September 01, 2005

02:51:04 pm Most Expensive Places  

Based on gut feel and memory, here is my list of the most expensive places we have been to this trip (some of these are not cities):

1. Bora Bora
2. Reykjavik, Iceland. Clearly to me it is more expensive than the cities listed below, but because of its small size it may not be listed in many of those most expensive cities in the world rankings.
3. Oslo, Norway
4. London, UK
5. Tokyo, Japan. Before this trip, Tokyo was the most expensive place I have been, but it's now not as expensive as it once was. It's hard to distinguish London and Tokyo as each city is clearly more expensive in some areas and less expensive in other areas--I'd have to examine this more systematically to confidently put one ahead of the other. I list London first if for no other reason than to draw attention to Tokyo's deflation.
6. Moscow, Russia. It's much less expensive for locals than for foreigners, but unless you speak Russian, you are going to pay for the foreigner experience.
7. Copenhagen, Denmark

Send feedback • Permalink

March 09, 2005

05:10:50 pm Tahiti & Bora Bora  

Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 - Thursday, March 3, 2005
Largest city in French Polynesia
City population: 25,000

Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Thursday, March 3, 2005 - Saturday, March 5, 2005
Island in French Polynesia
Island Population: 8,000

French Polynesia Background:
Political Status: overseas territory of France
Description: French Polynesia consists of five island groups. Tahiti and Bora Bora are two islands in the best-known group, the Society Islands. The other four island groups are Gambier, Marquesas, Tuamotu, and the Austral Islands.
Population: 266,000
Per capita GDP: $18,000
Size: Slightly less than 1/3 the size of Connecticut
Currency: French Polynesian Francs, 85 per US dollar
Independence: not independent
Language: French

Itinerary
LAN Chile flight from Easter Island to Papeete, Tahiti
One night at Sofitel Maeva Beach Hotel
Air Tahiti flight from Papeete to Bora Bora
Two nights at Le Meriden Bora Bora Hotel

Bora Bora Activities
Resort activities: swimming, snorkeling, ping pong, eating, sleeping
Safari Land Rover Tour of Island

Bora Bora is as beautiful and exotic as its name suggests (see image gallery). Unfortunately, it is even more expensive than it is beautiful. For this reason, we do not think it merits a visit. Everything, no matter how good it is, has a price beyond which value is diminished to the point it is not worthwhile. Bora Bora is beyond that point. The prices are so high as to be offensive. There may be a more expensive place in the world, but we are not aware of it. Think we are exaggerating? Here are a few examples of many we encountered. Internet access in your room? Sure, for $300 per hour you can have low-speed dial-up access. Want the hotel to arrange a romantic picnic lunch for two on an uninhabited island? No problem, just shell out $700. Hey, let's take the hotel water shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Why it's only $100 per round trip per couple (there really is no other practical way to get to the hotel, so this is not an optional cost)! Car rental? A manual transmission, open-air vehicle is around $100…for two hours. In the words of one Japanese tour guide, "I think Bora Bora is worse [more expensive] than Tokyo."

Nevertheless if you are a honeymooner who absolutely must go to Bora Bora, get a deal through a travel agent where as many extras as possible (e.g., transfers, breakfast, excursions) are included in the price you pay. This will limit your I-can't-believe-I'm-paying-this-much moments. Use an agent who was personally been to the resort you will be staying at, so that you have firsthand knowledge of what the extra costs will be and how to mitigate them. Otherwise, you'll suffer repeated sticker shock throughout the day as you consider doing anything other than lying in the sun.

Beyond the emotion of feeling like you are being ripped off continually, as a matter of economics, we had a strong sense that our resort had raised prices beyond the point of profit maximization. If it costs $70 before tax and service for the two of us to eat breakfast, well guess what, we will be quite able to do without breakfast. If it costs $200 to rent a jet ski for an hour, then the jet skis are going to sit on the beach unutilized all day (we never saw anyone using one). Drop the price of optional activities 50% and we believe the hotel's profits would rise, not fall. The high room rates and high food prices (other than breakfast), we could justify. After all, you have to pay to be there and you have to eat at least twice per day. But the pricing of everything else seemed designed to minimize commerce and employee work effort.

We went to Bora Bora because when Deanna was nine years old she had a book bag with a parrot on it and the mythical story of the parrot was that it was from Bora Bora and had the same April 30 birthday as she did. So Bora Bora is a place she wanted to go for most of her life.

The South American continent was relatively unaffected by World War II. But starting with Bora Bora, nearly every place we will visit for the remainder of our tour was touched by this war. Bora Bora never saw any fighting but it was a US base, and Americans left behind the airport, many of the roads, and some rusting hardware (see image gallery).

The Bora Bora airport is too small for large international flights, so Tahiti is the entry point for travelers around the world. We spent one night there as we arrived after the last inter-island flight to Bora Bora. It is cheaper, but still overpriced, pretty, but not as dramatic as Bora Bora.

Send feedback • Permalink