It is impressive the resourcefulness Syy's mom has at her disposal. We've been washing dishes from a liquid soap she's created from a number of mostly organic ingredients. She makes a lip balm out of coconut milk and wild bees wax collected from nearby hives. It smells quite pleasant and works very well for chapped lips. The rice wine takes her most of the day to make - and ferments for about 8 days before its ready to drink. We've had running … [Read more...]
Greetings from the Village – Eastern Thailand
We are back in the village for the next month - enjoying some fine R&R after a hectic schedule from this past year. The kids are learning Chinese in school and are happy to practice. Our niece of almost 5 years old informed us today that she is "tired of being a Thai girl and wants to be an American girl". We asked her to speak some English but all she could say was "thank you" over and over again! There is a rash of road accidents this past … [Read more...]
Back to the Wonderful City of Angels
We flew in last night over a sea of lights spread as far as one could see. It was Bangkok - one of the planet's greatest cities. At midnight along Sukhumvit it was a mix of lights, traffic and people wandering the streets in search of sleep, sex and alcohol. This latest visit was a throwback for me offering a nostalgic reflection on my first trip to the Kingdom in 1996 (on the way to Nepal). Then as now, we landed at Don Muang airport. I … [Read more...]
Exploring Port Moresby
Port Moresby is a bit difficult to explore on your own - the city is spread out and there aren't that many attractions to visit right in town. However we caught up with the energetic folks from Cold Media Productions who are covering my visit to PNG. We headed out in their Toyota Land cruiser for the top of a nearby mountain - Sogeri which affords one excellent views overlooking all of Port Moresby in the distance, the Stanley-Owens range (the … [Read more...]
Trying to get to Port Moresby
We arrived back at the Popondetta airport for a 6am check-in - the hours dragged on. The local manager kept calling out updates every hour - our hopes kept rising especially when around 10am he said the plane was loaded with passengers on the runway about to take off in Port Moresby. Our hopes soared when around 11am he said the plane had taken off already and was in the air. The hours kept dragging on - over the course of two full days of … [Read more...]
Rough Transportation Day, Kokoda to Popondetta
After a restless rat filled sleep - we woke up at 1am this morning to catch the PMV back to Popondetta. By the graces of the good earth, it was not raining - a real stroke of luck. However we would soon find out this was to be of no use because all the rivers were swollen far above their normal flows due to heavy rains in the mountain. As a result it took us 9 hours to reach Popondetta including stops (compared to the 3.5 hours the first time we … [Read more...]
Heading Out Papua, New Guinea Trek
A young lady died yesterday from stomach problems and as we passed through the small village we saw a number of men digging the grave - right next to the trail. The reality of death here unlike a number of western cultures which puts it at bay for a longer period of time - is more a part of daily life. Life spans are much shorter, injuries are common, as is illness - from these remote villages you cannot easily get to a hospital. All the villages … [Read more...]
Exploring Misima Village Papua New Guinea
We spent most of today exploring the hilly jungle covered countryside around Misima Village with Seli. Seli is about 60 years of age (when we ask people's ages here we get approximate answers) and has the stamina of someone half his age. Like most people living in the mountains in this area he walks everywhere barefoot - even on the rocky, steepest of trails. And he will climb much faster than most people in shape who are wearing shoes! Walking … [Read more...]
Trekking in the Papua New Guinea Highlands
Today we trekked for about 5.5 hours - most of it all uphill over a steep, rocky, muddy slippery trail. Arriving at a plateau (and a small village) we were greeted by the entire village welcoming us with a cheerful song. We busted open the heavy glass jar of Prima Scelta Chargrilled Artichokes that we dragged up here from when we bought them in Sydney. Food had rarely tasted so good despite these chockes being saturated in the heaviest of … [Read more...]
Foke Village Kokoda
Today we trekked to Foke Village - a collection of several thatched huts and a total population of 30. We waded through a strong river and walked in the shade through hundreds of palm oil trees - all covered with moss and a ferns. This beautiful village is set right at the base of the mountains - on a plateau surrounded by pristine rainforest. We arrived at the village and noticed how eerily quiet it was. We kept walking through and then we … [Read more...]
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