The Two-Stop Pacific Hop: Bora Bora & Melbourne (A Mrs. AJK Special)

[@Yehuda]

People in glass houses... should not throw stones.

Your entire TR of BOB consisted of about 8 lines.

Burn. And true.

[CS1]

Oh come now!  AKL, MLE, BOB and more are all available to you and all those who are sufficiently inquisitive, organized, disciplined, and ambitious.
Just a few short years ago, I embarked on this journey with a prayer and a BA 100K offer. Oh, and I asked which hotel was best for the wedding night. Oiy.

Congrats on your 4 1/2 year anniversary. Almost time for a 5 yr trip. (Although this TR looks good enough to last through year #20 and beyond!)

[AJK]

Friday morning we got the early morning start we had been anticipating, just at about two hours earlier than planned. It is difficult to describe the incongruity of lying in bed in an over-water-bungalow with the water gently lapping at your porch steps one minute, and then the next moment feeling as if you are a homeless person who made the bad decision of sleeping on the sidewalk outside of a busy Manhattan construction project.

Yes, you read that correctly. At 7am sharp AJK rolled over, sat up in bed and said to me, “wth!” To be clear, this is not the usual way he greets his beloved wife in the morning, but the circumstances demanded something a little stronger. I got up and pulled back the blackout shades and gauzy curtains covering our full floor to ceiling windows with views of the lagoon and the beach. And honest to G-d, spread out before me was sparkling, flawless, turquoise water leading to a white sandy beach, with two large backhoes revved up and creating a cacophony of immense proportions that was being carried across the water and rousing the inhabitants of all over-water bungalows and likely the people sleeping at the resort two miles up the lagoon as well. "Wth" indeed.

Turns out that a few weeks earlier a large storm had sent a swell along the beach of the resort and had wiped out some parts of the resort’s beach. Lucky for us, the two days picked to restore the beach using construction equipment brought over on a barge from the mainland, were the first two days of our stay.

I know you guys are waiting on the next installment, and it will come as soon as I dig my way out of my work and personal obligations, but for this egregious misstep, IHG gave me (what I'd say was a "meager") 25K IHG.

[Yehoshua]

That seems low, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

[3yummyboys]

I know you guys are waiting on the next installment, and it will come as soon as I dig my way out of my work and personal obligations, but for this egregious misstep, IHG gave me (what I'd say was a "meager") 25K IHG.

Seeing a new post from AJK got me excited ....

[tageed-lee]

for this egregious misstep, IHG gave me (what I'd say was a "meager") 25K IHG.

Did you show them the video? That sucks that they can't see how freaken annoying that would be to wake up to in BORA BORA...

[IsraelGuy]

While I know Moorea does have some die-hard fans, to me, from my review, there was no contest which is prettier.

Can I ask what made you feel this way? I'm planning on FP in May and still no Le Moana or Thalasso space for the dates I want-may just end up doing Moorea (don't mind saving on the extra flight also).

[AJK]

I read some TRs from both, looked at Google images from both, determined for my own personal goals that BOB was better. Besides, BOB is the one that's been atop my bucket list for as long as I can remember, definitely since I was like 12 when I saw those computer screen savers with OWBs in BOB.

Wait until it's within the cancellation period. May catch a break then.

[IsraelGuy]

I read some TRs from both, looked at Google images from both, determined for my own personal goals that BOB was better. Besides, BOB is the one that's been atop my bucket list for as long as I can remember, definitely since I was like 12 when I saw those computer screen savers with OWBs in BOB.

Wait until it's within the cancellation period. May catch a break then.

That's what I'm hoping for-Moorea seems more kid friendly though so either way I think it'll be fine- but their availability is also zilch when I'm looking so we'll see

[AJK]

That's what I'm hoping for-Moorea seems more kid friendly though so either way I think it'll be fine- but their availability is also zilch when I'm looking so we'll see

Not sure why it would be more "kid-friendly."

Either way, look into: (i) LM BOB using C+P, (ii) selling some points and staying at SR or FS. Can be some good rates in low season.

[IsraelGuy]

Not sure why it would be more "kid-friendly."

Either way, look into: (i) LM BOB using C+P, (ii) selling some points and staying at SR or FS. Can be some good rates in low season.

Not sure but I think the atmosphere of the guests, hotel attitude etc.

FS would be nice but I don't think my Ihg cert will cover the 2k/night price

[AJK]

I've seen FS sub 1000, and the SR sub 750.

[Something Fishy]

We then prepared for Shabbos by...

...sitting on our porch, enjoying the view, and relaxing.

יום שכלו שבת, huh?

Any hope of seeing the rest of this TR? It's not like anything interesting happened to the AJKs in the year+ since the last installment, I'm sure there's been plenty of time to write...

[lunatic]

יום שכלו שבת, huh?

Any hope of seeing the rest of this TR? It's not like anything interesting happened to the AJKs in the year+ since the last installment, I'm sure there's been plenty of time to write...

Perhaps we can get it at the same time as the overdue cuba installment 

[Something Fishy]

Perhaps we can get it at the same time as the overdue cuba installment 

That would be nice, considering that two Cuba installments will be posted in the coming days .

[12HRS]

That would be nice, considering that two Cuba installments will be posted in the coming days .

well played

[Moshe123]

That would be nice, considering that two Cuba installments will be posted in the coming days .

Still waiting

[lunatic]

That would be nice, considering that two Cuba installments will be posted in the coming days .

And now @ajk has no excuses

[IsraelGuy]

Water was breathtakingly clear with some of the best visibility I've ever had, and we did see a black tip reef shark (sadly no lemons), a huge school of 2-300 barracuda, and a school of fish I can't I can't identify...

After returning from scuba diving, we relaxed in our bungalow and called to ask the staff to heat up a meal for us. After about an hour we walked up to the beach restaurant and enjoyed a delicious lasagna lunch.

We then prepared for Shabbos by...

1) Was diving in BOB worth it, compared to just the snorkeling?

2) Did you eat your meals in the restaurant at all? If so was the staff fine with that?

3) Any other activities you'd or last minute advice while we await the end of this TR? Headed to BOB next week hopefully

[AJK]

1) Was diving in BOB worth it, compared to just the snorkeling?

2) Did you eat your meals in the restaurant at all? If so was the staff fine with that?

3) Any other activities you'd or last minute advice while we await the end of this TR? Headed to BOB next week hopefully

1) Diving, while clear, was not as good as some of the other places we've been (e.g. MLE, GBR, DPS, etc).  That said, visibility was great and it's definitely better than snorkeling.

2) Yes, we did. Assuming you're referring to Thalasso, yes, they were totally fine. They served it wherever we wanted without issue.

3)  Definitely rent a moped and bike around the island.  Only real way to get a feel for it, IMO.