Ahhh… the real airport! How silly of me to think the place we landed and were picked up was the airport! So where is this real airport located?
Well, instead of taking a left at the road, you take a right. And we had actually rode by it on the bikes (the “real” airport is also within walking distance). It was the place where I had seen the roosters — yes, that’s roosters, at the airport.
The airport was an open air structure, with a few benches (very similar, thus far, to where we landed). It had two check-in counters and one baggage-weighing-doo-hickie. It also had what I am assuming was a snack bar (it wasn’t open, and this was one of the two flights out for the day) which is what you see pictured above.
As we wait at the airport I see more puppies. One a guy is carrying in a tote bag. This pup goes along on the plane with us, sacked out underneath the seat in front of his owner (no crate, and he’s out of the bag at this point). The other is really a pup, probably about 9 or 10 weeks old. He was fiesty but friendly.
When we land in Tahiti we’re greeted by Marama tour guide guy and he shows us the sites of the airport. We attempt to walk towards town a little ways, as the pearl boutique woman had told us about a good Chinese restaurant, but alas, it wasn’t open. So we head back to the airport and enjoy their cafeteria-style food.
We get a half-bottle of wine, a bottle of water, each of us have chicken and rice, and we split a chocolate mousse. Now, this was by far the best airport food I’ve ever had — a very tasty meal (good restaurant quality). But, for $70, it should be! Yes, $70 for dinner, in the airport. Man, this is worse than Disney (but, the quality of the food is much better than Disney, so I guess it all evens out).
We continue to roam around for a while, wandering in and out of the shops. We spot a kitty and stop to pet it. Finally, we decide it is time to grab our bags and head through the security checkpoint.
This is where it gets fun. Remeber how it was a breeze getting into the country? Well, leaving was a different story. I walk up to customs and hand them my passport, the form I received on entry, and my boarding pass. The man starts looking at my passport, which wasn’t stamped.
“Did you come in to Tahiti via air?”
“Yes, I came in here, this airport.”
“Not by boat?”
“No, by airplane. I came in here, at this airport. Right back there.” I point. “They gave me that form and waved me through.”
“Are you with someone?”
At this point I wave Raju over, and he proceeds to ask him the same questions he asked me. Then he assk me the questions again. Then there’s some discussion with another guy, who walks off to a back room to have more discussion. When he comes back, they discuss a little more. Then:
“So where is your form?” he asks me, referring to Raju’s form he has in hand.
“I gave it to you, it’s right there.” I point to where he has now laid down my passport, boarding pass, and form.
“You didn’t give it to me. Where’s your form?”
“Yes, I did. It’s right there. Underneath my passport, underneath my boarding pass!” At this point I’m starting to get slightly irate, and I’m really trying to refrain from reaching my arm through the window and picking up the form (my arm has a mind of it’s own and it already half-way in). I know this probably won’t end good if I keep up.
Luckily, he sees the form, and my boarding pass at this point. He shakes his head, stamps both of our passports, and lets us go through. After some quick security checks of our baggage, we are in and able to continue wandering through shops until time for our plane to board.
Unfortunately the food wasn’t as good on the flight back, and I was a lot more fidgety this time. But, 21 hours later, I was stepping out of a cab and walking through my front door, being greeted by the Milo. And that, my friends, was my Polynesian adventure.
