Post #129480 by Pacific Andy on Tue, Dec 7, 2004 2:27 PM

This was written in 1987 for Island Magazine
"Paradise, it turns out, is a new ultrahigh‑tech disco facing the water. Jacques is working the door, but he rushes me to a stool and orders the bartenders never to let the gin in my glass fall below a certain level. Every time a pretty woman comes in he rushes her to my side, buys her a glass of champagne and introduces me as the famous American writer with whom he hunted shark and barracuda in the Tuamotus. At least the part about the sharks is true.

This is the high‑end night spot, with a dress code, $12 drinks and the latest music and videos from the United States and Europe. The clientele is almost exclusively French. From here friends and I go down the street to Zizou Bar, where the military hangs out: French men, Tahitian women. The only light is black light, so that cotton glows. Something—the air conditioner—is making it rain on our table. We dance the tamure, the bawdy dance of the islands. We dance rock and roll, and the merengue, and finish it off spinning to Strauss' "Wine, Women and Song."

Then 1 go to Pitate. My friends don't want to come. Some people say Pitate is heir to the legacy of Quinn's, the notorious old Papeete night club. I don't know, but Pitate is the Tahitian night spot. It's important here to emphasize the American accent in my French; a lot of handshaking goes on, and drink‑buying once my nationality is identified. As I squeeze through the crowd, someone shakes my hand and tries to confuse my full beer for his empty one. There is a battery of fans suspended from the balcony that surrounds the dance floor. These are very sexy people, concentrating on the complicated and very sensual moves of traditional dances. It is very hot."