Tahiti, Mon Amour

Every time I write I'm in Tahiti with the cliché - Tahiti, Mon Amour. But Tahiti is my love. A place that I have taken many times that I can count. A place where I will return again and again.

We had landed at Tahiti Faaa two o'clock in the morning. The air was hot and heavy with the scents of flowers and tropical fruits. Vahines sarongs had to put garlands around his neck. The bus took us from the main city of Papeete. There was a full moon.

On our right was the dark mass of Tahiti. On our left, the sea - a silver in the moonlight. In the middle of the sea, the black mass that is the high island of Moorea. Along the walls were moored in the harbor of the island and yacht dealers. In front were the flickering lights of Papeete. The Australian lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Excuse me, if this was the Parramatta Road, Homebush would be about this?'

Fortunately, most travelers to Tahiti have a little romance 'more in their soul. I am one with Maurice Baring, who wrote: 'Tahiti is the whole thing, the real thing, the thing that has dreamed all his life, the thing that made Stevenson leave Europe for ever. All the tellers of tales, and all the poets from Homer downwards, have always imagined the existence of some of the fortunate 'islands that were so full of magic and charm that have shot the man from his duty and all tasks ... and determination kept him prisoner. '

Tahiti is, in fact, the island Fortunato. It 's so damn beautiful it hurts the eyes. It is true, Tahiti has changed, is changing.

Quinn is no longer on the waterfront, at the bar for flight, punching, tearing, swearing sailors French legionnaires and misfits. (Not that there was a legionnaire, taken with cafard, popping a bottle of wine against the side of my head, because, as explained later, I reminded him of someone who did not like? Era).

And LaFayette, the most famous nightclub in the Pacific, not going into the night until sunset with a non-stop show of hip-shooting tamure - a dance that is, in fact, the vertical expression of a horizontal desire - or characteristics clashes every hour, every hour.

Yes, a little 'sweet simplicity of the islands and vahines now missing, but this is still Tahiti. The island of Gauguin, the Nordhoff and Hall, Melville and Somerset Maugham, Pierre Loti, and yes, Marlon Brando. A Fortunate Island, which is the most romantic place on earth.

It is no longer able to climb a steamship slow and work your way through a model in Tahiti islands. Instead, a direct flight to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. The cheapest way is to visit Tahiti package. Need a visa.

Please note that there is no tipping in Tahiti. Tipping is considered offensive by the standards of Tahiti and customs and you will look an illiterate boor if you insist. Do not tilt.

Bring along a few essentials for Tahiti, where everything is imported on a long distance, can be costly. The essentials are sunblock - and a lot of it, swimwear insect repellent and at least three and a pair of sandals barrier in order to avoid cutting your feet on the dead coral. You need to bring formal and without clothes, in fact, almost no clothes at all. This is not a formal dressing up sort of place.

The time is never less than perfect. The scenario of no less surprising. There are, in theory, two seasons. From April to November is said to be cool and dry from November to March and warmer and wetter. I never noticed this.

In the past I always stayed on the island in front at the Bali Hai Moorea simply because of the folly of the owners then Muk, Jay and Kelly.

On the lawn of this beautiful hotel I played Frisbee, Art Buchwald and James Michener and lost. And then sat down with a bucket of banana daiquiris and sing songs heard Shel Silverstein mad, bad, and then danced all night tamure.

I was younger then.

The Hotel Bali Hai is still there as both an institution and a time share hotel.

Kelly is gone, but the place is now run by Rose, a person more beautiful, with Muk and Jay around somewhere. If you stay in Bali to try to get an over-the-Water bungalows, it is worth the extra money. The hotel used to have an ad - If you come to Tahiti and Bali Hai are not booked someone made a terrible mistake. One of the few advertising campaigns I've ever agreed.

The Hyatt Regency Tahara'a is probably the most exclusive hotel and is visually stunning, built on a cliff. A bus takes you down to the beach for water sports. I also stayed at the Beachcomber, and what was now the InterContinental Tahiti Resort offers a breathtaking view of Moora. The hotel is located on Tahiti Iti Puunui, the small extension at the end of 'island that tourists rarely visit. It has spectacular views and is close to the golf course.

Purely in theory to get around trucks where there is planned, disorganized, impossible to predict, but very funny. Most visitors do not risk even if it is an incredible experience for this is the basic form of transportation on Tahiti and may very well get to where you're going to end. These open-sided trucks from Papeete market. Taxis are ruinously expensive and should be avoided. Around midnight the prices double. Most hotels provide a regular shuttle bus. Car rentals are widely available and are of excellent quality.

The French influence is all pervasive in Tahiti.

The restaurants range from serious good to very good. Your only problem might be finding a table, especially at lunchtime Sunday when Tahiti tout goes out to eat. The wine is a stupid price and can range from rotgut to the sublime.

Restaurants where I ate and I can recommend are The Auberge du Pacifique, Le Rubis, and Les Trois Brewers. The local population in French are serious about food and standards are generally high and the prices match this. At one point he Tahitian tamaara'a a party. But not a gourmet experience. Do not eat at your hotel. It 's too expensive. Walking into town when you want breakfast. Will be half the price and twice as good.

In the evening there is a site on the waterfront - cooked food stalls called les caravans. Cheap, good food, very Tahiti. It's certainly not expensive compared to food prices hotel.

What else should I do when I'm in Tahiti?

Hire a car and drive around (the road does not go all the way across the island). Go to the mountains singing. Visit the Gauguin Museum. See how accurately interpreted the beauty of the place and people. Visit swimming poor Pierre Loti. See the only memorial to a member of a royal family - the Pomare dynasty - which includes a bottle of Benedictine. Sitting in a cafe in Papeete and watch the parade passing by. In ten minutes you will see a dozen of the most beautiful women in the world. Noel Coward did it and hated it. In this as in many other things, he was wrong.

Go into all the Lagoonarium - oh, horrible word - Punaauia and see fish life in the Pacific. Take the ferry to Moorea - Moorea on the ferry about 45 minutes. While on Moorea riding a horse on the Ranch Rupe Rupe, or ride an aqua-diving submarine and pretend to be a fish.

One of the great attractions of Tahiti is the staggering beauty of the islands and the beauty of Tahitian women even more impressive. Because of fiction, because of Mutiny on the Bounty, because of the folklore, because of the dance incredibly sexy, the tamure, there is a legend throughout the world that they are morally free and available. Nothing, nothing could be further from the truth. Acting with respect and decency and everything will be fine. Push your luck and you will be in a bad time. Tahitian girls are beautiful, proud, intelligent and sophisticated and not falling for holiday making visitors. Sure sure.

That still leaves the dance.

In 1820, Article 23 of Law of the Leeward Islands was approved. It stated clearly that "all the lascivious songs, games or performances are strictly prohibited '. A law, thanks to all the gods, in the end totally ignored. The real night life of Tahiti, Papeete, revolves around tamure, a dance that has no equal. The Tahitians love music, love to dance, loves to celebrate. Papeete reflects this. Especially on a night of Good Friday, when the city is wild. There is a tradition in Tahiti that you should wear a flower behind his ear. Wear one and go to town.

Useful Sites

Tahiti Tourism

http://www.tahiti-tourisme.com/

Club Bali Hai Moorea

http://www.balihaihotels.com/

Tahiti

http://www.tahiti.com/

Tahiti Explorer

http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/ ......