On an afternoon, sunny and cheery, while I pondered, much game theory Over many a quaint and curious volume of games galore – While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a rapping As of something, gently hustling, hustling on the suitcase floor “Tis some wind,” I muttered, “rustling at my suitcase floor- Only this and nothing more”
Back on the deck turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a rapping somewhat louder than before. “Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my closet deck; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore— Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;— ’Tis the wind and nothing more!”
Open here I flung the suitcase, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there rested a yellow Bunny of the easterly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched upon my suitcase floor— Perched beside a pack of sugar, situated amidst the clothes I wore Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
There he was. That bunny. That bunny was here. With us.
“PEEP YOU JERK,” I flailed my paws in protest. YOU CRASHED MY WEDDING BEAR MOON!!!
I was so upset I tried to cast the bunny away immediately. This was meant to be quality bear bud and weddingbearmoon bonding time. Nicholas and I, gaming in paradise. Nowhere in that script was supposed to be a bunny.
Nicholas!!! We need to solve this problem right away! This stowaway needs to be cast off the hut. I looked around the hut and found the perfect vessel.
Yep, I’m sending this bunny off the island hut in a floaty.
“Cast him off!!” I command Nicholas. He climbs down the pool deck, places Peep in the water and looks at me.
Peep looks at me. Peep I think I hear muffled through the plastic.
Ulgh I think. Fine, I wave to Nicholas.
We pick the bunny up off the water and towel him off.
And then I head back to my deck chair, resigned. This bunny. I really don’t know what to do with him.
Day after the wedding and first day of my weddingbearmoon and you’d think we’d get to sleep in.
Nope, apparently we have a shark and ray lagoon snorkelling tour for 9am in the morning.
Well, I did want to see more sharks so into the boat we went. The tour comprised 4 stops. First one to see the sharks. We went to a spot known for black tip reef sharks and lemon sharks. We saw lots of black tip sharks, but not any lemon sharks this time.
My bud was brave, he actually got into the water with them!
One of the guides was a bad ass swimmer the way I’m a hard core gamer. He free dived to the bottom and started making water rings.
The next stop was to see the manta rays.
Here in Bora Bora they actually remove the barbs from the manta rays so it’s pretty safe to swim around them.
3rd stop was a coral reef. There were soo many fish! The guides gave us some bread and my bud figured out how to get them to eat right from his hands.
Last stop – a super shallow sand bar.
The whole tour took about 4 hours. I’m glad I went, but to be honest, most of the time I just stayed in the bag and got really really wet, thanks to all the other tourists that kept climbing in and out of the boat and flinging water my way. Bunch of jerks. I guess the sharks were worth it though.
By the time I woke up, Pokin was gone. She left at about 10:30am for hair and makeup, apparently picked up in a golf cart. So it was just my bud and I.
Oh yeah bear bud bonding time!
First we played some video games.
Then we played more video games. The bride and entourage weren’t supposed to be back until 1-1:30pm so we had plenty of time.
Eventually we decided we’d better start getting ready.
My bud laid out all his things.
Then I made him lay out mine.
We still had time to kill so I think we tried to play more games.
And we waited. Eventually we got a call. They’re coming!
They had some moments.
And a few more.
Then we all got into the golf cart wedding limo and started scooting around the resort for photos. We went to the oasis pool.
The ocean side.
Crossed a bunch of bridges.
Posed with a giant banner that the friends and family made for us.
And then it was time for the ceremony! My bud and Pokin were getting married at the Miri Miri spa beach, on the recommendation of their wedding planner, Adélaïde. After checking out the site, I approve. It’s private and nice looking. We all got into position.
I was a V.I.B. (Very Important Bear) I was, after all, the ring-BEARer.
And it was time!
I got some pretty front row seats.
Or should I say, front row seat. I was the only guest who got a chair.
Actually, I was the only guest, period.
And then the ceremony was done. Short and sweet. I dig it.
They had cake.
I had some too.
They danced on the deck.
I didn’t do that.
Then those crazy people decided to get into the water.
I definitely didn’t do that.
Followed by taking a plunge off their deck right into the water.
I went back inside the bungalow. I’m going to wait for them to return back to sanity. And to shower all that salt water off.
That night, after they had showered and gotten changed, we went out for a tiki light dinner on the beach. Pokin chose all seafood, Nicholas, anything, but.
My bud dressed casual. I decided to stay classy.
It was supposed to be a 3 course dinner, but between the amuse bouche and the 2nd dessert they had 5 courses.
Obviously I preferred the courses at the end.
When we got back, they had brought the leftover cake to the room (which unfortunately had melted a bit), and set out a heart shaped flower bed. That’s sweet.
By then I could barely stay awake. Good day. Congrats bud! I think I played my role pretty well!
During our tour, our butler-guide explained that there was fish feeding and shark feeding every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Jean Georges Lagoon.
“Shark feeding??” This I gotta see.
Right by the entrance of St Regis is the Jean Georges Lagoon restaurant. The area under the restaurant is netted off and rescued sharks are being raised there until it’s time for their release. Currently there was a lemon shark and a black reef tipped shark. A caretaker stood by the lagoon and tried to feed the sharks as she told us shark facts.
“Can you guess how many sharks are killed per year? About 100 million. That’s 11,417 sharks per hour. In contrast, sharks have only killed 12 humans a year. Usually because they mistake humans for seals or sea turtles. Sharks are usually quite timid.” Poor things.
I say she tried because those sharks were no match for the tuna that were way faster. As the sharks tried to swim towards the food the food was already gone.
So if you come here, you can come check out these sharks. Just don’t accidentally wade into the shark lagoon.
Right after we got settled in, it was time to speak to the wedding coordinator, Adélaïde, about the day.
Wedding planning can be stressful. I’ve seen it with my bud’s friends and family. So they went with a package deal. St Regis has this a la carte brochure where you can pick and choose the details.
They went with (exchange rate of approximately 100 XPF to 1 USD):
Miri Miri Spa location (normally 75 000 XPF, free because it was a valentine offer)
4 hour photoshoot with Kim Akrich 200 000 XPF
Videography with Sadry Ghacir 63 000 XPF
Total : 619 500 XPF (around $6.2K USD) Given that the average wedding costs $26,720 USD, they made out alright!
Anyway, they picked all that stuff but they still didn’t know what was actually happening during the ceremony – hence the briefing.
Right by the lobby is the bridal boutique, and that’s where you go. Turns out a lot of people come to the resort and spontaneously decide to do a Tahitian vow renewal, so they are all set up for that!
Once in the boutique, Adélaïde ran through the schedule for the next day. Sounded pretty simple. Pokin : be ready at 10:30am. Nicholas : 1-1:30pm. Anything that needs to be pressed or steamed, pass it to Adélaïde now. Everything else will be handled.
Sweet! Sounds simple enough! Time to explore this place!
But it’s only 5pm and we have to wait till midnight.
Thank goodness we get to loiter in an airline lounge (thanks, Chase Reserve for the Priority Lounge access!) My bud and I settle into our seats.
From our seats we have a vantage point to our departure gate. It’s sort of fun, sitting up here and spying on other guests.
My bud and I kill time by people watching. Pokin decides to kill time by helping herself to pieces of sushi and celery sticks, one piece at a time. How inefficient, I think. “I’m killing time,” Pokin reminds us.
Eventually midnight rolls around and finally we get to board!
How do I know we’re going to a french destination?
Red wine? Cheese? Mini baguette? Dead. Giveway. Anyway, it’s a red-eye, so time for some sleep.
At 5am in the morning we roll into the Pape’ete, Tahiti. Flight 1, Flight 2 done. We collect our luggage and are greeted with leis. They didn’t count right and forgot my bud’s. I think my bud’s too sleepy to notice. Time to loiter again in an airport. I’m like a pro now at this.
The Pape’ete airport was unexpected. For how many tourists come through and how expensive Bora Bora is, I was expecting the airport to be nicer. But it feels a little older, a little worn down. Only later did I learn that French Polynesia is still a pretty poor country.
Around 7:30am, it’s time to board Flight 3 to Bora Bora! We did not realize it was open seating so it’s first on, first pick of where you sit. Lucky for us, we sat on the side of the plane where we got a first view of the island. I had to climb over Nicholas so I could get a good view, but a view I got! Looks like the video games I play!
The Bora Bora airport, built in 1943, was actually the first airport in French Polynesia. It was built by the US Army during World War II and all international flights used to route through this airport first. It wasn’t until 1960 that the Fa’a’ā International Airport opened in Pape’ete.
The Bora Bora airport is located on the fringes on its own island, and so from here, you have to get on a boat. Inside the airport were different booths set up by the hotels. At the same time we saw where we had to be, a fellow approached us (creepy a little ?)
“Mr. Scheri?” he says. “La ora na. Please show us your luggage and we’ll be glad to help you onto your boat.”
So we find our luggage and head out to the docks. I expected some sort of big boat. Our host points to the tiniest boat in the dock.
“Please, this way into the boat.” Turns out we were the only guests they were picking up at that time. Nice!! Our own private boat ride!
“I hope you don’t mind we chose this boat.” Our guide says as we start our journey. “It’s small, but it’s fast.” Off we go!
Our journey takes us from one corner of the lagoon eastwards. It takes about 15 minutes.
And then we are here! And were greeted by a whole entourage and some fresh mango juice.
Lucky for us, our room was available right away. But first, a tour. Every room at St Regis comes with your own personal butler, and it was time for our butler to give us a tour of the facilities. By golf cart! I hope to use our butler a lot. I want to order plenty of hot cocoa!
St Regis Bora Bora is a 44-acre property so it’s quite spread out! To get around the resort you can either call for a golf cart ride, or else you can take any of the bikes that are scattered across the property and cycle on the bike paths. The resort features two pools, several beaches, a tennis court, gym, spa, multiple restaurants, a couple baby sharks and a lagoonarium stocked full of fish that you can snorkel with. There are also paddle boards, kayaks and other equipment that’s free to use.
Photo courtesy of St Regis Bora Bora
But I want to see our room! And so, after our tour our little golf cart pulls up to our room. We were given room 118. Nicholas told me we had gotten a Deluxe Overwater Bungalow, but it looks like they upgraded us to one with a Mt Otemanu view. Sweet!
And here we are! Our bungalow is 1,550 square feet. Way bigger than the places we lived in SF, Chile, and HK! I could definitely get used to this.
It’s travel time – I see bags being packed. My bud tells me it’s getting married time! A big trip, I see, as the big suitcases are coming out. I saw suits, I saw dresses, I saw a lot of sunscreen…I got a little nervous when I saw how much stuff was going into suitcases but I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the gaming laptop being added to the pile.
I sleuthed a little and saw pics of where we are headed– we’ll be staying on some cool over water huts. I’m already imagining it now – my bud and I, gaming on the deck. It’s going to be epic.
Everything was packed when Pokin came in :
“Hmm, our LAS to LAX flight is getting delayed. Right about how, it’s scheduled to arrive after our connecting flight to Tahiti”
Well I’m not ok with that! I was getting really psyched about our epic overwater gaming vacation!
“Even though our flight’s at 7 we better get to the airport early to see if we can get an earlier flight. We don’t want to risk it.”
So just like that, our day went from leisurely to frantic. We throw our stuff in the car and drive on down to the airport.
At the airport, my bud tried to get on an earlier flight.
“I’m sorry sir,” said the gate agent. You are booked on a fare class that doesn’t permit changes.
“But if we don’t get on an earlier flight, we will miss our wedding,” said Pokin.
“I’ll see what I can do, since it was a delay on our side”. The gate agent types away on his computer. “I’m afraid all the flights are full. The best I can do is put you on standby.”
And so it was 1pm and instead of gaming at home we are sitting at the airport hoping to get on a flight. Meanwhile, we are getting text message alerts constantly from Delta that our flights are being pushed further and further back. We see numerous flights leave for LAX but we don’t get to get on. BOO.
Our standby flight comes. There are 7 people on standby in front of us. One by one, they clear the standby guests to board until they stop right before us.
“You gotta be kidding me” I thought. Everyone boards. We wait and I glare at the passengers. Then, luckily they call us. We get to get on. They let in a few people after us, and that’s it. LA here we come!
Today we took a day trip over to Oatman, AZ, where a bunch of wild burros hang out. The town still looks like it’s out of a Wild West movie set, which is why it’s still a tourist attraction. Wildflowers looked in bloom!
“Hello, I’m looking for someone I could speak to about Sumi?”
“What’s this about,” demands Pokin
“This is Valerie from Valerie accounting and I was wondering if I could help Sumi with accounting needs?”
“No, Sumi already has an accountant,”says Pokin.
I do not! Thought I.
I hastily drafted the following message and sent it to Pokin-
Hi Valerie, this is Sumi. I do have big bear accounting needs. My bear box is constantly getting raided by my bear bud. What a jerk. I take that money fair and square from his wallet and I have a hard time accounting for all that is stolen back from me. I also make investments from time to time in his companies, and I’m pretty sure he owes me some dividends from those too. I pay well in hot chocolate and quality video game time if that’s something your interested in. You can read more about how great I am at https://sumibear.me. I’ve attached a photo of myself with my bear bin for reference.
P.S. I hope your quickbooks skills are as awesome as I am.
If only I could have spoken to Valerie to get her email so I could have sent her this message. Grrrr.
