Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

March 3rd
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Today was an exciting day for a number of reasons. First, it was a new country that I’ve never been to, always a good thing. Second, when you look up the city on Wikipedia it has been deemed the “least livable capital city in the world”, and boasts and murder rate 3 times that of Moscow and 20-something times that of London – wow. Third, I had decided to meet up with some locals I’ve never met before! Before you get too upset by what seems to be poor decision making, let me explain how this all worked out…
Thanks to the rafting trip with Aaron, he let me know about a website named couchsurfing.com, one in which the members host travelers by letting them sleep on their couch or meeting for lunch and showing them the city. The premise is that travelers help out other travelers, and when you aren’t somewhere in the world you put up your couch, though there is no obligation to do so. Anyways, I registered on the site, instantly looked up Port Moresby, and contacted one of the two people I saw listed. After a few emails back and forth we’d worked out a meeting time and place.
I’m sure you’re asking “how can you trust the people”, and there’s really no sure fire way of being totally sure what’s going to happen, but from looking at my hosts profile and our conversations, I had a decent feeling everything would be fine. Also, she was to meet me at the pier with one of her friends, and had I not liked the look of her or her friend I’d have turned around right there and gone back to the ship – so don’t get too worried about me, I’m doing my best to minimize risk :)
So I get out to the pier at noon and find my host, Musy and her friend Shannon (a large Australian guy) waiting for me at the pier. Musy approached smiling, introduced herself and Shannon, and feeling pretty confident in the situation I hopped in the back of their Nissan and we set off for lunch. I was planning on bringing a friend with me just for the sake of not being alone, but due to a late rehearsal for a production show, I couldn’t find anyone to go with, so I just went myself.
Anyways, Musy is from Malaysia, studied law in the UK, and now works in Port Moresby. Shannon was from Brisbane and also had a job that had him working in the city. We talked during lunch about the city and their lives there, along with what I do on the ship. Both Musy and Shannon were extremely friendly and were great to talk with, I couldn’t have had two nicer hosts. We finished up lunch, they picked up my bill (thanks!) and we went out for a driving tour of the city.
It was really quite a place and did justice to what’s written on the always trustworthy Wikipedia (ha). The roads of the city weren’t in the best shape, the residential communities looked like they were straight out of one of those “help the children” commercials, and there were dogs everywhere. There was an entire residential area of metal siding huts up on stilts out in the water, just waiting for a large storm to come by and knock them down. It was really amazing to drive through the area and see how unfortunate it was, especially considering that I’m sure I didn’t even see the worst of it.
This “least livable city” is also plagued by gangs, or what they call Rascals. Shannon said his business was held at gun point on New Years by four Rascals, certainly not something you hear about all the time in the states. The ship had been warned against traveling alone through the city for just that reason, and there was even a BBQ thrown for the crew to try to keep us on the ship. But it’s because of the desperation and low employment that these Rascals exist. Meanwhile, housing costs are extremely expensive. A house around the city would rent for over $2000 per week…yeah, per week. Considering you can get a decent place in Chicago for half that per month, this was really amazing to hear.
My hosts had to return to work though and I was soon dropped off at the pier, more than excited about the day I’d just spent. I thanked my new friends as much as possible, tried offering some money for lunch (which was promptly refused), and headed back to the ship with a huge smile.
I then ran into some friends on the ship (the dancers) and I joined up with their group to head out again into the city, this time for a walking tour, We didn’t get very far, everyone was a little nervous about doing too much exploring, and first the girls returned to the ship, followed by me and two other dancers 30 minutes later. It was funny walking through the city with the dancers though because with the temperature being as hot as it was (must have been 100+), they had their shirts off. Well, nothing sticks out more than three white guys walking around, two with their shirts off. But the locals were all very nice and welcoming, they’d wave or even come up and shake our hands, and though I was initially concerned that they were looking to sell something, it seemed as if they were legitimately welcoming us, which was nice. Also, walking through their having everyone looking and waving kind of makes you feel like a movie star, so that was fun.
And now I’m back on the ship writing this blog while I wait to go watch the production show tonight. I’m looking forward to up coming ports when I try to do this again with other hosts, and I’d be more than happy if they turn out to be half as great as Musy and Shannon. One more big public thanks to them as I wish them all the best in their jobs and life in Port Moresby. I’ll be looking forward to more such adventures and as always, thanks for reading!