I know I keep banging on and on about orphanages, but it’s for good reason. Really. And if you don’t believe me, spend a little bit of time with this campaign supported by UNICEF to teach you how to be more child safe on holidays. A good place to start is to not visit an orphanage.
Just in case you don’t make it as far as their website, here is there guide on what not to do while on holidays:
As I sit on my lounge, stereo on, nursing my post food poisoning belly, I’ve decided to capture 5 things I learned about Papua New Guinea
1. Remote takes on a whole new meaning in this country of islands, atolls, and almost inaccessible mountain ranges. Lack of phone and internet access, no roads in or out, and expensive plane and/or boat journeys means much of this country’s population live extremely remotely, and I did too, for almost two weeks.
2. Sweet potato is not food. Nor is taro, cassava or any of their varietals. They’re just fuel, void of flavour, texture, and, you know, nutrients. Yet these root veggies make up the lion’s share of diets for most people in PNG. Protein, fats and vitamins are sadly hard to find.
3. Coconut water is the nectar of the gods. In hot humidity, at the wrong end of a 10 hour day that started at 5am, you could barely see the sun for the smile lathered all over my lips at being handed a fresh young coconut to drink from. Delish.
4. Open-sea journeys through storm clouds in rough and rainy seas is scary. So is flying through mountain ranges and their clouds in light airplanes. Especially in a place that had a fatal airline crash while I was there. I’m not built for this kind of scary stuff anymore.
5. PNG is stunningly, breathtakingly, gaspingly beautiful. The natural environment just kept catching me out with crystal clear waters, tropical fish, white sandy beaches, stunning sunrises, only to do it all over again in a whole different way in the Eastern Highlands. As soon as I stepped out into the cool mountain air of Goroka I felt myself relax. And then we went to Andakombi where the mountains and their clouds impressed at every turn.
And the other thing I learned is that throwing up in plane toilets is no fun at all. Not that food poisoning is ever much fun… More photos and discussion on development related things to follow once I’ve managed to clean my clothes, myself, catch some sleep, and revel in all things home.
I’m typing this from my hotel room in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. I’m here for two weeks to visit various projects for CARE, and am really looking forward to getting out in the field again, it’s been too long.
As I find I always do when visiting a new place, I try and take notice of my first impressions. Today I felt that familiar feeling take over me as I craned my neck around to see as many angles from out the plane window. The first thing that struck me as we approached the main island was the hyper-blue waters that hugged the coastline. Man, this water was blue. The kind of blue you see in tourist brochures for Tahiti and Thailand. The kind of blue that calls your name at the end of a long work week with promises of forgetfulness.
Next came all the green. Lush grass greens, deep foresty greens, and lighter greens all mixed in together. Clearly this country sees a lot of rain. And it looks nothing like my own country from the sky. Nothing at all.
And just the promise of difference, these things to note, pricked my ears and alerted my senses and have kicked me right into the gear of The Outsider, but in a good way.
I love the rush of a new place, and Papua New Guinea, I can’t wait to launch in.
When I was living in Bangladesh last year, I answered a call out from Fairfax’s Backpacker blogger, Ben Groundwater, who was looking for couches to crash on around the world. So he came, and he crashed, and then he wrote a chapter (Rats, Roaches and Roadkill) about it.
On a personal note, it was strange being on the receiving end of someone else talking about me. As a writer, I’m often the one wielding control of the pen. Yes, there were moments I squirmed, thinking why on earth did I tell a journalist THAT? But kudos to Ben, he did a pretty good job of capturing Chittagong and some of the beauty of the ‘desh along with the bizarre.
So go buy it, support an Aussie writer, and have a laugh at my expense.
— Why we travel, Jonah Lehrer (via lanipauli) (via wearethedigitalkids) (via mikearauz)
Bangladesh makes another appearance in Ben Groundwater’s SMH Backpacker Blog. As do I, ‘the girl’ who warned against some of the country’s more perilous charms.
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