What Chuck Does

Leaving Paradise

September 8, 2008
The thing about paradise is after a while you no longer recognize that it’s paradise. I bet you none of the locals could tell you when they last stared at the sunset or raved about how blue the water was in the lagoon. After a while you just kind of take it for granted. Life goes on after all.

And that is exactly what has happened to us. After 5 nights and 6 days it’s time to leave paradise. Our flight doesn’t leave until 6pm and we’re kicked out of our room at 1pm so we have 5 hours to kill. We decide to go back to the main island of Bora Bora to do some last minute pearl shopping. We find a pearl jeweler that essentially operates out of her home. She’s super nice and we just had to purchase some of her products. We make it back to the main island and I shower at the resort’s “Transit Room”. This is a nifty little idea because it allows guests to relax, shower, chill while no longer having the comfort and luxury of their hotel room. I’m sure Le Meridien is not the only hotel to have these but theirs is the only Transit Room I’ve ever used.

6 o’clock rolls around and after a few final attempts at capturing the sunset it’s time to board the ferry to the airport. We take one last look at Le Meridien and away we go. As the resort gets smaller and smaller in the distance, I’m torn between wanting to stay in paradise and wanting to go back to the “real world”. I loved every single of minute of my time here in Bora Bora but it is not home. At the end of the day, home is where the heart is and half my heart is in LA and half my heart is in Taipei. So as much as I enjoyed my stay, I have to go home.

12+ hours later, I’m back in LA. Ready for all the challenges of married life and normal life!