From: tang@spectra.com (Melissa Tang)
Subject: Club Med Moorea - Tahiti honeymoon
Organization: Spectragraphics Corporation
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 18:25:08 GMT


Wow, after reading Scott Dunbar's account of his vacation to Club Med
Moorea, I wonder where I was.  I just returned from a wonderful honeymoon
vacation at the Club Med Moorea and I didn't run into any of the problems
that he mentions.

But, we were fortunate, we went during the non-peak season.  The Club is the
largest hotel on Moorea (holds 750), but when we were there I think it was
less than half full.  I guess that makes the difference.  I heard that
during Christmas and New Years it was at its peak.  Anyways, the GOs (not
GMs as mentioned by Scott.  The GMs are the visitors) were very polite to
us.  I guess there were just less of us to handle.  The food was great and
was really abundant.  It did get kind of repetitious, but there was such a
huge variety every day that I could try something different.

Moorea is beautiful.  I agree with Scott on one thing, the excursions from
the Club are outrageously priced.  We took a tour around the island from a
company called Albert's which is located right across the road from the
Club's entrance.  It was definately worth it.  We only paid $15 per person
compared to $48 from the Club.  I would not recommend renting bicycles.  The
road (there is only one main road around the island) is narrow with no
shoulder.  The drivers get a little crazy when they pass each other.  We saw
a bicycle/car accident right in front of the Club.

We took the 4 inclusive scuba lessons and one dive.  It was beautiful.  Some
of the scuba instructors were kind of jerks, but the ones that taught us
were terrific.  The dive was incredible.  Granted, we are not certified and
have never gone diving before, but we felt safe.  I guess the biggest plus
was that our classes were small (3-6 persons per class).

We really wanted to go to Bora Bora, but the excursion was 480 US dollars
each for a day.  No way!  We semi-tried to find transportation by ourselves,
but the flight was pretty expensive.  The Club Med Bora Bora is still closed
though.

All in all, we had a wonderful time and met some really great people from
all over the world.  Lots of honeymooners and some couples that have retired
too.  Neat mix of people.  The most interesting times were at the meals.
They seat you at rounds of 8 people and each meal brought together all kinds
of people.  We learned a great deal from everyone and made some terrific
friends.  Almost all of the GOs that we met were really neat.  I agree that
it was hard getting used to some of the manners of the French, but that is
their culture.  They probably got mad about some of our cultural things too
that we would not think was bad.  They definately do not like to wait in
lines - couples cut in front of us while we were waiting for customs
entering and exiting Tahiti.

Some helpful hints if you are planning on going to Tahiti:
	If you go during the rainy season (now), bring an umbrella and some
light rain gear.  It poured on us for 2 1/2 days.
	Bring mosquito coils to burn in your room.  You can buy 5 (break them in
half and they will last during your stay) at the Club Med boutique for 3 US
dollars or at the grocery store in Le Petit Village (across the street and
to your right about 1/2 block from the Village) for 80 US cents.
	Bring lots of heavy duty sun screen.  We brought SPF 15, stayed out of
the sun for the last 2 days and still came home with very dark tans.
	If you want snacks or soda, go to the grocery store across the street.
	Talk to people, meet people, get to know them.  There were so many
interesting people there.
	I guess comparing my experience to Scott Dunbar's, my suggestion would
be to go in the off season.  No lines, no pushing, friendlier GOs.
	Bring a pair of slippers or sandals.  That is about all of the footwear
that we wore the whole time.
	Bring one nicer (still fairly casual) but cool outfit.  The dress at the
Tiki restaurant was a little dressier, but they still accepted shorts if you
wanted to.
	You don't need to bring a beach towel.  You can get a blue beach towel
from the village between 9 am and 5 pm every day.  They will exchange your
wet towels for fresh towels too anytime they are open.
	Bring swimear if you plan on doing a lot of aquatics stuff.
	If you want to go Parasailing, call for reservations.  It is just a 1/2
hour walk down the beach to where they leave from.  The lady at the desk
next to the phone will connect you with the company to make reservations.
We wanted to go on our last day, but they were closed.  Lots of places close
on Mondays, so be sure to check ahead of time.

	ENJOY!  I know this is kind of lengthy, but if you have any more
specific questions, just e-mail me at tang@spectra.com

Melissa Tang


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