New Horizons - Samoa And Tahiti

[Music] the jet age roars in to a land which must be everybody's dream of paradise American Samoa heart of Polynesia and one of the islands of the South Pacific the luxury Airport and terminal epitomizes the new but just a few miles from here jungle villages keep all the flavor of Samoas primitive past the seven islands which make up American Samoa lie about halfway between Hawaii and Sydney visitors to to Thailand the largest island of the group soon make for Pango Pango Bay one of the loveliest tropical island harbors in the world [Music] this is no native village though it could be Pango Pango Hotel Intercontinental is just another unexpected surprise from this dream island built by Samoans using the ancient local techniques the hotel is an up-to-the-minute oasis in the tropics [Music] you can't help leading a fancy-free existence here the unspoiled unhurried atmosphere of the place demands for everything has a special Polynesian charm whether it's an elaborate tropical run or the fat stalling on the palm-fringed seashore this is the life we all dream of and South Sea Island dreams become emphatic reality as we move on to Tahiti where the legend began Garland's of exotic flowers grass skirts and dusky maidens yes this is how we imagined it ah hideous print and that breakaway French artist Paul Gauguin helped to spread its fame with his own interpretation of traditional scenes like this but this is no Houla genuine Tahitian dancing is a performance you will always remember [Music] the music made on these timeless instruments is all part of the tradition hands or men in Tahiti the girls aren't the only ones who can shake a leg [Music] [Music] [Music] Tahiti has its own inimitable Polynesian style but the French accent is pronounced just look around yet Paris is a world away and palm trees are just around the corner [Music] shopfronts had to the Parisian flavor and so do the shaandaar in papi 18 Tahiti's capital and the Tahitians have a truly French regard for fresh food fresh bread is delivered not daily but more often than the mail you never guess but this fishing harbour is a major port - it's not a large town though as capital of the whole of French Polynesia and a social and tourist center it has a local urgency the main business area follows the tree-lined waterfront road along the harbour and here there's a cosmopolitan air European influences are strong but there's an oriental flavor - and Chinatown is not very far from poppy eighties famed market the shop window for the islands color and delight there's no need to buy a pineapple to be astride local trends in papi 18 they call these bikes the fellow and it's the way of getting about it's not obviously feminine but it's certainly fashionable and a good way to see the lovely girls who live in this tropical paradise [Music] but there are less pedestrian ways of taking in the accidental beauty of the South Sea Island you can make spray while the Sun shines and take a lazy trip from Tahiti to Maria this set last is the getaway island you've always imagined [Music] it's calm balmy bays and jagged skyline give Maria an enchantment that is hard to match it's the past that the present insists on preserving for the future those Hut's are built like Native villages but if you ask for a drink you'll probably be answered in French the South Seas mix up of ancient and modern is intoxicating and delectable [Music] the islands have all you would wish of nature's own charms and the beauties disclosed by Maury as translucent waters can soon be shelled out you can really get back to the past with the islands inhabitants on a sea voyage as such things used to be [Music] you need a delicate sense of balance to canoe like this the South Sea Islands themselves have a balance they want to keep between tradition and progress but beauty is their major offering that's why they make the simplest dream come true [Music]