#89116 - 03/03/11 06:00 PM
Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
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byronhiker
Junior Member
Registered: 09/30/10
Posts: 22
Loc: colorado
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O.K., some of you may not like what I'm going to write here. I came to F.P. on Jan. 20th, went on the Aranui cruise and bounced around the islands for several weeks.
I hate to say it, but F.P. was a real drag.
First of all, the place is a dump. There is garbage everywhere. Drugs and alcohol prevail. Crime, especially petty theft, is prevalent. The French are rude, the population is generally not a happy lot and it is indeed not a safe place for single female travelers.
So how did I come to feel this way? Probably the biggest mistake I made was assuming that F.P. would be like Hawaii, a modern, clean, cosmopolitan place. It's not. It's a third world country.
I was there for a long time, I fished with the locals, talked politics with French and expats alike, cruised around every place I visited quite thoroughly.
So I just did'nt hang out at some resort with my toes in the sand and a drink in my hand the whole time. Although I did plenty of that too...
There's plenty I could write here, LOTS of stories, but I'll just hit the main things that may be of interest to potential visitors, without the political of social commentary.
My friends here at home get to hear all that!
First of all, it's expensive. I'm not going to whine about the costs, I knew that going in, but for christ sake! After a while it really starts to feel like rape. Nobody cuts you any slack at all and you always have to be on guard for little rip-offs. Lots of bait and switch tactics. Nickle and dime stuff, but still, it becomes a tiring pain in the ass.
Whatever you spent for that week on Hawaii? Double it for Tahiti. I'm not kidding.
On the Aranui cruise, out on the Marquesas, I came apon a puppy dying in the street. It was inflicted with mange, covered in fleas so bad they covered my hands when I picked it up. Just yards away, the locals were putting on a big song and dance routine for us tourists. I saw dogs kicked and hit with rocks.
If the mistreatment of animals bothers you, stay away from this place.
There is trash everywhere. Broken glass on the beaches too. Recycling seems to be unheard of, and there's no deposit on bottles and cans, so out the window they go. It's not like Hawaii.
Unsafe for single females? You bet. Out in the Tuamotus, on Rangiroa, a girl from Canada was sexually assaulted at 3:30 in the morning, in her room while she slept. She screamed and the guy ran away, so she was alright. The next morning, the gal who runs the place we were staying said it's no big deal and happens often. "Just tell them no and they go away" she says!
Apparently Tahitian men can't understand why a female would be alone. They can be quite aggressive. A girl who walked by herself to the "Green Lagoon" on Rangiroa was raped. The police did nothing, she got on a plane and left. It's pretty much the wild west out there, folks.
Lots of fist fights, Tahitian men like to get drunk and beat the crap out of each other. This happened once on the Aranui, they were fighting over a cute french passenger who wasn't interested in either of them. They were drunk, quite a commotion.
If someone were to ask me about visiting Tahiti, I would say don't even bother. Go to Hawaii instead.
If you absolutely have to see Tahiti, like I did, do the package deal. Call a travel agent, have them pick you up at the airport, whisk you away to the resort, where the beach is clean and people are paid to be nice to you, enjoy you're little stay, get back on the plane and leave.
I would not recommend doing "off the beaten path" travel like I did. It's overcrowded, expensive as hell, dirty (outside the resorts) rude people, certainly not the paradise I was expecting.
Actually it could be, if you shell out the bucks for the resort and put a set of blinders on.
Bear in mind folks, this is coming from a rugged dude, I'm a seasoned backpacker, not fussy at all. I've done plenty of travel, sometimes to some dangerous places.
Tahiti is not like north Africa, just a real letdown. Not worth it, in my opinion.
I did have some fun, scuba in the Tuamotos is awesome, and the Aranui is a great deal.
I hope I didn't upset anyone. I know that some of you are really keen on F.P. I would imagine that some of you regulars know exactly what I'm talking about.
Lots of stories to tell, I had conversations with native locals, french locals and tourists, expats, drug addicts (meth is a real problem there) but this will conclude my report.
Six weeks is a lot of time to soak up the flavor of a place.
In conclusion, I had to go to Tahiti to learn to better appreciate Hawaii.
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#89117 - 03/03/11 06:31 PM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: byronhiker]
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Poehere
Expert Advisor
Registered: 08/18/07
Posts: 2362
Loc: FP
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Hi Byron, I was actually thinking of you while I was switching atolls in the Tuamotu's... I won't comment because I know exactly what you mean LOL
I think that the present Tourism minister should read this too...
_________________________
* with sunshine *
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#89118 - 03/03/11 07:07 PM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: Poehere]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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There's a lot of truth in what you've written, but something I have to say is FP is a place you have to really research before you go. It's very expensive (yes, way more than Hawaii). Parts are dirty (I found Bora Bora dirty, but Moorea and Huahine were clean where we stayed (not in a resort). And walking alone on the beach if you're female is a definite no-no (especially after dark, but I wouldn't do it in the daytime myself). I think, like all places around the world, parts of the place have problems with crime, drugs, etc., but others don't so you have to be aware of where you are (my son ran into trouble in Montreal, which is really generally a very safe place). I'm really sorry you had such a bad time. We loved the place, but it isn't for everyone (and I haven't travelled there alone so my experience would be different than yours). Thanks for taking the time to give us your report. By the way, the idea of going to Hawaii doesn't appeal to me at all. I like to see other cultures, not one so similar to my own.
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#89119 - 03/03/11 10:01 PM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: Old Wife]
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longstay
Member
Registered: 02/21/11
Posts: 119
Loc: Minnesota
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Hm. Writing from Huahine. I think if you stay out late,you will see the drunk fighting.
I don't know it it's worse or not compared to other places in the US as I don't go out at night to places where people get drunk in the US, so I can't compare it.
The dog issue does get to one, doesn't it?
The job that I just retired from was working with the women and children in the abused woman's shelter in my city. I was fortunate to meet people that I would normally have no contact with . I think that people would be shocked as to what goes on in their cities in the US of A. Mainly the women in the shelter came from out of state.
Byron, you have discovered some of FP's life that is there, just like anywhere in the world. Hopefully, the social problems can be dealt with just as they need to be dealt with in the US
We have been fortunate to meet really great people on Huahine. Just like anywhere in the world, there are the bad people as well.
I don't find Huahine that expensive. The fruits are really inexpensive and the rental prices are very low compared to the US. Some things are a lot more expensive, for sure , such as junky tools, dishes, that kind of thing.
This week on Huahine, they are having a clean up week.
I think Huahine is quite clean.
AT my home in Minnesota, I live by a scenic drive. Right before I left there to come to Huahine, someone had brought an entire living rooms worth of leather furniture and dropped it at the bottom of our road. My neighbor came with his dump truck and hauled it away.
I love FP, warts and all. I wish the warts would be dealt with as I wish the warts in the US would be dealt with.
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#89125 - 03/04/11 01:04 AM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: longstay]
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Poehere
Expert Advisor
Registered: 08/18/07
Posts: 2362
Loc: FP
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There's a way of life in FP one does not get to see unless staying long time in less frequented places...
I've wanted to write about that but it is hard as sometimes it is part of our daily life and we don't even notice anymore how much different it can be from a more "civilised" life one leads elsewhere...
FP has "over"-developed since the Mururoa testings because it brought with it a huge economic development going too fast for the local brain to follow... So today we see Tahiti and the more frequented islands (mainly Society and Rangiroa) where people drive huge cars going back to their airconditioned homes with flatscreens all over the place while playing with an Iphone that doesn't necesarily work...
Outside of all that there are still places that are not so developped and live life at a very different pace without all the technical and other gadgets that one sees today in Tahiti.
In those places life is very basic and follows the Tahitian instinct and tradition of: "there's no tomorrow, no yesterday, only today"
So a guy who makes money working will send part of his pay to his wife (after waiting patiently for 3 hours at the post office to withdraw the bucks) who stayed behind on another island to take care of the kids and whatever. The other part will go to buying booze and other stuff that will make his day...
The booze will have to be finished completely in other words feeling drunk is no reason to stop drinking, all has to be gone to re-start the next day.
WHen the guy shows up for work and is given a pair of safety shoes (according to law) as well as a helmet, he will try and sell these in order to buy more booze and show up at work with a pair of old thongs smiling all the way as if nothing happened...
When he gets off work he will go fishing with the other men of the village while the women make hats and other stuff out of the millions of palmleaves to be found around and the kids of all ages entertain and play with each other, feeding themselves on the fresh fish caught by the daddies... which will later be distributed amongst the village people with a kindness and generosity one doesn't find easily elsewhere these days!
After they'll go home and have a beer and many others to finish the lot and maybe even beat their wives who love to be beaten as it is a pure sign of "I love you" reason one should never interfere...
WHen they fall asleep to the sound of the waves or a yukelele they'll wake up at 4 am to have some coffee, fish heads, rice and bread and start their ritual all over, it being a new day, there being no yesterday, no tomorrow but just today!
_________________________
* with sunshine *
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#89129 - 03/04/11 06:46 AM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: Poehere]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Yes, FP has a different culture (but isn't that what travel is for?--well, I guess if you only want to see the scenery then stay at American-style resorts and get your fill of that and forget about learning about how other people actually live). What you describe, Poehere, doesn't sound all that different from many other places in the world (not to mention parts of my own country). And studying the history of FP and the whole communal living type of thing, sharing of property, etc. makes it easier to understand the idea that petty theft almost isn't theft in a way (what's yours is mine).
I think there are 2 kinds of people who travel. I call them tourists and travellers. The tourists want to see the sites of the new country, but want to have everything else the very similar to what they have at home. The travellers want to experience a different culture (but still stay safe, of course!). I try not to judge other cultures compared to mine. It's hard when you see things that upset you (e.g. suffering animals), but you have to understand that different places have their own ways. I really don't think there's a perfect place to visit (no crime, no poverty, no domestic violence). Some places hide it better than others, but human nature is human nature.
Anyway, I'll step down off of my soap-box now. I'm really glad byronhiker posted about this so others will understand FP isn't the Walt Disney version of paradise that many people expect. It's a country with great beauty as well as flaws.
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#89130 - 03/04/11 11:31 AM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: Old Wife]
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longstay
Member
Registered: 02/21/11
Posts: 119
Loc: Minnesota
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thanks Old Wife!
As a middle class person (and I am not saying we don't have our flaws), I did not experience the poverty way of life in America until I started working my job 30 years ago.
My job required home visits, of which I have done hundreds.( the job I had before I worked with the Homeless, the last couple of years)
Poverty and extremely high income people have many things in common, but the money can hide what people are up to.
And I don't mean that all poverty or well to do people are the same.
I don't think a lot of people understand what life is like in America for the poor-the same thing. There is no tomorrow. Only today.
It's funny being in Huahine and having to rely on others for so many things and having no transportation for myself, really; it's an interesting experience.
I am still a tourist , of course, but the little luxuries I took for granted as a true tourist are not there.
I would write more, but as a travel site, I don't think all of FP dirty laundry needs to be aired, because as a tourist at the beautiful resort or pension, the dirty laundry does not impact one. Just as it wouldn't if one stayed in beautiful resorts in America.
Edited by longstay (03/04/11 11:38 AM)
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#89136 - 03/04/11 04:20 PM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: longstay]
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Silvanocat
Advisor
Registered: 04/03/04
Posts: 696
Loc: Los Angeles
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I'm curious as to where you were OP, the Marquesas and then Rangiroa and?
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#89137 - 03/04/11 04:24 PM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: longstay]
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YosemiteGirl2
Member
Registered: 09/17/07
Posts: 373
Loc: California
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Cultural acceptance of drinking, fighting, and (sadly) even domestic violence don't surprise me. I have to say, though, that I never expected the rape of a tourist in broad daylight, or the attempted rape of a tourist "safely" in her pension at night, to be part of the Tahitian culture. It really saddens me that that kind of violence is so expected/tolerated, that a local woman and the police barely shrug.
I disagree that the "dirty laundry" doesn't impact tourists and shouldn't be aired, longstay. If women can't walk about in broad daylight without a male friend/partner, that is something we should be aware of for our own safety.
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#89140 - 03/04/11 05:16 PM
Re: Trip report, Jan/Feb '11
[Re: YosemiteGirl2]
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Gary & Cath
Expert Advisor
Registered: 04/01/06
Posts: 1284
Loc: Wollongong, Australia
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Completey agree longstay(holte) and OW - I think there are areas in every city/country that tourists would never want to see.
Even our city of Sydney has some very dodgy areas with extreme poverty, crime, assaults etc and I (Cath) would never venture into those particular areas of the city even in daylight hours.
We also have the lower socio-economic areas of the Illawarra and they too think it is OK to dump their unwanted goods/househod waste/junk/pets at the top of our street and let someone else deal with it!!
_________________________
Is there anything better than a sipping a Tahitian Mai Tai on an Overwater Bungalow in FP?
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