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French Polynesia

Enjoying the champagne lifestyle on a beer budget in Bora Bora

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Everybody has a place he’s always dreamed of visiting.  For Paul, that was Bora Bora.  Despite saying we would go one day, I never actually thought we would get there.  It’s so expensive, and so out-of-the-way, and so difficult to do on frequent flyer miles.  Even when we were on the plane to Bora Bora itself, we still almost didn’t get there.  Forgetting it wasn’t a direct flight, got off at the wrong stop and had to turn around and run back to the airplane in a rush.  BB15It had never been a major dream of mine to go to Bora Bora.  I always pictured an over-priced touristy place, but I’m so so happy that we went.  It exceeded any expectations I could’ve dreamt of.

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Fantastic Moorea

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Rising out of the aquamarine ocean looms rock that has been sculpted into tall, spiky pinnacles covered in emerald green vegetation.  This was our first glimpse of Moorea on the ferry from Papeete.  This Polynesian island, close to Tahiti, could easily have been reached with a seven minute flight, but we had elected the local (i.e. cheaper) method.

Moorea from the air, as we were flying into Tahiti.
Moorea from the air, as we were flying into Tahiti.

After loading our bags into metal crates that were forklifted onto the ship, we joined the other riders, for a smooth sail across the bay to Tahiti’s little sister.moorea1

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Under the Tahitian moon

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After landing in Papeete, Tahiti, at 12:40am, and being welcomed by a Polynesian band, our eyes heavy, we sought a place to sleep.  Tahiti is quite expensive, and as we had no desire to spend $350 for 6 hours at a hotel, we settled down for the evening on a very uncomfortable bench.  tahiti12That bench must’ve been made of teak, because it was harder than anything else I have ever laid on.  But at least we were off the ground, since the airport has open sides, and any number of tropical critters can get in.  Surprisingly the airport actually closed for an hour, but no one made us move.  It was incredibly humid, and there was no AC, however we managed to get a couple of hours of shut eye before the sun rose and the terminal became packed with travelers.

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How we did a $7500 trip to Bora Bora for $1300

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I’ve alluded to the fact that we used frequent flyer miles and hotel points to get free flights and free nights during our round the world trip, but I’ve never gone into detail about how we accomplished that.  I figured our recent trip to Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora deserved a post explaining how we use miles and points to travel frequently, at a fraction of the cost.

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