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Going Tribal
Wow, my stay at Airways Hotel in Port Moresby was fantastic -- what a really well-run property (or as they refer, "the compound") this is. Excellent service and squeaky clean everywhere. Some awesome woodcarvings from the Sepik region of PNG are featured at the gallery, and I was excited to purchase 2 items for my new "travel collection". I'll be happy to stay there one more night on my return from Kimbe Bay in 9 more days.
Ahhhhh the joy of Air Niugini . . . .
So, as I departed the compound and out into the real world of Port Moresby, I went straight to the Domestic Terminal for my Air Niugini flight to Goroka. Now, there's a lot of history over the past several months between Air Niugini and myself. 2 months ago, they instituted a revised flight schedule that threw a nice wrench into my entire itinerary, resulting in cancelling & rebooking 7 different flights and re-engineering my entire itinerary. Many many skype calls & emails with this company to date -- needless to say, I've experienced lots of joy with Air Niugini. Now today, I arrived 2 hours early for my 1 hour flight to Goroka and proceed straight to check-in. All is fine, except that the girl cannot give me a boarding pass yet.
She says to check back in 30 minutes and we'll see if we can give you a boarding pass then. Oh, is something down with the printer or computers ? Noooo, not that -- the issue is that the airplane metal has been downgraded from a 50 passenger sold out plane to a 48 passenger plane (some locals said they seem to always leave Goroka for last). So, I've been put in Stand-by status -- and what does that mean if they don't get me on this flight ? -- ahh, you'll go tomorrow. No, no, no, big problem. For one, I don't have a hotel here in Port Moresby. My tour plans for the Goroka show would now be fouled up etc. etc. etc.
I then ask her politely, are you saying that 48 people have already checked-in for this flight, and 2 hours before the flight, I'm the last guy ? I doubt it, but she claims, yes. (Air Niugini has a long standing history for bumping ticketed passengers to put other people on the flight such as dignitaries, or just simply friends/family of the employees) So, the fact that my ticket purchased 8 months ago and being at the check-in counter 2 hours before the flight leaves me in a stand by status, with the possibility that I'd be bumped from the flight to the next day -- which happens to be Independence Day in PNG, and happens to be the day before the Goroka Show annual festival . . . . yeah, I'm going back to complain again with the Air Niugini Customer Service desk. I explained the entire background to the girls behind the desk, who seemed dumbfounded by what's happened (I suspect they know this all to well ), but either case, 20 minutes later they found a seat for me and now I have a boarding pass !
On through to the mass of humanity, which was actually quite cool -- being the Independence Day of PNG tomorrow, most people were quite proud to travel in their PNG National Flag attire. Sights, sounds, and smells (deodorant must be a commodity here) are abundant, and it seems to be heating up -- with delays left & right, crying children everywhere, the 18th announcement that the delayed flight to Mt. Hagen is preparing to start boarding -- sensory overload, maybe a little bit.
Oh, and then the announcement that the flight to Goroka has been cancelled. Uh oh, that's not good -- but luckily for me it was a different Air Niugini flight that was randomly cancelled -- another customary procedure for Air Niugini, to just cancel flights and you can maybe get on another flight tomorrow. Kirsten did warn me about all this, and it's not like there's a lot of choices here -- just 2 airlines go to these destinations. But in the end, the flight did get me to Goroka today. And despite all of the potential problems, a 1 hour delayed departure was the only damage. We'll see how it goes on my next Air Niugini experience on Monday.
Celebrities at Goroka
While my hotel room is a big (BIG) step down from the 4 star property I was at last night it is very simple and basic -- I'll be just fine, and most importantly, I'm happy to be here to experience this special event. The room even has a waterfall feature in the bathroom, with plumbing issues and the constant dripping/running sound of water in the toilet. Didn't have to pay extra for that.
I found my way to dinner & drinks at the hotel bar, and immediately struck a nice conversation with the manager of the hotel. Cool guy, and we shared many stories over various topics. He was surprised to hear how far I was from home and not with a tour group. We both agreed it's sometimes nice to not be with a big group when traveling like this -- it allows you the opportunities to meet local people that you probably wouldn't have met when with your own isolated group. He told me of some of the other people here this weekend at his hotel for the Goroka Show. (remember, this is a town of just 19,000 people, and 3 hotels in the entire town -- and only about 30 to 40 people total in the hotel, not that big)
Tony Robbins, motivational speaker, is here at my hotel with his production crew. He walked by me but I didn't approach him yet. (I don't think he realized who I am)
Peter Guber, Film Executive & owner of the LA Dodgers, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles FC is here at the hotel.
Lisa Cole, Head Coach of the Papua New Guinea U20 Women's National Soccer Team playing in the U20 World Cup in 2 months, is also here and we talked a bit about soccer prospects for my son.
(pretty funny that these people are at this tiny town & small hotel in such a remote location in the world, the same weekend as me !)
Local people and reactions
I'm finding thus far that the people here in PNG are quite friendly and pleasant. It's unfortunate that the global reputation of Papua New Guinea and statistics related to safety, crime and corruption is so negative. I was told our USA department of state considers Papua New Guinea on the same level of danger for diplomats as Afghanistan. From speaking to the hotel manager and the PNG National Coach, the local people have a bit too much of tendency for retaliation, and they don't keep the subject in perspective. For instance, if a car window was broken, instead of addressing them and requesting the money to replace the window, the reaction instead is to slash their tires in retaliation. Or much worse, as what happened in April 2015, a stolen pig resulted in a tribal fight and 10 dead. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-22/t ribal-fight-in-papua-new-guinea-leaves- 10-people-dead/6412662
Similar to my experience with local people in Honiara, we agreed that it makes a difference to walk in with confidence and a smile, when meeting local people in their local surroundings -- don't appear scared, but rather be friendly and approachable. They're more inclined to be welcoming to the foreigner, which is what I experienced in Honiara with the local guys. I'll take basic precautions, be smart in public venues, and stay with my guide or the managers from the hotel. And beyond that, I'll continue to meet more people from around here and enjoy the experience.
I start my touring of Goroka, Papua New Guinea in the morning, and I think there's going to be a lot to take in. . . . .
- comments
rosannah201 I'm just glad you made it to Goroka, despite the challenges thrown to you by Air Niugini. I'm sure you'll have no trouble meeting people during your stay there. Enjoy but be safe. Rosanna, xoxo
Gore, Carla Just don't steal a pig! is it hot there?