moorea is paradise!

after spending 15 hours on airplanes, i landed in moorea just after sunrise. after spending a day, i have to say – “moorea is paradise”. the land and water are stunning and the people beautiful. having grown up in a small beach town and having traveled to some great beaches around the world, i had pretty high hopes. moorea made mockery of all my expectations. side note - on both my flights to french polynesia, they played the movie – “just like heaven”!



i stayed at the stunning “les tipaniers” owned by a lovely and courteous french couple. based on my last name, “kosuri”, they were expecting a japanese to turn up at the reception and were surprised that i looked anything but. the hotel was on the north west side of the island on the opanhou bay. the first time i saw the beach i could not believe my eyes. the sand was pure white and the water turquoise.

had breakfast (great fruit juices!) at the restaurant overlooking the water (the hostess threw breadcrumbs into the water for the fish from the patio!)




i spent the rest of the morning snorkeling in the pristine waters and lazing around on the beach and the pier.



it was then time to explore the island. i rented a 50cc moped, donned my helmet and set out on journey around the island (~ 62 kms full circle). whizzing around at 60 kms/hr on two wheels was nice!. the first stop was a marina where a local kid was ready to set out sailing for the day with his dad. he happily obliged when i asked to get a picture of him.



i made a few stops to admire the sights and sounds of the island before heading up towards peak bellevirde.









the view from up there was certainly something. while there, had a chance to chat with a trio of local teenagers who were playing some loud arabic music on their parked pick-up truck. they were smokin’ weed and sippin’ rum and were kind enough to offer me some (would you believe me if i said, “i declined”)




back at the hotel after 3 hours of touring the island, i decided to try scuba diving. i was the only person to have signed up for the day and the instructor took me on a private tour of the lagoon and a beginner’s dive. the waters were warm and a diving suit was not needed. it was my first diving experience and it was breathtaking! saw all kinds of pretty fish and coral reefs.





spent the evening shopping at the local market and went back to the hotel for dinner. it was then off to the pier with some local beer to admire the night sky. at around midnight, it was time to catch some sleep before my morning flight to auckland.