Back from our travels

                                                                                     Kamarau School in Buka

We arrived back safely from Wewak (having escaped the flying foxes in Madang).  Had to get up at 4.00am to ensure we got a seat on the plane as once it’s full they tend to take off! Also check-in is so slow you need that time to get everyone checked in and the bags loaded by cart onto the plane (A Fokker 100 if anyone’s interested – the big plane was back as the lightning strike on Madang airstrip had been repaired). Fortunately we had the inappropriately named Paradise Lounge to relax in prior to departure.

 Sadly despite verbal and email confirmation as to where the car should be it wasn’t at the airport when we arrived (for the second time – cue tantrum from Phil!)

We got picked up eventually then went to the office for meetings and so on.

We flew out Friday morning to Buka which is part of the autonomous government of Bouganville. This was a lovely location and felt very safe. We visited the school and due to Sandra’s insistence that we took part in the afternoon cricket game got completely saturated due to the humid 38 degrees. Phil would like it known that despite his promising batting (2 runs scored) he was needlessly run out by Sandra (who scored 1 run) – she said it was a deliberate ploy as it was too hot but this is not accepted by Phil. Eventually cooled down in our hotel. The accommodation would probably be described as basic and modest (think backpacker hostel). Once again the people were lovely and we had a very interesting time and another very long list of things we could do to help the school.

On the journey back they used a very small aircraft and none of the cabin bags would fit in the cabin. Our bags were put in the cargo hold. Upon arrival at Rabual airport our plane to Port Moresby was ready to take off (unexpectedly on-time). Having been parted from our cabin bags with laptop and camera etc Phil was keen to get reacquainted before the Port Moresby plane took off. He expressed this view to several official looking people who went to try and recover the bags before the plane took off. Insistence levels grew somewhat and eventually the bags were found before they were slung onto the wrong plane. We were officially the last ones on the plane and our seats had been given up to someone else. There were 2 seats remaining one in business class and one next to a hugely fat man. Sandra didn’t fancy being squashed by the fat man so we negotiated that the fat man moved to business class (thereby getting a complimentary plastic cup of orange squash before take off) and Phil and Sandra sat together. The pilot apologised for the delay (on our behalf) and we took off. Once again we were treated to a snack meal of a carton of apple juice and a shortcake biscuit (scotch finger). Sandra no longer eats biscuits so Phil enjoyed two scotch fingers!

It is too hot for this!

This time we had planned a strategy to make sure the car was at the airport when we returned. We didn’t tell anyone – so the car would stay there. Having cleared the airport quickly and full of expectation we searched the car park. The car wasn’t there. Phil was speechless (apart from expletives). Sandra phoned to see what had happened to be told they had picked the car up on Friday. Unfortunately despite this efficiency they had failed to return it when we flew back. After 20 minutes we were picked up and driven to our car. It took a couple of beers at the Yacht Club for Phil to fully recover his composure. He is still plotting his revenge.

We are flying out again towards the end of the week. Phil and Sandra would welcome your suggestion as to how we can ensure our car is parked and available at the airport upon our return.

How big is a flying fox anyway?

A lovely welcome at Madang

Having just read the guide book on Madang we were interested to see that there is a large population of flying foxes. We saw a whole load of them yesterday. More alarming is the statement "due to the flying foxes no planes can land or take off between 5 and 7 pm". We are currently in the airport lounge awaiting our flight which takes off at 6.00pm!!!!!!! Oh dear! Never mind it's not as if disasters have followed us around the world or anything!
En route to Wewak (flying foxes permitting)

Baggage reclaim Madang style

They're big you know!

Flying Air Niugini Style

The Story So Far

Phil and Sandra are travelling to visit two  schools  in Madang and Wewak.

Flight details given a week in advance.

On Tuesday flights confirmed

On Wednesday 3.20pm  informed we are only waitlisted for flights

On Wednesday 4.300pm informed we are confirmed again

Friday decide to check if accommodation is booked for us, told no as our flights are only waitlisted

(Phil – not renowned for his patience in these situations gives vent but to no avail)

Despite much pestering and posturing flights remain waitlisted until Saturday morning

Oh and it transpires there is now no accommodation in Wewak

Oh and there is a serious tsunami warning Friday night for Madang (fortunately they escaped damage)

By Saturday it appears all is miraculously confirmed.

Phil and Sandra set the alarm for 6.00am on Sunday. Get to the airport in good time only to be told the flight is cancelled. But there will be another flight at 11.30. We check in and leave the airport as we don’t fancy a 5 hour wait in the Paradise Lounge (don’t be fooled by the name- BA Lounge it isn’t). We are hoping it will be on time. The only good news is we appear to have business class seats 1a and 1b but of course it could mean we are flying the plane!! (and the 11.30 could also be cancelled)

A Trip to Lae

In the week that Port Moresby was voted 3^rd least liveable city in the world it seemed appropriate we went to Lae. A local resident of Lae described going to Port Moresby as a “breath of fresh air”. This gives you a flavour of Lae.

Our journey there involved a short flight from Port Moresby which was delayed by about an hour, then slowed down by numerous crew announcements before we took off! Following the safety announcement they were at pains to point out that it is illegal to remove any safety items from the plane. Upon arrival we transferred to a “Guard Dog Security” bus with metal caged windows and three guards, radios etc. It was pitch black but the roads, as we had heard, were full of potholes, parts of the trip seemed almost cross country!

Our hotel was quite nice and also had security guards on every door plus ones with dogs on the perimeter. There was a pet hornbill which Sandra loved but it was a bit ferocious and ungrateful when she fed it some pineapple! There were also some creatures called cuscus. They were a cross between wallabies and bears, with a dose of sloth (as they seemed to sleep all day).

We did have a swim in the hotel pool which was nice apart from branches of a nearby coconut tree crashing down in the wind. We had arranged for towels to be sent to the pool but after 20 minutes they still hadn’t arrived and we were a bit stuck. In the end after asking 4 separate people we walked back to the room soaking wet! On the way we passed 2 of the people we had asked and they gave us the towels. We hatched a cunning plan, we would hold on to the towels and use them next time. Unfortunately when we got back to the room they had taken the towels from the bathroom. Doh!

We visited the 2 schools which was very interesting and met some lovely people and hard working students.

Lae in daylight was also interesting but according to local knowledge is supposed to be one of the most dangerous places in PNG. Speeding accidents are out of the question as driving is limited to a max of 10mph as everyone negotiates a route through the potholes. Only 4x4s, vans and lorries in evidence. It is a supply port for the interior (highlands) and saw quite a lot of action in the second world war.

One of the supermarkets had burnt down recently and there had been widespread looting particularly of the beer section at the back. The supply of warm beer kept many people happy for some time!

A 40 minute flight meant 5 hours travel time with airport transfers and delays so we arrived tired and in Phil’s case very irritable in Port Moresby. Phil had a fairly major paddy when his car wasn’t at the airport as arranged or at the office car park as rearranged and promised. However it was Friday night and a glass of sparkling wine and a beer put things in perspective.

Belated Update From POM (Port Moresby)

The new house under construction!! We have decided the best way to communicate at the moment is by typing a letter on the computer, saving it and then cut and pasting it into an email when we have connectivity. We have tried various methods including using the technicians at work but they are almost as unreliable as the telephone and internet structure they are working with. I am hoping to get a usb modem which will allow me to connect to the mobile network. Trouble is they have run out of them (which evidently is very PNG! – for instance they seem to have run out of sugar in the supermarkets so a bag of sugar could cost six pounds!).

We visited our new house under construction (supposed to be finished in 10 days but not holding our breath!). It really is quite amazing (will send a photo when able) 3 bedrooms, huge balcony, 1 study and a lovely kitchen plus 2 bathrooms – very big for just the 2 of us but we are not complaining. As I mentioned in my last email the cost of furniture and electrical goods here is amazing. On Saturday we bought a fridge freezer, sofa, table and chairs, 2 desks with chairs and an outside patio set and with discounts it still came to 10 thousand pounds!!!!!!!

It’s crazy!

We are being well looked after but there are inevitable frustration trying to get used to different ways of doing things as despite the mineral  wealth of the country the people seem as poor as those in Uganda or similar. The politicians are very rich and there is a rich middle class developing but still lots of poverty. The people are really lovely and very friendly which makes the street dangers even more difficult to understand but I think it is a combination of poverty, tribal conflict and thinking that all white people are rich (which in comparison they are of course). The other factor is they were (by all accounts) poorly treated by the Aussies when they were controlling PNG for 20 years or so up to 1965.

We are looking to join a couple of clubs (again hopefully the company will pay) as we will need a safe haven from the intensity of Port Moresby. We are very safe in our housing compound with guards on the gate etc. but travelling is potentially tricky so we have to make sure car doors are always locked and nothing of value is on display (makes photography tricky – have just taken pictures from the car at the moment). Outside of Port Moresby there are supposed to be some lovely (and safe) places, so as our knowledge increases we will find more flexibility.

Shopping is quite fun they have quite big and safe supermarkets and the odd shopping centre but very little to buy. When we travel back to UK we will bring empty suitcases I think! We look forward to getting to the outlying areas which will happen over the next 5 weeks as we visit all the schools.

The work is interesting and challenging as there are very old systems in place which seemed to have stopped working quite a few years ago but continue on regardless. They have a company Intranet but it doesn’t work quickly enough and half the staff can’t get access to the internet reliably! I think a few satellite dish companies could make a killing out here! There was a Principals’ conference last week which predictably was far from uplifting (the same happens in any country when you get a load of teachers and particularly headteachers!!). Our next step is to visit all the schools and see what we can really do. We will have to be patient though as there are loads of protocols and they are not really used to change here so slowly but surely.

We should both have a car but Sandra’s has been borrowed by various people and is being serviced (probably at the same time over here) but we only need the one at the moment. My Nissan Cefiro looks nice but with potholes and speedbumps I think the undercarriage is getting quite worn. Certainly I have scraped it several times. The funny thing is when we get to work the security guards are always keen to wash it so it has been washed at least 3 times in the last week. My carwashing days could be over as it is a bit hot for a wash and wax!

At the office there is a caged cockatoo, affectionately referred to as ‘Cocky’! He is very clever and puts his foot through the cage to wave and he says hello and bye.  He also dances by jigging up and down.  It is sad that he is in a cage but he couldn’t be released and so I make sure that I spend time with him as he is quite lonely.  Mind you, he does tend to screech when I walk away.  Phil is getting a bit jealous over the amount of time I spend talking to Cocky and gave me quite a look yesterday when I bought a bag of peanuts to take into Cocky on Monday!

We have a lady called a hausmerri  who comes to the house to wash and clean twice a week. Initially we were a bit uncomfortable with this but have found having clean and ironed clothes very nice. It will be lovely moving into the new house as the one we are in is fine but quite dated and so has a real ‘temporary’ feel.  I think that Julie, the hausmerri will love it too – I think there is a bit of a status thing going on with who you clean for and where they live.  Ours is the newest, biggest and best kitted-out!

The stuff from home which we had airfreighted out has been in the country for 4 weeks but still hasn’t cleared customs yet – again, ‘PNG time!’.  The goods for the new house are being delivered there next Saturday as it is very close to completion.  It may be that our stuff will arrive after that? We are really looking forward to it coming, for a couple of reasons.  We know that we have some nice cards and stationery packed and also the sound system (CDs and DVDs too) but other than that we have largely forgotten what we packed and so it will be quite exciting to open it all!! A bit like Christmas all over again.

Time is going very quickly, it seems.  The new house and moving there will occupy us in March as will the visits to all of the other schools outside of Port Moresby.  We have twelve days off , beginning on 1^st April, which we will probably spend in another part of PNG, somewhere where we can get out and about a bit more than in POM(as Port Moresby is referred to). We will also then break up for the Easter long weekend.  There are some brilliant places for snorkeling and seeing birdlife around the islands so will plan where to go and let you know. That will see us pretty much through April. Then in June we have the unusual experience of having a day off for the Queen’s birthday! Then term ends on 24^th June and we start travelling back to the UK via Thomas in Toronto (and a bit of relaxation in Hawaii!) – will be back in early July.

 PHOTOS TO FOLLOW HOPEFULLY

After The Cyclone

The cyclone passed over at about midnight last night and certainly made a lot of noise, fortunately not much damage just broken branches fallen trees etc.
Many thanks for those who participated in our ready steady cyclone cook based on Phil's rather poor shopping attempt. Today Phil and Sandra went shopping. The above picture represents the sum total of our expedition today. Phil got very excited at one shop when he saw some frozen packets marked prawns and squid - until Sandra pointed out they were in the fishing bait section of the shop; so they left with the cup a soups, crisps and a can of baked beans. Although roads are fine and everything seems back to normal virtually every shop was closed. The feast treats above were found in two shops. We are now fed up with curlywurlys and would welcome some fresh fruit and veg but this doesn't appear to be possible.
No luck with alcohol of any description so if the bottle shop opens tomorrow we will hit it hard! There's only so much tea and sprite you can drink.

Finally flights and visas sorted so we fly to Brisbane on Monday and Port Moresby on Tuesday hurrah!

Phil Goes Cyclone Shopping

With a tropical cyclone fast approaching Cairns heading straight for our apartment we felt it advisable to stock up on vital provisions. Phil returned from the supermarket with

1. 2 bottles of wine
2. a big packet of doritos
3. some hot chilli dip
4. a very large bar of chocolate

The aussies were buying water, tinned food and bread for when the electricity gets cut off but that sounded a bit soft to us.
We do have 2 eggs, 4 cobs of sweetcorn, garlic, soymilk, 1 potato, a tablespoon of honey and 4 bananas. If anyone has a good recipe which would be worth attemting a la ready steady cook please email phil on stephenson.phil@gmail.com.  It would be particularly handy if no cooking was  required as power may be cut off quite soon.