Island paradise not just for celebrities

Bora Bora offers celebrity-style seclusion and has been a vacation destination for the likes of Justin Bieber, Jennifer Aniston and Usain Bolt. It's located 257 km from Tahiti with a balmy and relatively consistent temperature of 27 C. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Somehow I convinced my husband that the fifth wedding anniversary is the Tahitian anniversary. The traditional gift, actually, is wood.

For years, I had dreamed of going to Bora Bora in French Polynesia. The lagoon's glimmering turquoise, jade and cobalt blue waters, the overwater bungalows, the seclusion－for me, it was the ultimate bucket list destination.

Some of the world's most famous celebrities vacation in Bora Bora. Jennifer Aniston honeymooned there. Pictures of Justin Bieber swimming naked in Bora Bora circulated far and wide online last year. Usain Bolt celebrated his Olympic victories there in September.

That doesn't mean normal couples can't go too－if they can afford it, of course. Our trip for a week, including flights and our hotel stay (with breakfast), cost just under $10,000.

My husband and I spent a week lounging on the deck of our bungalow at Le Meridien Bora Bora. We woke early to catch brilliant orange and pink sunrises. We got up close and personal with sea creatures, from moray eels and trumpetfish to sea turtles, sharks and stingrays. We discovered that the saying heard in pearl shops, "You don't choose the pearl, the pearl chooses you" is surprisingly true. Most of all, we tried to relax and take it all in.