September 21st
Today was our last day in French Polynesia. Because of our ungodly flight time, it didn’t seem worthy to book another night’s accomodation. Therefore, between the hours of 11 AM and 10 PM (our flight wasn’t till 2:45 AM, but we’re being cautious after the last taxi no-show incident), we’re forced to wander the streets. We were hesitant to leave behind the hot shower, the toilet, the air conditioning, and kitchen. We bought all these fruits to consume last night, but didn’t get to eat most of it. So C hurriedly cut up the fruits and bagged them carefully for us to snack on the street. Fruits in hand, and our other supplies on my back (sunscreen, water, umbrella...) we marched into Papeete.
You know what? Being forced to spend the day out was actually really fun. We discovered a whole other side of Papeete that we didn’t know existed. The beautiful viaduct with wild fishes on display, a main strip that we somehow missed all the previous days, and the public park that was both vibrant and tranquil. Any city with a really nice park is a decent city. I must remember this in the future: as long as you’re prepared, and without luggage, being forced to walk the city can be really fruitful. Speaking of fruit, time to munch on some mangos in the shade of the ferry station. I swear we're not really homeless.
The Robert Wan Pearl Museum was probably the other highlight. Wan is the son of Chinese Immigrants, and the pioneer of pearl cultivation in Tahiti. I realized we shared the same last name when I saw it written in Chinese (his has Cantonese pronunciation). Good job fellow Wen clan member!
Turns out, I knew absolutely nothing about pearls. I had no idea that oysters only created pearls as a defence mechanism around foreign objects that has entered the shell. And when humans figured this out, they began inserting foreign objects purposely to cultivate pearls, and that’s more or less how pearls as we know it today came about. Humans are really something aren’t they!? On the one hand, they’re so clever in figuring out the science of everything and then manipulating it to create a desired outcome: products, services, businesses, industries. On the other hand, they really exploit the shit out of everything under the sun. Even oysters can’t escape the slave chains of human greed. It makes me look at the phrase “pearls of wisdom” with a new perspective. Speaking of animal exploitation, we had amazing foie gra (and other french cuisine) as our final supper on this trip.
Merci French Polynesia, you’ve been wonderful. Maururuu!