It's Sunday..... Not going to town today.

Hi everyone,

I don't think I will be going into town today. We worked later than expected and everyones tired. I do have some pictures taken from the car. Yesterday we went to check on a job site at the airport and was unable to stop so I shot some pictures from the car. Sorry their a little blurry.

This picture is the road we take back to camp every day. There is some pavement but mainly potholes. YES, they drive on the left over here. I don't have my PNG drivers license yet so I don't drive. Sometime next week I will go to town and get my License for PNG. Can't wait to try and drive on the left.

Along the road is this village area we drive through. These houses are up on stilts and very rustic.

Here is a house and land where a large family lives.

This is the countryside in the low lands. Most of the trees are exotic trees, teak for one, Banana trees are everywhere here also.

When I went downtown for work we couldn't stop so the pictures are somewhat blurry. This is a corner store near the middle of town.

On the road back from town we took a shortcut past the city dump. All the trash piled up is burnt and the fire can be seen at night. This picture is of the smoldering dump area. If you look close there is a little boy playing at the top of the pile. Across from the dump there are shacks with families living there. The smoke is thick around there houses and very dirty. I couldn't get a picture this trip through maybe later.

WOW... I found my little friend the lizard. Actually it is a small Gecko. He's in the window right in front of me laying in the shade. I think I'll name him "Henry". We was in my room then I couldn't find him. He is sitting between the glass and the screen. I had the window open a little last night and he must have crawled out of the room and got stuck there. In the evening there are a lot of bugs flying and some can get through the screen, so, I assume he is eating well. As soon as my battery on the camera charges I'll get a picture of Henry.

That's it for today.
ken

It's been a week already....

I'll start by saying thank you for the comments and emails. It help to feel at home.

Since I'm not able to get out and about yet I have some pictures of where I work. Our offices are back in a corner lot behind a large cement batching plant. It area has been cleared of trees and brush to keep the snakes, animals, and mosquitoes away. This time of year start the hot rainy season. The humidity is high and the mosquitoes are thick after 6pm. All of our cloths are specially treated with a chemical to repel mosquitoes and other insects.

This is looking East to the sunrise toward the batching plant in front of our area. The company is Wagner Construction from Australia.

Here is our offices and yard where I work. Were we are located we get a breeze of the ocean cooling it down a bit. Today was not bad, only got to 94 degrees.

This is our equipment yard where we store our rental equipment. We supply other contractors with drivers and equipment on an as needed basis. We have a crew of 50 employees working on five different job sites in the area. Some of the crew I have never met because of their location.

This is looking through one end of the shop area. We do welding, parts fabracation and repairs for our equipment and others.

Today we poured a new concrete pad and walkways near the shop. Here are a few guys we pulled in to work the concrete. We hire mainly nationals for our work crews. The average pay is nine Kina per hour and there are a couple of foremen that get fifteen Kina per hour. One Kina is equal to .43 cents US. So the average is $3.87 per hour. The guy in the blue shirt and white hat is "Chet" our boss.

And here's my buddy Jodan. He is our purchasing agent in the office. Jodan lives in the city now but came from a tribe far back in the mountains. Up until 20 years ago he had never seen a white person, a car, or a city. He has some real interesting stories about his life.

It's 8:30pm and 85 degrees. Time for bed. We work 7 days a week here with a short day on Sunday. WHOOOO ! get to rest tomorrow.

ken

HI Everybody

Just got home from work. Not a bad day it was only 102 deg heat index with the humidity. Tonight the sunset was remarkable. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera today. Spent most of the afternoon in the office on paper work.

I have to show you this sign at the coffee stand that in Brisbane. All the coffee stands, restaurants and eatery places serve liquor. These signs are at each place.

Here are a few pictures I have of coming into Port Morsesby. I was in a car taking the pictures and was unable to stop.

This is the road into town from the airport.

This is a residential area just outside of Port Morsesby.

A view across of the city from the freeway.

A view of the bay. The ship is old and rusty sitting in the water.

Along the road are these trees with the roots exposed.

Well there are a few more pictures for you to see. I am taking my camera to work and will be posting those later. This Sunday I will be going into Port Morseby to see the sights. One of the other workers is going to take us to a street market and around town. It should be a lot of fun.

Take care all,
ken

A few pictures of the trip over

I thought I would put up some pictures of the first part of the trip over the water. The flight to LA was as usual I had a window seat on Quntas air however, traveling at night theres not much to see.

Early morning sunrise as I approached Brisbane. The sunrise lasted for about 30 minutes because we were flying away from the sun.

This picture is of the plane I flew in. WOW !! I'm in Brisbane Australia.

This is looking one way down the airport.

This is looking the other way.

This is a coffee cafe that I had lunch at. I had a Pananini and a 8oz coffee - $14.50.

The blog will only let me upload this many pictures so I'll up load more tomorrow. OH, the weather is hot and muggy the last couple of days. It's been in the 90's with 85% humidity. I've been drinking a lot of water here in PNG.

Will write later. Have to get up at 3:45 am to be at work at 5:00 and prepare for meetings.
ken

Fun times in PNG

Well Here I am sitting in my room 27 deg Celsius (81 degrees F) and it's 8:00 pm at night. The days are long and hot at work however, the time goes by fast. It's hard to work with the locals because of the trust and respect thing but each day it gets better. I have one guy working under me right now and soon to have two more. I am trying to get pictures uploaded to the blog but the Internet connection is poor. If the pictures come through it will be of where I am living.

This picture is of my bathroom area. I have a private shower and toilet the back with the sink in the room.

Looking at the other end is my bed, desk, TV with cable and refrigerator.

This is the outside of the unit I am staying in.










I do have an air-conditioner in my room also. OH, and I have a little lizard running around inside I can seam to get a picture of; he won't hold still long enough.

Well time to go. I have to be up at 4 am for work. will write later.
ken

The adventure to Papua New Guinea begins .

After many days of shots, paperwork, and tests I finally have a ticket to my destination in Papau New Guinea. On suggestion from my new company, I packed two months worth of clothes into two carry-on bags. What a challenge to pick only the essentials for the trip. I have a camera, a laptop and some music and enough underwear to last for the duration. The company supplies outer garments and the laundry service washes daily, so no need to pack much.

My flight leaves from Seattle at 6:25pm.I have one stop in LA for a couple of hours, then off to to Brisbane Australia. Short stop in Brisbane, then on to PNG (Papua New Guinea) for work. Even though I leave on a Friday, I arrive on Sunday about 2:00pm. The time zone is a confusing issue.

Well that's the start of the trip. When I get settled in, I update the blog with pictures and more information.