Our Big Fat Indian Wedding: Honeymoon Snorkeling in Bora Bora

As an (extra) treat to ourselves, we booked a private snorkeling day cruise that circled the island. If you're thinking about visiting Bora Bora, look this guy up! He's local and super knowledgeable, and being able to snorkel in popular areas without the tourist crowds was well worth the added expense.

Tanoa and his boat!

Our Big Fat Indian Wedding: Honeymoon Pt 4, Bora Bora

After a week in Moorea, we took a quick flight to Bora Bora for the last leg of our honeymoon.

Bora Bora is an island surrounded by a circle of motos (keys.) The transport from the airport to the hotel was a boat!

Our Big Fat Indian Wedding: Honeymoon Pt 3, More Moorea

As I mentioned in the previous post, our actual room was ready when we returned from driving around the island. Please feel free to ignore the part of this video where I hit my head on the roof.

We spent the rest of our week on Moorea lazing on the outdoor deck, attempting to chase fish and sealife in the water (as one does), and drinking a beautiful tropical ocean's worth of booze.



It was actually sunny most of the time we were there and only rained once or twice... but I have more photos of the rain than the sun, because if it was sunny, we were probably out in the water.




One of the coolest features of our hotel was a restaurant situated in the middle of the over-water bungalows. There, they feed the local black-tip sharks at a regular time each day (which, in retrospect, probably isn't the greatest thing for the sharks), and you can watch dozens of them swimming around in the wild while you eat.



Our Big Fat Indian Wedding: Honeymoon Pt 2, Moorea

After our day/night in Tahiti, we hopped on the ferry to Moorea. If you're thinking about going to FP, the ferry is a great option - it's a beautiful 40 min trip and cost something like $15/each.


Our room wasn't available for the spontaneous extra night in Moorea, so we ended up in a little bungalow with a private pool. It was a beautiful option and a plunge in the colder water pool felt great after a massage.

We spent the morning of our second day renting a car and driving around the island. It's possible to drive the entire coastal perimeter of the island in 2 hours, or 4 hours with stops and lunch. We had wanted to explore a little bit, and it worked out perfectly because our actual room was ready for us when we got back to the hotel.


Cook's Bay on the right, Opunohu Bay on the left.



Looking back at Tahiti.


Our Big Fat Indian Wedding: Honeymoon Pt 1, Tahiti

We kicked off our honeymoon with a stop in Tahiti. We originally planned for two nights there, but were advised by some close friends to move on to Moorea, so we changed our plans and only stayed one night.

After an afternoon sitting by the swimming pool, and then walking into town, we agreed that moving on was the right decision. I'm sad we only got to see a tiny portion of the island, but after the wedding we needed some quality r&r, and it seemed like the best way to enjoy Tahiti involved driving and exploring, which neither of us were really up for.



Our hotel (and most of the hotels on this part of the island) didn't have particularly nice beach access, but it did have a pool with a sand bottom and swim-up bar, and an infinity edge overlooking the South Pacific with Moorea in the background.


Moorea through binoculars.



Leaving the hotel to walk into town.


Our quest for sunscreen (we didn't check any bags for the flight over) led us to a Wal-Mart-esque super store, which is actually one of my favorite types of places to visit when traveling.

We took some pics of some of the interesting things we saw in this store. 
















One last look at Tahiti the following day, as we boarded the ferry for Moorea.

Our Big Fat Indian Wedding: One More Ceremony Before The Honeymoon

Jay's sister and her family surprised us with a limo ride to his parents' house the morning after the wedding.


When we arrived, Jay's mom performed the pani varna, which is a ceremony to ward off evil.



As part of the ceremony, I had to kick over a bowl of rice as I entered the house. 


While everyone was downstairs having fun and eating delicious food, I was upstairs falling asleep on the floor.



After wishing our moms happy mother's day, we hopped in a cab and headed to the airport for our honeymoon.

Here are some bonus shots from our photographers, Justin and Lexi of C+I Studios (http://www.c-iphotographers.com/)