Madang

Dear friends,

As I complete 14 months in this wonderful country, my thoughts begin to wonder to bigger pictures. Have I made a difference? What now? What should I do in 2 years after going back to school? But inevitably they settle and return to the 2 more immediate concerns: 

1) Let me make sure I pass on the baton for continued dedication to climate change and PNG for those who have chosen to serve this cause in PNG, and ensure a smooth transition.

2) Let me reflect on the adventures and experiences that this amazing country has given me since March 2010, for there is truly no place like PNG. 6 million people, over 800 tribes and languages, some of the richest biodiversity on land, air and sea only begins to hint at the uniqueness of this nation.

In that spirit, I write my penultimate update from PNG. Recently I had the chance to go to Madang, a northern coastal province on the mainland of PNG not too far from Port Moresby (1 hr flight). Instead of staying at the standard boutique hotel that exists in each tourist-frequented town in PNG, we decided to go a less traveled route: to the Jais Aben Resort, a simple yet expansive property on the waterfront outside town, with an array of activities to pick from. "The aptly named Jais Aben means ‘resting place’ in local language. Many people tell us that this is precisely the feeling they have immediately upon arrival." - I have to agree, the bungalows by the sea catching the breeze lulled us into a relaxing mood from the moment we entered the compound.

While we did end up spending most of the weekend between the bungalow, dining area (30 ft from the Pacific Ocean) and checking out fish in the ocean, we did also manage to take a trip up to the hilltop for a scenic view out. Interestingly, the hilltop also contained a radio tower, that had been built during the war period, and then later used by missionaries to spread the gospel, promoting peace and bringing stability to the people through religion, much like in many other parts of PNG.

On the next afternoon, we also managed to take a canoe out and paddle to some nearby islands. We ended up making sandcastles with some kids on the first island (the one in the sunrise picture), and then we headed onward onto what we thought was an uninhabited island. To our surprise, as we turned the corner and clambered ashore, we found some smiling locals awaiting us, including a friendly elder who generously offered to give us a tour around the island. Once he found out that we were working on climate change, he took us to the opposite side of the island, where coastal erosion of the island over the years was painfully obvious. A particular section of the coast was unprotected by the extensive roots of mangroves growing elsewhere, and the continuous erosion was a source of concern to the entire village. We were then introduced to the village chief, a frail looking man with a booming voice who, upon finding out our ages, remarked "I have been chief for 42 years - since way before you were born!" before thanking us for our visit and retiring to his hut.

Of course, the trip included some usual unexpected PNG-style surprises - a 3d chess game with life-size bird of paradise pieces, a return canoe trip involving a narrow shortcut under an eye-level bridge back to Jais, being invited to a post-meal drinks conversation with a landowner who was looking or an investment strategy for the "3 million Kina (~1 million USD) I am getting next week", because we apparently looked like his sons. Resulting in an offer to hire us as his investors starting with K10,000 a piece (an offer we politely declined), and tossing us his landcruiser keys in case we wanted to drive around Madang...but what fun would PNG be without typical PNG randomness!

Thus I leave you with this thought: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Nusa Island

Dear friends,

Time has flown - it has been over a year since I first set foot in the land of a thousand journeys. For this edition, I revisit one of my favourite provinces in PNG, New Ireland. 

 

One of the great things about PNG is how many different things one can do, even in a seemingly similar situation. Spending an entire weekend at Nusa Island Retreat was simultaneously relaxing, and quite fulfilling. Upon arriving at our breezy hut overlooking the sea, we spent the first few hours touring the island and interacting with the multitude of friendly animals that co-habited the island. From gangly dogs to parrots with injured wings, each being had a story to share. Horn-billed pelicans were somehow convinced that my toes were edible, and we watched a slightly wounded hawk tear apart a quick meal.

Pulling up a canoe allowed us to paddle to the various other islands (the 2 behind the surfer kid), and take in a gorgeous sunset. On the way to the 2 islands, we stopped for a quick snorkel to see a shipwreck 4m deep, and had a peek at the sunk airplane (7m down). We also had the chance to explore a nearby island. Aside from lush terrain, ancient war relics (the large cannon in the picture) allowed us to dwell on what the island had been like 70 years ago. We moved onward with our tour of the adjacent island, climbing up a short stretch of rocks to look over a blowhole in action with cycles of around 2 minutes. 

We spent the rest of the time relaxing - playing with starfish that surfaced beneath our hut, watching a variety of people row canoes between Nusa and Kavieng, silhouetted by a beautiful sunset, and rallying on a beach ping pong table. While laying in my hammock, I wondered: How is it that in this outwardly rustic appearing eco-lodge, one is drawn into such unimaginable serenity?

Perhaps it's the cool breeze that sways the hammock one lays upon, gently rocking me from side to side. Or the constant presence of the hues of turquoise waters merging seamlessly into the varied shades and shapes of green trees, available anytime I flick my eyes over the horizon of the book I'm currently perusing. It could be the murmur of the waves as they roll over the sand beneath me, punctuated by the occassional hum of a speedboat bringing passengers to and from this tropical paradise. The very presence of a variety of land and marinelife, too, certainly raised my spirits: horn-billed pelicans hopping delicately down the stairs to feed on pieces of banana out of our hands, parrots of several varieties adorned with skin warm to the touch, falcons gliding elegantly through the air, with a feather making a graceful descent towards us as they glide overhead. And then I ask, how could one possibly not be serene in such an environment?

Ulumani Treetops, Milne Bay province

The view of Milne Bay from Ulumani Treetops Lodge

Cricket pitch shaded by an Avatar-esqe tree

Dear friends,

Recently I had the wonderful experience of taking a weekend getaway right to the middle of a rainforest. After a brief flight to Alotau in Milne Bay Province (Southernmost part of PNG, and by the coast), our host Warren greeted us, and a pleasant 45 min drive regaled with tales of how Warren conceived (he had seen what logging had done to surrounding environments), built (with his bare hands and the help of his family) and ran (beautiful food, a serene view, and a family to cater for all activities) the Ulumani Treetops Lodge ensued.

The view alone was more than enough to keep one glued to the deck chair for hours. The stillness of the trees framed by turquoise Milne bay, punctuated by the occasional hen pecking around is one of the most relaxing environments one can absorb, while breathing in the invigoratingly fresh air. Even more fortunately, we got the chance not just to enjoy the quiet stature of the rainforest and the delicious home-cooked vegetables fresh from the nearby garden, but also to explore the beautiful surroundings of Ulumani.

Just a short 20 min walk down from Ulumani, we arrived at the beach, in time to be invited for a game of cricket with the local boys! A lot of fun followed, 2 wickets, 2 catches and 22 runs was a memorable prelude to snorkeling along a shallow shipwreck a few minutes away from the game. Evenings were spent building fires along the beach old-school style, beginning with twigs and grass, and then maturing to larger bits of wood. Sitting around the blazing fires discussing topics ranging from green income streams that would allow Papua New Guinea to grow in a sustainable fashion to the variety in culture and heritage that was present and treasured all around us helped me to appreciate the 4 stars present event more: Beneath us, phosphorescent glow of plankton as they converted the kinetic energy of the waves and radiated in response to movements in the water. Above us, the stars twinkled with clarity, shining light unfiltered by the noise of light pollution we have all become so accustomed to. Among us, fireflies danced gaily, sharing their enthusiasm for living in the moment. And most of all Within us, each of us creating our own destinies, learning from experiences that we may grow, share and live fully.

Pool at the base of the waterfall

After such an inspiring night, we were excited to do more, see more. So the next day, Warren Jr and Evax (Warren's son and nephew) took us on a 1-hr trek through the rainforest, after which we arrived at a breathtaking waterfall, with a natural pool of crystal clear water to swim, and even drink from at the base. On our way back through the forest, we passed several varieties of intricate (and gigantic) spiders, including weavers and tarantulas about as big as the size of our hands. It was fascinating to observe these industrious beings architect their webs, and for the most part we stayed away from interfering with their hard work.

Canoeing up the Dawadawa river

For our final activity, a couple of Warren's other nephews kindly agreed to give us a lift on their boat along the coast of Milne bay, onto the channel leading up to the Dawadawa river, where we were able to move onto a much more natural form of transport - dugout canoe. With the guidance of locals from the village, we had an amazing journey paddling up the Dawadawa, untouched beauty on either side. While the scenery evoked memories of sailing down canals in Kerala, the experience of being in a tiny canoe fit so perfectly with the journey we undertook, allowing us to savor every rich moment that our oars merged seamlessly with the river. We paused at the banks a few times to join the kids in moments of merriment (shrieks of Dimdim, 'white man' in Tok Pisin, are always followed by gales of laughter), and were blessed with a cooling drizzle on our way back to the boat.

To think that we spent the weekend in a tiny part of Milne bay province, not even venturing to Alotau town, let alone other provinces or countries just boggles my mind as a reminder of how much beauty there is all around us. We just have to spend some time experiencing it, dwell on it, and smile.

Miss South Pacific Pageant

Dear friends,

Miss American Samoa displaying her sarong

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday break, and are rejuvenated for the new year! Time has flown, and it has already been 10 months since I first arrived in this beautiful country.

Last month, I had the privilege of being invited to attend the annual Miss South Pacific Pageant contest, this time hosted in Papua New Guinea. While I was expecting the standard superficial rounds with a focus on outer beauty, I was astonished to discover that it was instead a true celebration and recognition of attributes, intelligence, talents, culture and tradition of young Pacific Island women. While I only attended the day that had the Sarong and Talent rounds, that was more than enough to give me a deeper appreciation for the depth and importance given by the Pacific Islanders to their environment. They managed to feature shells, flowers, corals, turtles and even coconut trees during the Sarong round alone!

Miss Solomon islands strikes a pose

As each contestant took her turn walking gracefully toward the audience, what impressed me was the thought, effort and creativity that had gone into the preparation for that single moment, reflected by the narration for each woman - from the fact that each woman had worn her one-piece sarong in a different way, to how each designer had toiled to incorporate symbols of what was held dear by an entire nation onto a piece of cloth. I have included here only pictures of Miss American Samoa in her stunning turtle designed sarong as well as Miss Solomon Islands and her coconut tree adorned sarong, but if you are keen on viewing the rest then this website has all the contestants in their sarong wear.

Miss Cook Islands begins her live grafitti performance

If one thought the Sarong round was impressive, one needed to only wait a little while more for the Talent round to be floored. Not only did the contestants possess such an array of talents from live grafitti art to a reenactment of a grandparent's experience in World War II, but the execution of every movement and sound was so precise that captivation was immediate and complete throughout the entire round.

Miss Papua New Guinea in her traditional costume.

While the pageant was an amazing way to close 2010, I can only hope that 2011 brings us all more of such enriching experiences.

Lou

Dear friends,

While this 8th month in Papua New Guinea has been fairly hectic, I had the good fortune to be able to return to Manus Province. This time, instead of taking a speedboat an hour north of mainland to visit Andra (as I did in August), we explored Lou island instead, an island 90 minutes south of mainland, rich with volcanic soil and abundance of friendly folk. As soon as our speedboat approached Lou, I was reminded of the way things used to be - an assorted group of whoever was present on the beach quickly assembled to help pull the boat in, irrespective of who the visitors were! We used a combination of ropes (with the cheer one, two, boo), pushing, and pulling, so I imagine this must have been what it felt like to live in joint families - only this was more or less a cooperative spirit between 4 separate townships and over 200 people on the island!

Due to the volcanic soil, Lou is known for growing all kinds of plants. Our meals consisted of freshly harvested sweet potato, cassava, sago, taro, watermelons, bananas and rice. Delicious. Accomodation was modest, we were kindly put up by the brother of one of our colleagues. While there was only an outdoor shower (water tank + bucket), there was also a diesel generator which was powered up from 7-9pm every day, mainly for lighting but also occassionally so that the villagers could gather round and watch a game of rugby on tv! They also talked about how they had gathered in a similar fashion to watch the World Cup in the wee hours of the morning. The people at Rei village who we interacted with had interesting views on religion - they were all Part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and felt that it was religion which had allowed them to peacefully join together as an island and work together. Previously, the 4 villages used to have tribal wars, and missionaries who came to Lou were eaten! But it is a lesson that persistence does pay off...eventually, and not always for the individual who wants to help, but now Lou is a fairly homogeneous island which seems to work well together. Another interesting experience I had was going through Sabbath, the day of rest that began at sunset on Friday evening and lasted until sunset on Sat evening. They took this very seriously - no cooking, swimming, or any activity at all - even a walk for 20 mins was considered too far. It's been awhile since I had an entire day of rest, and spent most of the time speaking with a variety of people who lived in the village. Visitors are a welcome but infrequent addition to the community, so we had plenty of people stopping by for a chat, both to share about themselves and to appease their curiosity about where we were from and what we were doing in Lou.

Before we left Lou on Sunday, we had some good fun playing football with some of the kids in the village. We also got the chance to take the boat around the island - not only did we get to take the boat through a bat cave, hang out on an island with plenty of obsidian (cooled lava without crystals), have a look at some huge wild fowl eggs and check out some Japanese wrecks from the War, but we also managed to take a quick dip in some hot springs on the side of the island close to the volcano.

Motupore

Dear friends,

Was great to see some of you over the Formula 1 weekend in Singapore - as always, great to be home, go to exciting events (Above & Beyond, Chemical Brothers!) and catch up with friends old and new. As I was reflecting on what I could do next, realized that my work here is far from over, still so much to learn, lots of the country to see, and enjoying the variety of what I'm doing (unsurprisingly, am taking on more responsibility). I have decided to stay here in Papua New Guinea for at least another 6 months (until mid Mar 2011), if not longer. So for those who want to come visit, the door stays open awhile longer!

In addition to the featured spot, I also had a chance to visit the monthly craft market at Ela beach - attached is a photo of a troupe from Bougainville, who have creative ways of making music (using the soles of slippers to hit poles of bamboo of different lengths) while other members dance. Pretty cool, prime example of where there's a will, there's a way!

This month's featured PNG spot is Motupore island, located merely 15 min away from Port Moresby (by speedboat). While it is extremely close to Loloata Island Resort, the setup is completely different. As a student research centre, the accomodation and settings are modest (2 bunk beds per room, in the white houses in pic 2), allowing us to focus most of each day on work (we were there conducting a 4 day training session). Even the view of mainland from the island was great - the S-shape in pic 3 becomes a sandbank in low tide). While I could go on at length about calm that comes from being in a simple environment (not to mention great snorkelling every morning), the bigger philosophical reflection of the month for me is about how 2 similarly simple practices (gratefulness and humility) can help raise both an individual's as well as a team's motivation and skill levels for a fairly sustained period. It was extremely humbling to learn about the hardships so many people had gone through, in order to enter even an entry level job. From broken families to 10-year career stagnation due to politics, from extreme poverty to convincing family that education is as worthwhile as farming, many of these challenges that people faced over the course of a month or a year are much greater than many of us have faced our entire lives. And yet to show only such an enthusiasm to learning, a hunger and desire to perform at the best of their abilities, and a dedication to serve the Office without complaint, is something so inspirational because in the grand scheme of things, any obstacle I can think of is indeed merely a fly in the way of an elephant. Celebrate the simplicity and wonder of life - just as the boy in the tree does in the last picture.

On that note, I have probably not said this enough, but I am really glad you are in my life. Please know that you have in some way shaped the person I am today, and for that I am truly grateful.

Manus

Dear friends,

Time has flown - I am about to complete 6 months living in this remarkable country, and today just watched an BBC Earth Documentary about the Birds of Paradise (click here for a 1 min version), which only highlights what I will be missing when I leave.

Manus island(s) provided me the opportunity to do what a lot of us haven't done in a long time - get out of urbanization (Level 0). It was difficult to realize how accustomed to urbanization I'd become, until I went through several levels of getting away from it. I.e. Firstly think of a place that sounds exotic, that you haven't been and would be super cool to live in, let alone visit. Being in Port Moresby itself (where I'm normally based), fulfils all the above (level 1).

Then, take a plane 3 hours far north of the country to an island (Manus!)somewhat disconnected from the rest of the country, and well surrounded by water. Did I mention that over half of this island does not have cell phone reception!!! When was the last time you went to a place that had no cell phone coverage? Anyway, Manus mainland (Level 2) was great. We got to see a market, with some poor cuscus trapped in cages! So we bought one and let it free :) But I digress.

Then, after I think I'm already as far away as it gets, the next day we go with 2 guys from an NGO who are doing a demonstration project to the island close to the site. Andra island (Level 3) is a 1 hr speedboat ride away from Manus. We get to spend 2 days and a night with a community of people who are excited to welcome us into their homes, feed us a feast of lobster, yam, fruits and more, and tell us about their lives. We traverse the island (its roughly 1km across, and 1/2 km wide), learning about its history, how the king tides have shaken (but not stirred) the people, and about their concern for how climate change will continue to affect them. We spent the night in a houseboy (shack for men, visible from Andra pic) with 8 other guys from the community and talk into the night about life in general and how best we can help. FYI there is no cellphone signal at all on Andra. Unless one goes right to the southernmost tip of the island, holds a phone at a particular angle, and prays for a few mins.

On our 2nd day in Andra, we awake early to roosters' crowing, and paddle out in 'kayaks' - extremely thin vessels made out of hollowed tree trunks - super sensitive to shifts in weight, and definitely close to capsizing on many occassions. We alight after a 15 min paddle across clear turqouise waters, and are on an atoll (level 4) - a beautiful small island ~100m across and 50m wide. The view is spectacular, just the ocean around us and supremely peaceful. The kids paddling with us play around with the sea-snakes we find on the island, and we walk around for awhile before getting back on our kayaks.

Finally, before we head back to Andra and then to the mainland, we have one final stop. Naturally, we have to visit the site in which the NGO is doing their pilot project to adapt to climate change - planting coral on a sea bed so that it grows and can help resist the tides. So snorkelling in these clear waters ensues, with a view of how the coral grows while we also spend time with the kids from the community. I suppose level 5 hits me when my colleague surfaces for a breath, looks at me and remarks, 'can you believe this is a work trip?!'. Most importantly, this distance from urbanization is a really helpful way to step back and take stock of what I'm doing. To take a breath. And realize some important truths. For example, that I'm doing work that I truly enjoy, which allows me to much better navigate other ups and downs that go on from time to time. But also that while helpful (and extremely cool), its not necessary to actually go all that physical distance in order to attain level 5, its merely a state of mind that focus and internal exploration can also bring one to. Just as there are hundreds of atolls around Manus alone, so it is that there are hundreds of ways to get to level 5. All we need is to find one that works for us every now and then.

So it was that with joy in our hearts, we said a temporary goodbye to the people of Andra, made our way back to the mainland of Manus, and soon after came back home to Moresby, hoping to return to Manus (and level 5) sooner rather than later.