April 1, 2007
(Sorry it's taken so lonfg to get going on this, I can't belive it's mid-May and all I've done is send out a few teaser picks, so I'll shut up and get to work).
I was out the door of the hotel, down the hill and onto the Air Train before 8. It was a sunny day and an easy trip to the airport. There was a big crowd at the terminal, but most of it was for another airline. There were lots of staff in flourescent vests announcing "new" rules for carry-on starting today, April Fool's Day wouldn't you know? The ole gel issue was just now getting attention in Australia. I had my bags checked(no problems with weight) after 45min in line and my attention was back onto my carry-on since it was loaded for bear.
I had plenty of time to hang out in the upstairs lounge and try to make the internet booth work. and eventually headed for the downstairs departure lounge. Uh-oh, there was another security check, this time it was complete with a scale. I thought I was in for trouble, but as I swung my bag off my houlder to give it up, the young guard said, "Oh, that looks fine, don't bother." I must have made it look light, it had to be weighing in around 30lbs.! I smiled and waved with my free hand and moved on through security and immigration.
I got a quick memory jog about something I forgot to do before leaving as I went through the final round of security. My jog required a phone call since I wasn't having much luck with the out of date browsers the internet kiosks were using. I knew I was going to get butt-raped by the phone charges but I had to make the call. Well, it was taken care of and I wondered how much it was going to cost me. $20 AU, maybe. We'll see...
The Air Niugini gates were off to the right and we were soon boarding after watching others depart to other parts of western asia. The flight to Port Moresby left on time and was very comfortable. The crew was quite amiable and able, if a bit nervous. I think they were just very eager to please. The flight went by quickly and we were all soon straining to see land as we neared POM. The Owen Stanleys came into view and a few minutes later we were on the ground.
The airport was actually a little larger than I expected and we deplaned through a jetway. The air was noticably more humid and musty like air conditioned buildings in the tropics. Normal so far. The immigrations hall was basically a large room leading to customs. I was looking forward to putting my PNG visa to work.
At immigration there were three lines to choose from; PNG citizens,
non-citizens W/O a visa, and those smart folks, like me, with
visas. My line turned out to be the longest and slowest. Well,
there's always next time. I got through the line and then it
was time to sweat(literally, now) the final hurdle of getting
Jesse's camera through customs. I opted for the food trick again
with a delaying tactic. Since my hotel was near the airport and
it was Sunday, I went for changing money at the handy change
window in customs. It was popular with the PNG citizens. I guessed
they got a discount as the teller apologized for the service
fee.
As I stepped up to the window, next to last in line, I did a great job of sticking my traveller's checks to my sweatty forearms. It was pretty comical, but nobody was laughing. I think it was too humid for laughter. I walked over to the customs officer a pocket full of kina and handed him my immigration form as I kicked my collection of gear in his direction. "Food?" I explained the granola bar and tea bag stash. "Any large amounts of alcohol?" I was clean. "Anything else?" I confessed I didn't think so and started to pick up my bags. "Hold on a minute." Damn, I thought I was free. "What is that you're reading?" I had my copy of Goodbye Darkness under my arm and pulled it out to show him. "Oh yes, I know it. That's a good book!", he smiled. Wow, what an interesting way to complete my official arrival. I picked up the camera box and headed into the small arrivals hall and ran directly into a man carrying a piece of paper with my name in block letters on it. We were in the hotel van in less than a minute.
We headed away from the International Terminal and going through the PNG security gate(orange cones) to the airport exit in no time. The layout brought back vague memories of Puerto Plata. I was hoping this would be much tamer. In what felt like 3 minutes we were at the gate to the compound housing the Gateway Hotel and seconds later at the door.
I was barely out of the van and a very serious looking young bellhop had my bags. My voucher was not even asked for and I was off to my room so fast I was almost not enjoying it. I was impressed by how fast this guy grabbed up my stuff. I thought I was a badass the way I carried it. It must be he was rested up. Anyway, the gear was in the room so fast I didn't have a chance to figure out the PNG money for a tip. Wow!
It wasn't long before I was back to the desk to try to figure out internet access in the office off the lobby. It was painfully slow and the browser so out of date I had to resort to an account to use the"old" version of Yahoo mail. Ouch! I wondered back to the room and found a fax from Philip in response to my voice mail. More e-mail to follow-up on that, but a little later after a connoiter of the hotel.
As I finished my second round of e-mail, I found my bellhop and was able to give him his tip. It was my introduction to the PNG smile. Wow, he really lit up. It took a minute to figure it out, but I figured I got the serious look because maybe he wasn't sure I was happy. As soon as he saw I was, he was. That's an over-simplified descrption, maybe, but it was what I experienced many times over in PNG starting at this moment! I really like the PNG smile. It's as honest as they come.
I hung out for a while by the pool until the sun was down behind the big palm tree by the pool. It was time for a little re-pack in the room and then a recconnoiter for some food. I found a personal pizza in the bar/lounge downstairs called Rattle and Hum. There wasn't any U2 playing but the food was tasty g and the beers were cold. It was also my introduction to SP:
I had my pizza and beers and a few kina later it was time for the sack. For some reason the drivers were suggesting a 6:00am van call for my 9:30 flight. Well, there would be time for that to make sense in the morning. I was asleep quickly and didn't want to think about the weight restrictions, anymore.