Getting home

This trip was not supposed to include an aerial tour of northern Australia, but it seems only fitting that this story have one more chapter.

As instructed, I arrived at Moresby Airport at 6AM to find out if and when I was going to get home. The customer service desk was dark, and the only people to be seen were security guards and a few other unfortunate travelers in pursuit of solutions. So, we waited.

There's not much going on at the Port Moresby airport, especially at this time of day. So, when a large, angy man stormed into the airport yelling and waving his hands, it was a bit of a surprise. He was yelling in a language that I didn't understand and was looking (and walking) in my direction. He pulled off his shirt and threw it on the ground. Airport security stood and watched. The woman standing behind me, I would learn, was his wife. The half naked man and his wife proceeded to carry out their domestic dispute in public - with him physically intimidating her every time she spoke. Security stood around and did nothing. And, so did I.

The customer service desk finally opened at sometime after 7AM. I can't be sure of the exact time, since the airport clocks would only agree within about a half hour of each other. By some miracle (very likely someone else's misfortune), a spot became available to travel to Singapore today. The catch - I would need to travel to Australia first, then stand by for a flight to Singapore. By now intimately familiar with the airports of Papua New Guinea, I jumped at the opportunity for a new venue.

12 hours and two Australian cities later, I arrived home to Singapore. The moral of the story is that if you are traveling to PNG, you should travel with time.