Oceania

Travel through Oceania by country:

Australia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

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Auckland, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington

Travel through Oceania by popular things to do:

Cook Islands, Sydney Opera House

Travel through Oceania with our writers:

In the Corner of the World, Work and Play in Queensland

Tahiti’s Top 5 Resorts

by Andrew Evans on

Don’t trust the glossy brochures-with clever angles and heavy blue eye shadow, every high end resort looks like a tropical paradise that’s worth the thousands of dollars they will cost you. Then you finally get there and discover the sewage pipe emptying into the ocean, realize that’s a lard rendering factory across the road and that the artful brochure in the mail failed to display the tacky lobby that’s loaded with cheesy art.

In a world of conflicting paradises, discernment is key. Given that tourism is Tahiti’s number one industry and that there are literally dozens of “great” resorts to choose from throughout the islands, it’s hard to pick just five that take the cake. Even so, here’s an attempt to do just that.

This “Top 5” is not based on what’s more elite, expensive, or exclusive, but focuses instead on the overall experience available to guests-from the drinks at the bar to the health of the coral reefs outside your door. The following five resorts are all situated within French Polynesia’s Society Islands, which includes Tahiti:

Le Taha’a Island Resort & Spa
If you’re going to fly to the other side of the world for sun, sea, sand, and palm trees, then do it right, people. The very best of French Polynesia is not found in the hubbub of modern-day Tahiti but out in the smaller, less-inhabited islands and the surrounding motu (small, sandy islets of an atoll). These are the islands you keep dreaming about and where all the newest resorts keep popping up.

The island of Taha’a is home to very few humans and several vanilla plantations, which makes this perhaps the sweetest-smelling place on earth. Throw in a well-conceived Relais & Chateaux property on an outlying sandy motu and it’s pure heaven. Inspired by the va’a (outrigger canoe), the Taha’a’s design is devoted heavily to Tahitian tradition, with hand-painted tapa bark cloth artwork and bottles of flower-scented manoï oil in the bathrooms (which you will be tempted to ungraciously steal). The exquisite over-water bungalows also feature giant picture windows with a romantic view of far-off Bora Bora, while the underwater coral gardens are healthy and loaded with pretty little clown fish.

You know who would love this place?: Margaret Mead and fans of Finding Nemo.

Downside: At $941 bucks a night, the Tah’a isn’t catering to America’s laid-off auto-workers.

Plus: If you want to splurge, at least this experience feels like a grand a night. The Polynesian seafood buffet is splendid, as is the handiwork of the in-house French pastry chef.

Intercontinental Tahiti
If you have to stay on the main island, this is the place to do it. A 10-minute drive from Tahiti Faaa International Airport, the Intercon is surprisingly quiet and fairly secluded, thanks to the thoughtful preservation of the surrounding trees and plants. The resort also wins major points for having a brain and simply giving guests what they want and need. That includes free laundry rooms on every floor, free “transit” rooms for guests with night flights, free shuttles into the city, and a full-time hop-to-it concierge. Refined colonial-era design and a genuine Tahitian touch make this a favorite for locals, and the saltwater “swimming pool” is alive with tropical fish.

You know who would love this place?: Dakota Fanning and entourage

Downside: The man-made beach is a hotspot for Japanese weddings.

Pluses: Kid-friendly, outstanding Tahitian dinner/dance shows, and the same price as Intercontinentals elsewhere in the world.

Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort
Always a fan of French management (clarification: hotel management), the Sofitel in Moorea is just dreamy. Blending modern comfort with ancient island tradition, each of their 114 bungalows is spacious, airy, and totally tricked out with cool stuff like unobtrusive flat screen TVs and nearly-silent air-conditioning. Imagine a millionaire’s Manhattan loft surrounded by an untainted crystal blue lagoon (but for a bit less than a night in New York). Newly renovated, nothing at this place is drab or out of whack, and the location-at the edge of a sharp green volcano on Moorea (surely the fairest isle of them all)-is unbeatable.

You know who would love this place?: Jackie O.

Downside: Eventually, you have to leave.

Pluses: Awesome, awesome white sand beach. Two miles from the ferry dock to Tahiti.


Le Méridien Bora Bora
The glass-bottomed floors in your room offer an eerie-yet-beautiful blue view of all that swims below, from sharks and rays to local hawksbill turtles. Built on a sandy fringe of atoll across from the main island of Bora Bora, Le Méridien stands out for its dedication to protecting the natural wonders that make Bora Bora so beautiful. Clean, quiet, and design-y in a good way, the unique art deco style makes you feel rich even if you’re not. The resort also smartly bypasses the traffic and nonsensical over-development of the main island.

You know who would love this place?: Environmental lawyers with French mistresses.

Downside: If you don’t like sharks . . .

Pluses: Great activities (like dug-out canoe rides) and an in-house sea turtle sanctuary.


Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
Brand new and built to pamper, the Bora Bora resort is also far from the madding crowds with bungalows laid out symmetrically across the inner lagoon. Beige even works in the South Pacific, and every ultra-beige suite optimizes the already-optimal views, including perfect bathtubs next to giant picture windows, stone bathroom floors, and extra-long outside decks. This resort stands out for its sense of solitude, its cheerful Tahitian staff, and a great dive shop. Although, the main attraction is the Deep Sea Spa where guests get all wrapped up in hot, messy algae (it does wonders to their skin). If you’ve always wanted to get crazy with warm,gooey seaweed, voilà!

You know who would love this place?: Lazy people with good taste and bad skin.

Downside: If your bungalows at the end of the line, it’s a long walk on a hot wood, so wear flip flops.

Pluses: Eco-friendly (seawater air-conditioning), secluded, and the deep sea spa is by far the best in French Polynesia.

Tahiti Graffiti

by Andrew Evans on

You don’t expect rampant urban culture in the sultry South Pacific, but it’s there. That’s because like it or not, Papeete is a relatively big city that’s home to about half the population of French Polynesia, or about 130,000 people. Also, the city will never run out of reinforced concrete walls and frustrated youth.

Tourists are funny about graffiti-we like it in places like Berlin or in Banksy’s latest coffee table book but tend to get uppity if it’s the backdrop to our tropical honeymoon. But judge not. Graffiti is a fairly honest art form-the subjects and sayings that get sprayed across the blank walls of any city says a lot about the place. In Papeete you’ll find a mix of adolescent tagging to bigger displays of initials and elaborate paintings with Polynesian motifs. Word on the street is that the Polynesian graffiti renaissance is on.

Some come one, come all! Pack up your stencils and spray cans, Tahiti’s open for coloring . . . except that it’s not. Anyone caught “vandalizing” anything bigger than a broken cinder block gets an automatic 4,000 Euro fine. Last year, 35 aspiring artists were charged en masse.

Better to enjoy the artwork of the risk-takers by day. A walk through the downtown backstreets of Papeete reveals the signs of many busy artists, as does the skate park and surrounding areas in the suburb of Faaa. But venture out into other islands and you’ll find good and bad art scribbled everywhere. Even the abandoned swimming pools of Moorea are fair game for les graffitistes.

To get connected with the Tahitian street art scene, visit the island’s Kreativ Concept Association, which is an innocent collective of “fresco and mural enthusiasts.” They also happen to sell spray paint, stencils, and T-shirts that read “Graffiti is not a crime.”
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Tahitian truck treats: the finest fare in town

by Andrew Evans on

Long before “fusion” pulled its hit and run on the foodie fashion world, Tahiti was mixing foreign flavors into her own pot and getting goose bumps all over. Their verdict: Chinese plus French plus Polynesian equals a little bit weird and a whole lot of yummy.

Thankfully, this cross-cultural cuisine isn’t catering to the Condé Nast crowd since the very best Tahitian eats are served from the side of a truck. Come eventide in Papeete, “Les Roulottes” roll on down to the harbor and park themselves in several neat little rows on La Place Vaiete. Collapsible, stackable plastic tables and stools quickly turns every white, open-sided van into a late-night café that smells like grilled meat and melted sugar.

The mood is convivial, decadent, blithe. Hundreds and hundreds of people gather without anyone feeling crowded-packs of friends, families with young children, a few unassuming tourists-everyone chows down together in peace in the shadow of six-story private yachts. In a city with London prices, a full meal costs a lowly 1,500 Polynesian Francs-about $20 US.

Order what you will, but to be absolutely local, go with the giant plastic plates of steak frites. Parisian by birth, the Tahitian version comes as a cooked-to-order piece of beef the size of a laptop, heaped on top of pile of hot blonde fries. The giant glob of herbed garlic butter is an essential condiment, as is the bowl of spicy sweet hot barbecue sauce. Dig in after shouts of Tamaa Maitai (“Bon Appetit”) and then come back the following night to try the same with bona fide Roquefort sauce.For lighter fare, try the Polynesian poisson cru: raw pink tuna, chopped into cubes, marinated in coconut milk and lemon juice, then tossed with onion, carrot, peppers. Calling it Tahitian ceviche comes up short-this version is both light and meaty with sharp tangy flavors. The tuna sashimi is equally awesome-fresh, pink fish laid out like stained glass and served with a bowl of special sauce that could only be invented by Chinese people feeding Polynesians with a developed French palate. And… if you’ve still got room after all that, finish with one of the hundred-or-so variety of crepes (Nutella always guarantees the goods) or the local ice cream concoctions.

Tahitian truck cuisine is found across the vast spread of French Polynesia but probably varies a bit from island to island. My favorite find thus far was a Lo Mein sandwich-one half of a soft French baguette split down the middle and stuffed with chicken chow mein, cabbage, chopped noodles, and dribbled with soy sauce. That’s one small step for carb-loading and one giant leap for comfort food.

So, ignore all that CDC and State Department advice about not eating street food. This is France, so that veal turning on a spit out in the street is EU regulated and the raw fish is practically still swimming. Yes, Les Roulottes is all about feeding the masses out of trucks-but these masses are discerning…and French.

South Specific — Into Tahiti

by Andrew Evans on

Ritual hazing is common practice in hierarchical societies, as demonstrated in the grand traditions of the Russian army and your local high school football team. As the new kid on the blog, I can expect the mental humiliation and all-in-good-fun beatings intended to shatter my spirit in favor of the greater collective. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the good folks at Gadling have thrown me straight into the lion’s den that is modern-day Tahiti-a living hell of fruity drinks and mid-November suntans. Someone with a stopwatch has a thumb poised, just waiting for me to cry “blossom”, which is my safe word.

Let us recall that Tahiti represents the figurative tipping point of the H.M.S. Bounty (as in “m-u-t-i-n-y”)-as in, the ship of bright young traveling men who sailed to the ends of the earth on assignment, came upon these fair isles, dropped everything, quickly forgot their duty to God, Queen and Country, took unto themselves Tahitian wives, and went severely A.W.O.L. Two days in Tahiti and I’m totally sympathetic.

Until the mutiny gets official approval, I’ll be right here, blogging the best of the islands with all the sweaty moves of a Polynesian dancer. Stay tuned for good times as we dart across the South Pacific and end up in the farthest corner of the EU, which this technically still is.

Gadlinks for Friday 11.6.09

by Brenda Yun on

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really grateful it’s Friday! I need the weekend to decompress, but these great reads have already helped me on my way.

‘Til Monday, have a great weekend!

More Gadlinks HERE.