Oknuma
Rollerblading along the road
bit of a disclaimer.. I didn't take a single one of these pics.
My father collected many PNG artifacts and took many photos and gave them all away after my parents divorce
anyway...
I had a bit of a nostalgic moment today and googled the heck out of the town in Papua New Guinea that I grew up in. A little place in the Eastern Highlands Province that will always have my heart.
Anyway I came across some very recent photos of my old town ( taken may 2009) on a personal blog. Some of the photos I requested permission to re-post too others are non copyright free photos
the view from mount kiss, otherwise known as Rascal hill ( thieves hill)
the airport
a sign near the market place
the market
shops on the west side of town
the estate i used to live on was owned by Mal Smith ( an ex vietnam chopper pilot and owner of pacific helicopters. He is now the most loved and hated man in PNG govt )
here is Mal Smith ( bald head in centre, one of the most important men in my life even after 15 years of not seeing him)
here is the house he built us in the estate
the Asaro river was very close to our stables. The Asaro are known cannibals for ceremonious reasons. The story is that before going to war with neighbouring villages they would use beetlenut ( a nut mixed with lime creating a very toxic drug) , cover themselves in mud and dance about. Once the neighbouring village came sooner than expected and believed them to all be ghosts of the dead and so the mud men were created.
One of the THOUSANDS of national dresses from the highlands provinces.
I havnt included many photos from here simply because they still use bird feathers and carcuses. I know that it would upset some but I think it is very important to realise that this is a country with over 800 languages and their culture is often all they have. The shiny colours in their head bands are actually beetle shells.
and before you get too bored of me and my nostalgic walk I wanted to post this last picture.
Bikpela Man ( is Pidgin for adult/old man)
This man is someone I personally knew. He would stand daily outside the hotel and walk about town dressed just as he is in this photo. He would charge tourists for photos. When my father went to town I used to duck over to the shop and buy Bikpela Man a bush cigarette ( village grown tobacco rolled in a newspaper page) and we would talk to each other until my father would come back. I highly doubt he is still around today but finding this photo brought tears to my eyes.
I pray one day I can save the money to take my husband and children to show them how other people live, to show them how i lived. To show them the most amazing paradise in the world!
My father collected many PNG artifacts and took many photos and gave them all away after my parents divorce
anyway...
I had a bit of a nostalgic moment today and googled the heck out of the town in Papua New Guinea that I grew up in. A little place in the Eastern Highlands Province that will always have my heart.
Anyway I came across some very recent photos of my old town ( taken may 2009) on a personal blog. Some of the photos I requested permission to re-post too others are non copyright free photos
the view from mount kiss, otherwise known as Rascal hill ( thieves hill)
the airport
a sign near the market place
the market
shops on the west side of town
the estate i used to live on was owned by Mal Smith ( an ex vietnam chopper pilot and owner of pacific helicopters. He is now the most loved and hated man in PNG govt )
here is Mal Smith ( bald head in centre, one of the most important men in my life even after 15 years of not seeing him)
here is the house he built us in the estate
the Asaro river was very close to our stables. The Asaro are known cannibals for ceremonious reasons. The story is that before going to war with neighbouring villages they would use beetlenut ( a nut mixed with lime creating a very toxic drug) , cover themselves in mud and dance about. Once the neighbouring village came sooner than expected and believed them to all be ghosts of the dead and so the mud men were created.
One of the THOUSANDS of national dresses from the highlands provinces.
I havnt included many photos from here simply because they still use bird feathers and carcuses. I know that it would upset some but I think it is very important to realise that this is a country with over 800 languages and their culture is often all they have. The shiny colours in their head bands are actually beetle shells.
and before you get too bored of me and my nostalgic walk I wanted to post this last picture.
Bikpela Man ( is Pidgin for adult/old man)
This man is someone I personally knew. He would stand daily outside the hotel and walk about town dressed just as he is in this photo. He would charge tourists for photos. When my father went to town I used to duck over to the shop and buy Bikpela Man a bush cigarette ( village grown tobacco rolled in a newspaper page) and we would talk to each other until my father would come back. I highly doubt he is still around today but finding this photo brought tears to my eyes.
I pray one day I can save the money to take my husband and children to show them how other people live, to show them how i lived. To show them the most amazing paradise in the world!
Thank you so much!!!! You don't know how much I enjoyed that.
I want to know more! The men with the colored faces are amazing!!! Wow..I LOVE LOVE LOVE learning about other cultures and places.
