. It was my assumption that the path was a circle and if we kept going, we would end up where we started. So for 30 minutes, we walked in flip flops and bathing suits inside a wet and rocky forest finally deducing we were lost! It actually got pretty scary for a while, especially since it was hot and we left our water in the car expecting to be gone for five minutes. We finally ended up on a gravel road where locals told us the fastest way to get back to our car was to turn back around and return the way we came. I wanted to cry at this point. That forest was scary and I was exhausted! But we sucked it up and walked another 30 minutes back and finally made it to our car. Once we blasted ourselves with air conditioning, we went a little higher up the mountain to a famous look-out point called Mt. Belvedere, where you can see the entire island, including the famous two bays (Cook and Opunohu) with an enormous peaked mountain in between them. It was a gorgeous view. We took lots of photos.
Finally we made it to Tamae Beach near the Sofitel resort, and it was well worth the wait! Some of the most gorgeous water I’ve seen, a white sandy beach and snorkeling among shallow-sitting coral where we saw the most gorgeous fish. I was so in love with their beauty and there were so many of them…they would just swim all around you and sometimes even touch you. Oren and I had our heads under the water for a good hour or so trying to capture with his camera what we were seeing with our goggle-protected eyes. Of course, it can never be what you see live and in person but I think we have a good representation.
That night was our last night on the island of Moorea. We went to the newest and most contemporary restaurant on the island called Le Villa de Sans. It was part of a newer resort near ours that built bungalows up on a mountain. We didn’t see anything else like it. We had a great lobster appetizer followed by my ahi tuna (which doesn’t get better than Tahiti – other countries travel here or pay to have the tuna exported to their restaurants it’s that good). Oren had an Angus steak with oxtail. Dessert was hands down the best thing either of us has ever had. It was a chocolate raspberry soufflé with rice puffs inside the chocolate, accompanied by passion fruit sorbet and little chocolate truffles. Heaven.
The next morning after a great room service breakfast, we were transferred to the Moorea airport. The building consisted of one run-way and two retail shops. And of course, it was open-aired. The flight to Bora Bora took about 45 minutes. Again, pineapple juice was served. Once we got to the point where we could see the island of Bora Bora from the airplane, we were speechless with the beauty and the fact that this place physically existed. I took photo after photo from the plane window as we circled around and got closer and closer. The actual island is very small but the lagoon that surrounds it is about three times its size. The lagoon is really the reason people come here. It is this amazing body of water that is basically a barrier between the island and the ocean. Inside the lagoon are about seven different shades of the most beautiful water, ranging anywhere from an almost clear, slightly tinted turquoise all the way to a deep sapphire blue with varying shades of green in between. I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was and tried very hard to burn images into my memory. Also inside the lagoon are some of the most beautiful coral reefs and gardens and some amazing sea life, including manta rays and black sharks (which are actually gray).
The airport in Bora Bora is actually on its own little strip of land. The only way to get around efficiently and to get to the actual island of Bora Bora is to take boat taxis. So we were transferred to our Intercontinental resort by boat. We got to see all the other resorts along the way, which are dominated with true genuine over-the-water bungalows that extend far out into the lagoon.
After arriving to our hotel we wandered around our amazing junior horizon bungalow suite which was filled with beautiful hibiscus flowers spread all over the bed, tables and bathroom. There were several honeymoon gifts as well as another bottle of champagne waiting for us. We had a coffee table that was made entirely out of glass that looked down over the water where a piece of coral sits and lots of beautiful fish swim in and out. The table actually opens so you can drop food down for the fish to eat! Of course we had the personal deck that leads down to our own entry into the lagoon water. As you can see from some of my pictures, the water is so pristine and clear you actually feel like you are in a swimming pool, except for the fact that you are walking on sand!
That night we went to dinner around the corner at a swanky place called Matira Beach. The furniture was all teak wood outdoor-style furniture and they even had nice canvas umbrellas to keep the environment feeling like you were on a beach. The lighting was very relaxing and the food was really amazing. Oren had Mahi Mahi and I had a rack of lamb with lots of yummy Mediterranean elements including figs and dried cherries. Our appetizer was the best this time around, which was a lobster bisque risotto with shrimp on top. So good.
Tuesday was our first breakfast in Bora Bora. The hotel was full of honeymooners and anniversary celebrators. We actually decided we didn’t like all the honeymooners because almost everyone was American and they seemed for the most part to be spoiled rich kids that had no appreciation for where they were. Oren and I kept to ourselves a lot besides befriending hotel staff and some older couples celebrating long-term anniversaries. After the meal, we signed up to go couples parasailing as well as finding out about other fun activities we could do on the island. Then we walked to Tiare (tiare is their local flower) Market, one of the two markets on the entire island. We bought lots of water here along with some coke and Tahitian rum called Tamure Rhum- good stuff! The price of alcohol on this island is outrageously high, especially if you get a drink at a bar or hotel. The market is truly the best way to go if you plan to drink at all.
Once we got back to the hotel we decided to feed the fish. Every day, the hotel makes bread that you can use to do this. Some of the fish will eat right out of your hands! Later that day we went parasailing. This was my first time and although I was a little scared I was really excited. We went 100 meters high for 15 minutes. What an exhilarating experience! It’s so quiet and peaceful up there and you really feel like you’re flying. It was also really romantic getting to go up with Oren. I think we’re spoiled for life because no water will ever look that pretty from that vantage point again. We even saw a manta ray swimming below us. However, it appeared as if it were flying in the sky with its wings flapping against the pure blue.
Later, we ate hamburgers and fries at the hotel and rented a free DVD from the hotel shop (which was actually so scratched up we didn’t get to watch the end). That night we stayed at our resort for a special meat buffet and Polynesian dance show. The buffet was beautiful, but of course way too much food. Oren’s favorite part was the pumpkin vanilla soup. I loved all the mini sweet desserts. There really weren’t too many patrons that night so it was quite sad to know a lot of that food was going to waste. The dancing occurred in a central courtyard for about 20 minutes. There was a young dance group of about 15 guys and girls accompanied by a great Tahitian instrumental band. The show was basically what you expect to see in any Polynesian region, but I had never seen one before so I really enjoyed it. I was amazed by how fluidly and gracefully the girls bounced their hips around and the guys had a lot of rhythm as well. I was even selected by one of the guys to go down and dance with some other chosen patrons. It was a little embarrassing but fun too!
Bright and early Wednesday morning, we took a Land Rover 4×4 Safari around the inner island of Bora Bora. Our guide said we could call him “Frank” but he changed his name up on a constant basis. We only had one other couple with us and they were celebrating their 30-year anniversary. They were from Paris and we talked a good amount and even took photos for one another. The ground was quite wet from some previous rain. For some reason I thought we were just going to be driving around on roads, but I was greatly mistaken. Frank took us up very muddy, rugged, steep mountains to various lookouts and for a while there I thought we were going to die. Some of the angles were very sharp and with all the deep, wet mud it seemed we were either going to get stuck or topple backwards. The most unforgettable part was when we were told to hold onto the iron bars above our heads and on the count of three, yell “Geronimo!” We did as we were told and Frank stepped on the gas to go up part of the hill that seemed utterly impossible with an almost, 40-degree grade. I think my heart jumped to my throat because we actually did start falling backwards…but he did this on purpose! It was like a rollercoaster but not very funny because there were no safety standards or anything to catch us if something went wrong. (When I tried to buckle my seat belt in the beginning of the trip, he told me there was no need!) So we survived falling back down the hill and one more time we yelled and hung on for dear life and actually got to the top of the hill the second time around. Thank God!
We went to several look-outs and even stopped at a home where there was a mountain artist who made pareos (large, beautiful sheets of fabric used to wear over swimsuits, etc.). Of course I couldn’t resist buying one but it’s so pretty I can’t bring myself to wear it…perhaps we will hang it on a wall in our house somewhere. We also went to one of the four sites on the island where World War II guns were stationed. Thankfully, the soldiers never had to use the guns, but they were prepared and ready if it came to that. Our last stop was probably the neatest…it was the one and only actual pearl farm on the island. The workers explained a lot about culturing pearls as well as demonstrated how to extract pearls out of oysters without harming them. I was chosen to catch the black pearl as it was taken out but of course, it rolled off my hand onto the ground! We found it and it was perfectly fine.
After the very thrilling and therefore emotionally exhausting tour, we went back to the hotel where we ate lunch. We shared an ahi tuna poisson cru as an appetizer. Oren had a good thin-crust pizza and I had an Asian beef salad. We then went back to the bungalow and watched Citizen Kane (on the only English channel) and rested. That afternoon, an island guide named Ibu took us on a bus into the main part of town called Vaitape (which means waterfall). This is where we shopped for the majority of our souvenirs including coconut tea, t-shirts, a gorgeous summer dress and an authentic Polynesian music album to take back with us. It rained most of this time so it was a perfect day to get some shopping in.
That night we went to the most well-known and famous restaurant on the island, called Bloody Mary’s. Every single celebrity that has visited the island has also dined at this restaurant and left their autographed pictures. Ever since we told people we were going to Bora Bora, one of the first things that came out of their mouth was “Oh! You have to go to Bloody Mary’s!” They tend to spare the details so you can experience it for yourself because supposedly it’s very unique. Oren and I were actually a little let down from all the hype although we did enjoy our time there. We will also leave most of the details out in case any of you plan to go one day and that seems to be the considerate tradition. Just know that yes, I did drink a bloody mary at Bloody Mary’s (it was just OK) and we had some of the best fresh seafood of the trip there.
Thursday morning we were praying for good weather as the forecast made things very uncertain. We had scheduled a half-day lagoon tour and needed it to be pretty outside to enjoy it. We got our wish and this was by far our most favorite day and adventure of the trip! At 9 a.m. we met with our guide named Alfons who picked us up at the hotel dock. There was one other couple that came with us and they were from Spokane, Washington. They were celebrating their 10-year anniversary and we ended up befriending them as well. First we went to the reef where there were tons of sharks, sting rays and beautiful fish. What a wake-up call! We all hesitantly got into the water where Alfons proceeded to feed the sharks. There was a rope you could go behind that would supposedly keep you out of harm’s way of the sharks and everyone went behind it except for me. (I surprised myself on this one) We began to pet the sting rays who were very soft and not as slimy as they appear. I had pet them before but it has been a long time. The sharks were swimming all around us and at one point one basically stared me in the face and came within feet of me and then made a quick turn the other direction. They actually weren’t that intimidating and not as big as we expected them to be. The most exhilarating part was snorkeling underwater in this area and just watching as the rays, sharks and beautiful fish all swarmed around you in every direction. Somehow, none of them touched me but there were so many I have no idea how they so gracefully avoided contact with my body. What an amazing site. We will never forget it.
The next part of the tour was stopping at a baby coral reef. It was a treat because our guide doesn’t usually take people out there. The coral is so delicate and new that it is hard to trust snorkelers to not hit or hurt them. We carefully swam all around this area where the baby coral was the most colorful and vibrant we had ever seen in our lives! Deep purples and turquoises, just amazing. Inside the baby coral were also baby fish…species we had never seen before and just like the coral…so colorful and vibrant. Later Alfons took us to another sting ray area of the lagoon. We only spent a few minutes there but I made a sting ray friend who kept coming up to me and eating from my hand. Then we continued to a deeper part of the lagoon where it was absolutely breathtaking (besides all the other tourists snorkeling in the area). We saw tons of fish and even saw a huge Moray eel that Alfons lured out of a rock with food to show us its size. The fluorescent yellow creature was probably the length of three people. Alfons was hugging it and couldn’t even get his arms halfway around it. He said the eel was at least 40 years old! Alfons fed lots of other fish too and it was amazing to watch them swarm around him. It was as if he was “one with the sea.” Last but not least, we stopped at a private motu where we were fed fresh fruit and water and took pictures of the beautiful scenery of the lagoon from the top of the motu hill.
Once we got back on land, we went to a local restaurant for lunch where I had a fish burger and Oren had a chicken and cheese panini. That evening, we went to Happy Hour at the resort, which literally lasts exactly one hour. Oren had a Mai Tai and I had a margarita. It started raining pretty hard but we had reservations at the other Intercontinental resort’s restaurant, which was a good 20 minute boat taxi ride. We stayed inside the covered portion of the boat and stayed parked during the torrential downpour. As it let up, we finally ventured off. Although we were more than happy with our resort, this one was amazingly fancy. We walked into a bar lounge called Bubbles where there was live music. The singer/guitarist and bass accompaniment were great. They played cover songs mostly in the realm of artists like Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Incubus and U2. We hung out and had really awesome mojitos. Oren had a pineapple one and I had a pink raspberry and red currant one. It was a lot of fun. We went to dinner in one of their restaurants called Reef. It was decorated like a reef and full of beautiful wooden carved furniture. This is where we had the best amuse bouche (pre-meal bite representing the Chef’s style and creativity) of the trip, which was a butterflied shrimp with seaweed salad. I had the ahi tuna and Oren had prawns with French toast and red risotto. We split a dessert of tres crème brulee – coconut, chocolate and passion fruit. By dessert, even though I only had one glass of wine I was pretty tipsy and very anxious for the dessert. So I impatiently asked Oren “where’s the brulee (pronounced broolee)?” I know it’s probably really only funny to us. That’s OK. After dinner, we went back to the lounge area where Oren played the Nintendo Wii for the first time and I dozed off in a chair until it was time to make our water taxi.
Friday morning we slept in and after breakfast we went to an internet store across the road to email loved ones. Later we took some more bread and fed the fish below our coffee table and went for a short dip in the water. Around noon we took one of the hotel kayaks out on the water and went to Matira Beach, which is surprisingly the only natural beach on the island. It took us about 20 minutes to get there and was quite a workout. We swam and hung out on the beach for a couple hours and returned to the resort when it looked like it might rain. We grabbed lunch at another roulotte across from the hotel. Then we spent some time with one of the staff members of the resort named Toparii, which means “Best King.” I also called him “coconut man” because the first time I saw him he was holding a coconut with a straw inside and I told Oren I wanted to find out how to get one of those! I inquired and Toparii told me he got it from home and that he would bring one back for me. That afternoon he brought 4 of them…all at different stages of their lives and all tasting so incredibly different. One of them you had to just drink the juice out of, one was almost like gelatin where you spooned the flesh out, another provided some good coconut chunks. It was quite an education!
After resting a little in the bungalow, it was time for our last dinner on the island. We went to a place called Kaina Hut that came highly recommended. The food was wonderful. I had the trademark dish of gnocchi that was made from a different vegetable (not potato) that grew locally on the island. It was fantastic. Oren had veal with mushroom sauce. We split the signature dessert called the lava cake. It was a chocolate flourless cake with liquid chocolate that flowed out from the inside. Along with it came some syrup in the shape of a flower and fresh vanilla bean ice cream with a hint of toffee and crushed nuts inside. Very delicious.
Saturday was our last day and we just spent time packing up and reading in the room. We ate lunch and headed to the airport. It took almost 24 hours to get back to the U.S. Luckily we caught an earlier connection in L.A. so we had more time to recover before returning immediately to work the following day. It took a good week to recover from jet-lag but it was well worth the experience!
We’d like to especially thank Orna and Dubi for making this trip happen. It was really a dream honeymoon and we feel so lucky that we had the opportunity to go. We now have lots of wonderful memories from our first few weeks of being husband and wife.
