Well I count myself lucky to have chosen the best place to stay in Port Moresby. It was the cheapest and the owners are amazing. Lodge 9 include transfers in their price and even breakfast and dinner. Thomaster my host, even took me to Boroko market as she went shopping. I had a brilliant first day even before checking into my room. Although she was running late to collect me from the airport she certainly made up for it by helping me confirm my domestic flights and take me to a local moneychangers. I was flabbergasted by how much she helped me. She even gave me a 10percent discount by not charging me breakfast that I ordered. Even after all that, I was still amazed that I was actually in Port Moresby, the most dangerous city in the world. Whomever said that and believes that is an arsehole. There is no way in hell that statement is true. Nothing of the sort. Don't get me wrong as I wouldn't go out at night but I wouldn't do that at home either. I was in and out of the market and I didn't see anything to suggest an inhospitable place. Locals were friendly and spoke beautiful English. Nobody tried to rob me or intimidate me or my host. I was able to take photos without issues. Port Moresby and PNG in general is a lot more advanced than Solomon Islands. The roads are good, they have big malls, beautiful residential areas, lots of markets safe for its people to trade in. Even the street markets are ok but crowded with shoppers and kids coming back from school. Kids offered to carry our bags for a fee. They are trying to make money instead of begging or I guess what the outside world think off that they steal. After settling into my lodge motel, which wasn’t the nicest or prettiest, places but definitely clean and cheap. I have a small room overlooking the beetlenut market. In fact, I got my bag sewn there for quid. Do not get me wrong, if you go around showing your valuable stuff in any touristy place, chances are you are asking to be robbed. As Port Moresby isn’t a tourist destination, tourists aren’t robbed but locals are. Gordons is a district, which even my host said, is dangerous because of muggings. Her older daughter was nearly mugged while waiting for a bus. Luckily, the women selling stuff on the street intervened. So there is a sense of community help but don’t flaunt your stuff or someone will try to take it. This is the same in every major city not just Port Moresby. The other thing I noticed here is the PNG lipstick. Most of the population chew beetlenut and this in turn makes theri mouth red. This is the PNG lipstick. It is gross and worse still is they spit it out anywhere.
Thomaster made me try the items she bought at the market for dinner, the pumpkin leaves that we throw away cooked in spicy coconut cream and a curried chicken cooked in the bird's eye chilies and the different types of potatoes. I had fresh mango for dessert too. She is so generous and a great cook. It was a great first day. The next morning we had a lazy morning breakfast and then a trip to Bonoma War Memorial. Mostly Australians are buried here during the war who passed away on the Kokoda trail. It was a beautiful park immaculately maintained. Then we picked up Thomaster’s daughter Mary Jane and headed to Koki fish market. It was a small market near the water close to Ela beach. It was also near the houses on water. The locals believe if they live on the water the spirits from the land can't get them. They are just normal houses on stilts in the sea. I wanted to use public transport so Thomaster suggested for us to walk 5mins from the market to the embassy and then to catch the bus into town and then come back to mile 9 by bus. So they left us at the market. I took photos of the different fish on sale and one of the traders wanted me to take a picture him. Everyone was friendly. Then we headed off and that's when everything went wrong and what I wrote yesterday about how safe it was in port Moresby came back to bite me on the arse. I noticed a guy looking at us and walking weirdly behind us one minute then ahead of us the next. There were also other people going past us. I mentioned it to Mary Jane and she said just act normally. I knew something was up as he walked past us further then stopped and leaned against the wall with the sea behind him. We walked past him and I thought maybe I was just paranoid but my mind was going nuts and I suddenly remembered what I was carrying in my bag. I forgot everything about being safe when travelling alone because I got too comfortable with the family I was staying with. I forgot what I do when I am alone which is to not carry anything valuable, keep safe at all times and be vigilant. I was going to give my money belt to Thomaster or put it around me but I didn't get the chance when I was in the car or just simply forgot. So when the dodgy guy walked ahead of us again, I told Mary Jane that we are about to be robbed. I told her what I had in the bag and quickly removed it and shoved it down my jeans, as the guy didn't look around at me at that point. My phone was in my hand all along and it wouldn't fit in my pockets but by this time the guy started walking towards us and I told Mary jane we have to get away from him and as I passed a lady carrying her child, the guy came at me asking for my phone. Mary Jane was behind him and I was now against the wall with the sea behind me. He was speaking in Pidgin English but I understand phone and I certainly understand the word knife and as his right hand reached behind him to get his knife out to show me, I had already thrown the phone at him. As this was happening, the lady with the baby who passed me by came back but she suddenly walked away and by the look on Mary Jane’s face, I knew they saw his knife too. He walked away from me, I walked towards Mary Jane, and she said for us to run to the police. It was a long way away so she changed her mind and said to run to the nearest gas station, which was closer. We turned to look to see where he was, we saw him across the road in the memorial park, and we heard him say run slow. This made us run faster and hide in the gas station and Mary Jane called her mum. I was hot and filled with adrenaline. Thomaster was there within five minutes, we told her and her husband Andrew what happened, and we drove along looking for the guy, which I thought, was weird. Apparently, this is what happens here as the guy may still be around and we can get the phone back off him or call locals to catch him. I wasn't convinced but I was so grateful that this family that I met just 24 hours ago would do this for me. I couldn't believe we were combing the streets looking for this thief. We headed back to the market and spoke to the locals there asking them to contact us if a phone was being sold. Then the community police arrived in a truck and all hell broke loose but in a good way at first. They seemed concerned and there were a lot of them. The police and locals surrounded the car all wanting to help. I was worried that things were getting out of hand but Thomaster said they would help. So they drove around and I could see them stopping people and getting them into their trucks and questioning them. Ironically, if I had my phone, I would have taken a photo. It was still all very weird so in the end, we left the community police to do their thing and Mary Jane and I were driven back to the lodge. Thomaster went back to the market to get more information. In the grand scheme of things, it was only a phone and we were safe and unharmed but a little shaken. Your life is not worth a phone. Thankfully, I had an old phone to use as a camera and began thinking of all the photos I had on the stolen phone. Most of them were already uploaded and saved online but the last week with no Wi-Fi meant, all my Solomon Islands Evis resort island photos and obviously everything in PNG from the moment I landed to the fish market was gone for good. My 2 credit cards can be cancelled when I got home and a new sim with old number and new phone would be bought too. So it was just an inconvenience in the end and I had accepted what had happened and moved on.
After reconciling the aftermath and consequence of the events, Thomaster told me that the community police had found someone selling a phone at Koki fish market. I couldn't believe that it would be my phone so didn't think too much of it. Then a couple of hours later Mary Jane said they found my phone and the community police has it but is demanding 500 kina if I wanted it back. I couldn't believe what she was saying and I couldn't believe even more that Thomaster was there try to negotiate a price for my phone. AS it had been almost 6 hours since my phone was stolen, I figured the phone was gone and she was just running errands. I never could have imagined the day turning out like this nor could I imagine my host was helping to negotiate to get my phone back. When she finally returned she had my memory card, with all my photos, which she negotiated a price of 50 kina but they still wanted 350 for the phone. I was happy to have my memory card but still feeling incredulous about the situation now. The community police officer said that they found the thief who said he sold it to a lady. The police found the lady who had my phone and said she paid 500 kina for it, which is approximately $150 US. This is a highly unlikely amount for any local to carry with them, and if they did, they could buy a new and better phone legally for the same price. So the community police were on the take. Either they knew about the thief and knew about the scams or they found the thief, beat the crap out him, and took the phone hoping to make some money from a tourist. Well I had most of my photos and was ecstatic but sad about the phone but no way was I paying more than what the phone is worth me buying it brand new back at home. I'll just miss the photos of my Solomon Island trip. Thomaster was still negotiating with them by phone and had got them down to 300 kina. I said I wouldn't pay more than 100. I wasn't sure what happened to my credit cards or my UK sim, which was in the case. They are easily replaced even though it is a hassle to do so. So now I sit and wonder what happens next as I pack for my trip to Goroka and Mount Hagen. Two hours later, I got my phone back for 200 kina, which was more than I was happy to pay for but my host did the negotiations. They did try to hack my phone as I had a pin code they reset it to factory settings so everything was wiped. All in all, it turned out ok in the end, no one got hurt, and I only lost photos from the Solomon Islands beach stay and my first day in PNG.
The next morning I was at the airport for my flight to Goroka in the Highlands with what happened the previous day behind me. I was collected by Norman and Rowa my guides. I was going to stay in their eco village of Korekoretoa. I was their first guest to spend the night in their village and they built a tiny little house for me. The other two houses were not finished yet. They also showed me the outdoor shower and toilet just for my use only. There is no electricity and I was given a torch. There is also no running water. For my shower, they carried a bucket of water from the river. That river is where they all have their baths. I met the matriarch of the family. Her name was Susan and she loves chewing beetle nut and is a bit of a joker. She is quite stern and quite scary too. When she said I was to climb the mountain behind us and I would normally say no, but I felt I couldn’t and if she can do it then I will get my arse up there at 1400m. For lunch, I had chicken wrapped in leaves baked inside a bamboo. I liked the leaves but it was a bit chewy. I enjoyed their corn on the cob equivalent of maize and I had pineapple and lots of passion fruit. Then we went on a village walk. There are 1000+ people in the village. It was a Saturday afternoon so everyone was milling about in the open spaces gambling of all things, even the kids. I noticed a lot of them walking around with knives big and small. The adults gamble with cards games and the kids do it with a kind of tossing a coin game. They all wanted me to take their photos so I spent the afternoon as village photographer. This province is the Assaro region where their main culture is the mud men dance. People all over the world come to see this dance and there is a very popular festival held annually. I will be watching the dance after my mountain hike of course. For now, I'm spending time with the ladies painting nails with my nail polish. I let the elder mother keep it as she said she loved the colour, fuschia. Most of the ladies in the village had fuschia nails. The evening was quiet in my little house as they prepared dinner. I always feel awkward in these family situations and wished I was travelling with a group. I feel I'm intruding on the family. The next morning after the ordeal using the squat toilet with my bad knees, we went walking up Mount Goropo at 1220m apparently but it didn't feel that high. I kept pace with granny Susan as her 2 grandkids and son followed along. The views at the top was beautiful. They used to have lodges up on the top but it burnt down in a forest fire. Now they have to save money and rebuild but it will many years until that happens. After the walk, I saw a Mumu, which is a traditional way of cooking for a big occasion such as a wedding or in my case being the guest of honour. They dig a hole, build a fire, put stones in the hole, then cover it with banana leaves and then put the vegetables, potatoes and meat on it. Then they cover it with more banana leaves and leave it to cook for 30 minutes. Then I watched the traditional Assaro mud men dance. It was silent and they moved slowly. Not much of a dance but a demonstration of what they do when fighting another tribe. Then the Moko Moko dance. That had more movement and they kept saying Moko Moko meaning sex. So after the fighting and the men are wounded or dead they make sure to have sex to populate the tribe again. They depict this by wearing pointy big horns around their groin area. Then we all ate the food cooked in the Mumu. We then walked to the river to bath the mud off and the children went swimming. It was such a long way away. This is where the whole village swim, bath and wash their clothes. I didn’t swim or bathe. In the evening, we sat around the fire and had dinner. It was sad to leave in the morning and the whole family walked me to the bus. Rowa, Norman, Daniel, Nixon and the driver took me to the next province in Simbu. It was nearly three hours drive along the Daulo Pass at 2678m. We stopped to take photos and get snacks. One man gave me flowers and at another stop, he gave me a crown of flowers to wear. Norman bought me strawberries that's grows in the mountains. Then we reached Kudiwaya town where the lads handed me over to five other guys who were from Bayugl village in the Mindima region where I would be staying. After a short drive and meeting Greg and Kawega my guides and seeing the village for the first time, I realised it wasn't going to be as special as my Assaro family whom I miss already. Greg is already upselling and lunch is just biscuits and a sprite with bananas. This place doesn't even compare to my last stay. Let's hope the skeleton dance makes up for it. The dance was actually a storytelling of something that happened 38 years ago where they said a ghost in a cave of bones attacked a child and the villagers disguised themselves as skeletons to fool the ghost and kill it. Then we went for a walk around the village. I saw children playing, their small market and the usual gambling and beetle nut selling, chewing and spitting. The evening meal was much better and there was so much food. They expected me to eat a plateful of rice, bowl of vegetable noodles, a plate of vegetables and a plate of meat too. I enjoyed my vegetables and was full. Sleeping time was quite an event. As it was raining the little creatures from outside could be heard on my floor. The male pig was snoring, the female pig was squealing and the birds got more ridiculous as dawn came. Something furry ate my avocado. Obviously, it didn't like it, as it was just a small nibble. The screaming bird woke me up at 5am with consistent intervals and crescendos. It's friend made whistling sound that depicted impending doom as the whistling got more and more intense and then silence. Then they started all over again. Breakfast was biscuits and avocado...not my rat chewed one but new avocados. As it has been raining all night, the birdwatching trip is cancelled, as it is too muddy. I'm perfectly happy with that. I'm at the point now I feel I just want to go straight to the airport no matter how early and just wait for my flight. I do want to visit Mount Hagen market though as it is the best market in all of PNG. Well that didn't happen. In fact, day 4 just turned to crap basically. All the plans for day 4 went out the window all of sudden. It was raining so the bird of paradise spotting was off as it was too muddy. Then I had to leave early because of road issues, transport problems and even flight cancellations. When I asked about the market that was a no too as it was dangerous for me and them as they are not from Mount Hagen. So I left the village at 8:30am to get a bus to Kundiawa.
We got to Kundiawa at 9am and got on the bus driven by my guide's brother. Therefore, for 90 minutes the bus waited to be filled before leaving. He went round and round the bus station then got fuel and then back to the bus station again then finally leaving 90 minutes later. We had a few stops along the way for beetle nut purchases and we got to Mount Hagen airport by noon. We tried to get an earlier flight, unfortunately, PNG airlines only flies to Port Moresby once a day. I was thankful the flight wasn't cancelled. Therefore, John, Kawage and I hung around outside the airport, as you weren't allowed in until check in time even if you did, there were no seats anyway. So we hung out at the PNG offices on wooden benches, walked near the small market outside the airport and looked at the bag market. We had the fruit for lunch but I had to get the lads water and biscuits, as they were hungry. I can’t believe they only had money left for the bus ticket home. Thank goodness, it was time to check in. I finally got my boarding pass and said thank you to the lads for waiting with me for all that time. Then it was a 2 hour wait until boarding in a brand new airport with no Wi-Fi or security scanners that worked. The guard asked me what was in my bag and I said I will open it but he said no it's ok and carried my bag for me to the departure lounge. Strange security. I was so happy to see Thomaster back at Port Moresby. She was late again but I can forgive her for all she has done for me. I told her about my trip. She laughed! She made me dinner, got me an extra snack and let me only pay 70 kina of the bribe, as she didn't want me to change any more dollars. She also said she felt guilty for leaving me with her daughter and getting robbed. I really couldn't believe this lady. So all I paid to get my phone back is 120 kina. She is amazing. I won't be sad to see the back of PNG but thankfully for me, meeting the wonderful Thomaster was the highlight of my trip.
