Shopping in Papua New Guinea is always an adventure—you never know what you might find!
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| Would you like a bag of MSG? |
Often there might only be one kind of item that you are looking for...but sometimes, like in this aisle of tuna, there can be more varieties than you have ever imagined!
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| I had no clue there could be entire aisles dedicated to tuna... |
When you do see something you like, it’s important to buy as much of it as you want—because it could be months before the store would get it in stock again. Knowing exactly what you are buying can sometimes be tricky—because the food might be labelled in only one of several different languages, including English, Bahasa Indonesian, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Chinese, and Thai.
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| My friend, Hanna, tries to read some labels...and then just takes her best guess! |
In June, I travelled to Lae, a port city about 4 hours away, where there are more stores and variety of products than we might find in the nearby town of Kainantu. Lae even had gluten-free items, and so I attempted to buy enough supplies to last me until my next potential trip to Lae—probably next year!
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| Look at our receipt! |
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| A year's worth of food means lots of packing into boxes before we can go home! |
