http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/11/24/2817146-ever-been-to-papua-new-guinea Comments On: Ever Been to Papua New Guinea? by Grant Brissey en-us Copyright 2010 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:01 -0800 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:00:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
The volcano rumbled a lot, but I don't think it was expected to erupt anytime. Mind you, who knows how decent any predictions were in those days.

The better story from that period in time, in my opinion, was the one of how the family's dog went missing one day. They found out their native PN-Guinean neighbors (apparently real nice folks) had eaten it. Best part: the dog's name was Lucky.
Posted by Dee]]> Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:25:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Toe Tag]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:50:44 -0800 The Stranger
There is no cheaper way to to get to PNG than via Australia. This has always been true.

I imagine PNG musicians normally get their music published in Australia, which has close cultural ties to the country (it was an Australian colony until 1975), and a significant publishing industry, not New Zealand, which is 2,000 miles further away.

A cargo ship from Vietnam to PNG is an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. It's 3500 MILES -- further than New York to Southampton. And this imaginary boat -- where exactly are you going to catch it, Will? Are there cargo ships running to PNG on a regular basis from there? Mmm, no. PNG cargo boats come from...wait for it....Australia.

Your original wording was "just fly to Vietnam and take the boat" as if it was the easiest thing in the world. In fact, of course, it's the HARDEST thing in the world, and virtually no one has ever done it. Because it would be STUPID.

The fact is, you MADE THIS UP. You have NO IDEA. But it's important to you for some bizarre reason -- probably because you know deep down in your heart that you're a fuck knuckle with nothing to offer on your own -- that people will like you if you seem like you know something. But you don't know anything, which is why the stuff you make up is so absurdly false and easily disproven.

The cheapest way to fly to Vietnam is to fly to Vietnam, not Seoul. I've got more Vietnamese colleagues than you do, and it's nothing to do with a "Western eye", it's to do with simple facts.
Posted by Fnarf]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:35:44 -0800 The Stranger
I thought you wanted cheap.

And, for decades, musicians from Papua New Guineau have travelled to New Zealand to get their music published.

A lot of flights are charters, a lot of boat trips are aboard cargo ships.

Not everywhere works the way we do.

One of the cheapest ways to travel to Vietnam is to fly to South Korea, actually. Counter-intuitive to the Western eye, perhaps, but I'll take the word of my Vietnamese colleagues and their wives over yours any day of the wiki week.
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:10:56 -0800 The Stranger
Vietnam is 3500 miles from Port Moresby, making a boat trip, should any be offered, which they aren't, unfeasible.

And there are no flights from New Zealand to PNG. Brisbane, Cairns, Fiji, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sydney, and Tokyo yes; Auckland no.
Posted by Fnarf]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:52:14 -0800 The Stranger
The other way is wait for a special on a Kiwi flight.
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:34:14 -0800 The Stranger
So you'll want to do a tour. Pngtours.com offers a nice village tour of 12 days that costs $4,762 per person based on double occupancy; if there's only one of you you will pay $5,668 instead, plus additional air charters of $820, plus various personal extras like beverages (SP Lager!) and laundry.

Call it $10,000. Trip of a lifetime, I'll bet!
Posted by Fnarf]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:35:47 -0800 The Stranger
On the plus side, it's either the first or second most ecologically diverse countries on the earth (with Madagascar). There are places where if you know what you're doing and keep your eyes open you are absolutely guaranteed to discover new species.
Posted by Fnarf]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:20:27 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Max Solomon]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:16:02 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Nodz]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:43:33 -0800 The Stranger volcanic eruption, you've seen them all.
Posted by COMTE]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:37:44 -0800 The Stranger
They were nice guys and had a really good electric sound.
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:30:48 -0800 The Stranger