Day 13-August 18th

Today we left Papua New Guinea and headed back home. Our group was very sad to leave this beautiful country. We experienced all of the wonders of this vibrant nation. Ayesha was homesick and was glad to get out of the mosquito-infested country. The rest of the group was upset that we had to leave so soon. Jessie said that she would love to come back with her family even though it cost so much money to get there. The culture that we experienced was like nothing in America, and we were looking forward to coming back again. With their colorful body paint, tribal dances, and kind nature, the people of Papua New Guinea helped us understand their culture and how they live their lives.

The city of Port Moresby in which we walked through

 We all woke up really late around 10 am, except for Sierra and Katelin who slept until about 11:00. As soon as we were all up, we started grumbling about being hungry so we all walked to the Beachside Brassiere. We had already been here before, but we thought it wouldn't hurt to eat there again. While at the restaurant, we ate excellent pineapple pizza, which seemed strange for breakfast, until we took a large yet delicious first bite. 

We then walked back to the hotel, chatting all the way back. We switched on the TV in our room and found a French news channel. All of us tried to understand what the reporters were saying, but the only word we got out of the whole broadcast was 'oui' and 'baguette'. 

The security line at the Port Moresby airport.

We soon realized that it was 12:00 pm. Quickly, we packed our suitcases, checked out of our hotel, and drove our car to the airport. After dropping off our rental car, we hopped into the security line. The line for security was very long, which was unexpected for us. We finally got through security for what seemed like forever and went straight to our gate. We then boarded our plane which was heading for Brisbane. The flight took about three hours, and before we knew it we landed at 4 pm in Australian time.

We had a 4 hour and 5 minute layover which was very boring, but we had gotten the chance to read cool Australian magazines and to watch some TV shows. For supper we dined at Tuk Chop, a restaurant that had fresh and tasty food. Ayesha, Katelin, and Sarah had Pho, which was a Vietnamese dish, and Sierra and Jessie both got many orders of delicious spring rolls. 

Pho, the Vietnamese dish that Ayesha ate

We then had a very short one hour flight from Brisbane to Sydney at 8:05 pm to 9:40 pm. On this flight, we relaxed and settled down. We were all quiet since we were doing our own individual activities. Sarah, Ayesha, and Jessie were sleeping and Sierra and Katelin were reading their books. Dinner was served on this flight, which we were grateful for. We didn't want to find a restaurant in Sydney and dine there since we were all sleepy and exhausted.   

The Stamford Plaza Syndey hotel that we stayed at. 

Once we got to the Sydney airport, we began to search for our hotel. Our next flight was going to depart after a 12 hour and 10 minute layover, which is why we needed a place to stay. We decided to get the hotel that was offered by the airport, which was called the Stamford Plaza Sydney hotel. The price of lodging at this hotel was pretty high, but we were too tired to book another room in a different hotel. Once we reached our hotel rooms, we all fell fast asleep.