What it Takes to go Shopping in PNG

Shopping is one of those things that I have never loved.  I have never been one of those people that just enjoys strolling around shops looking at things, or just going "just because".  When I go shopping, I have my list ready, usually written out in the order of the aisles in the store, or the shops I want to visit.

It wasn't until I had lived in PNG for a few years and had NO opportunities to shop that I finally started to appreciate shopping!

We do have a grocery store here on the Center that I am very, very thankful for!  At the same time, it can be frustrating to not be able to get staples many times, or know that I can buy them much cheaper in Lae.

So when my friend Sarah organized a shopping/bulk buying trip to Lae, I jumped at the chance!  Now, going to Lae isn't quite like just hopping in your car and driving a mile or two to your nearest COSTCO or Walmart.  It's a good 3 hour drive (one way!) over windey, bad roads.  Just a few minutes after leaving the Center, you get to pass a sinkhole that has taken out over half the road in one place.  Then there's a bridge that is missing some of the metal plates, and is continually settling lower and lower.  We wonder how much longer it's going to be able to maintain the weight of the store truck and fuel trucks that pass over it and supply our Center!

On the Road

Then it's a ride down the windey, steep Kasam Pass, and on into the Markam Valley.  Some stretches of the road are dirt.  Some have huge potholes that the van bottomed out on (before we even had any cargo in it!).  Some are flat and still nicely paved.  You never know what might be around the next corner!

After leaving Ukarumpa at 6am, we arrived in Lae around 9.  With a quick stop to pick up purchase orders and use the toilet, the shopping began.  Many of us ordered meat in bulk, so we went to that store and dropped off the coolers we  had brought with us.  Even though we had faxed our orders in several days before, nothing had been done.  So we re-submitted our meat orders and then left to continue shopping.

Our next stop was to pick up some more bulk orders of cheese and staples like milk powder and sugar.  We found out that the cheese had expired last October, but it was in the freezer, so we figured, "Why not".  Then the other bulk store was completely out of the 25kg bags of milk powder.  That was a disappointment to those who were hoping to get that!

We then headed to Brian Bell, which always feels like stepping into a "sort of" American store.  There's air conditioning, appliances, kitchen items, and other nice things!  I found a mop there, and a few other fun things that hadn't been on my list.

By this time, we were all hungry, so we headed to the Yacht Club for lunch.  It's situated right on the water and had a nice breeze.  It was fun to get a chance to eat out, as that is pretty nearly impossible, unless you are in a big town like Madang or Lae.

Then we headed to the food stores to get items that we haven't been able to find recently in our store.  I got cheap cereal, diapers and wipes, Betty Crocker cake mixes for 5 Kina each (like $2.50?), and a variety of other things.  After our food shopping, we headed back to pick up our meat order and then swing by the SIL Guesthouse one last time to turn in paper work and have our last bathroom stop.

That van was PACKED by the time we headed home!  But I think most of us got most of the things we were looking for, plus a few other goodies as well. =)

Elijah came with us, and he was a great little guy!  He had a few times where he got tired of being in the carseat, or hungry, but overall, he was a happy little guy!  He did have one moment where I was in line at one of the grocery stores, and he decided he'd had enough of shopping and was ready to eat. 

Can you see what's written on our windshield?  I was kinda glad I didn't see this until AFTER we had safely arrived in Lae!

 Attempting to get some shots of the roads around Lae:

 The van, packed for our trip back home:

 And then of course, a few pictures of this cute little guy, to finish off the post!

The 6 of us (+ Elijah)  made it home shortly after 6pm, exhausted, but thankful for a great day of shopping and spending time with good friends!  And thankful to Charlie who drove us and was a huge help in knowing where to to go and pick things up! =)