Port Moresby,Papua New Guinea- Wide grins,Greedy Capitalism, Modern Day Colonialism and everything in between

Tell anyone you are travelling to Papua New Guinea, and the immediate reaction would be “why? and where is this place?”. My work took me to the capital city of Port Moresby in July 2017. What did I know about this Port Moresby before? Nothing other than the fact that it is one of the most dangerous cities in the world and walking alone on the streets even during the day was not recommended.

This city, just like any other in the world has its own charm if one ventures out to find it. Colorful markets, friendly people, fancy restaurants, turquoise blue waters and great local culture. All this comes at a significant dent on the pockets since Papua aint cheap! Surprisingly and for reasons no one understands, this is one of the most expensive places I have visited in all of my travels. But if one hunts with some local help, one can just find the right deals to make, the best places to eat and the right moments to cherish.

Boroko Craft Market- Port Moresby

My first jaunt outside the hotel with a local was to the Boroko craft market. Artisans from across town come in everyday to sell colorful bilums (traditional shoulder bags), traditional wood carvings and local crafts. This is the best place to get a good bargain and haggle your way to great deals with the locals. Undaunted by the dust, the sun, the dirt and the tough environment around, wide grins greet you at each seller shack and you know the folks have worked hard to produce these beautiful works of art.

Ela beach Promenade, the hill across Ela Beach, War cemetery

Fancy restaurants which are way too expensive for the general public, Yatch clubs that reek of colonialism, local graffiti and general despair are what you see on the promenade of the only beach in the capital city. The irony of the place shouts when one sees armed security guards and metal detectors at the entrance of all restaurants on the promenade. While getting into the beach for a jaunt is the last thing one would want to do, the view of the sea from the hill across is worth the visit. Expensive condos overlooking the beach in haughty arrogance, well laid roads leading upto these condos and private security everywhere. Hello corny capitalism!

The War Cemetery is one of the quietest places in most of Port Moresby. Surprisingly well maintained and pristine, this little oasis outside of Port Moresby reminds us all what the cost of a war is. There are hundreds of unnamed graves of soldiers from Papua, Australia and other common wealth nations when they fought against the Japanese in the now famous Kokoda trail. The rows and rows of white grave stones only reminded me of the quote by an unknown author — All the arms we need are for hugging….

While Port Moresby is not exactly a tourist paradise, the unique Papuan culture is most certainly the biggest draw to this island nation. Whilst the highland region is the place to go to see unique tribal cultures if one has the monies and the time, I did enjoy what little bit of the country I saw.

What I did see that I could not capture on a camera also angered me, engulfed with melancholy and made me sad. Seeing big corporations bring in expats, shelter them in gated communities and create an artificial world of their own while the locals remain under privileged. The locals working to guard the gated communities, the night clubs and the malls, while the expat dances on the dance floor or nurses a local draught beer. What meets the eye is not easy to process. While I hardly know much about the region to make any presumptions, the have and the have nots just scream at you in Papua. Hopefully I am wrong, hopefully I misunderstood, hopefully the local Papuan’s are given their share, hopefully…….

One thing to do while in Papua- Try the buai. A local staple of most folks in the region sold on all street corners, raw arecanut is popped into the mouth, chewed for a bit followed by a mustard stem dipped in lime. Spicy, tangy, throat numbing stuff that does nothing but make your mouth a volcano of red spit! Not for the faint of the pallet…..