Day 7- August 12th

Our flight to Lae was scheduled for 8 am. The flight connected through Hoskins airport, and then from there we departed for Lae at 9:20 am. 

We all woke up at 5:30, which no one was happy about. As soon as our alarm clocks went off, we all groaned except for Sarah who was still in a deep sleep. Reluctantly, we got ready as quickly as we could. We only had time to grab some Ritz crackers, that we packed before our airport shuttle arrived. We all drifted into periods of sleep, only to suddenly wake up again when the shuttle occasionally jolted. Finally, we reached the airport. We thanked the driver and grabbed our belongings. By now, we were used to the process so we checked in our bags, went through security, and found our gate. We waited for about 45 minutes. Most of the time we slept. Ayesha was trying to connect to the WiFi, so she could access Instagram and Snapchat. At 7:50 am, we boarded our plane.

The plane ride was fairly short. It was only 50 minutes long. Sierra was upset since there wasn't TV on the flight. A lot of us spent the time sleeping, reading, or just staring out into the distance. The plane landed at the Hoskins airport at 8:50 am. We only had 30 minutes to get to our next gate, so we rushed to get all of our luggage. As we were walking towards our gate, Jessie exclaimed that we only had five minutes until our plane was to depart. We immediately broke into a run and reached our gate with only two minutes to spare. We hurried onto the plane and settled in our seats.

A view of the airport from our plane window.

At 9:20 am, we left for Lae. This flight’s duration was longer than the previous one at 1 hour and 20 minutes. Again, there wasn't much we could do. We read magazines that were located in the seat pockets in front of us. Ayesha talked to Sarah about what else we had left to see. We engaged in deep conversations that were similar to the ones you would have late at night with your friends. We also drank and ate the free refreshments and snacks that the flight attendants gave us. Eventually, we arrived at Lae at approximately 10:40 am. 

Our hotel from the outside. 

As we grabbed our baggage, we became aware of how hungry we were. After all, we only ate Ritz crackers and the free peanuts and pretzels that were given to us on the plane. We decided to eat after dropping our luggage off at our hotel, Hotel Morobe. We had already booked three rooms to accommodate all five of us. We called a taxi to pick us up from the airport and drop us off at our hotel. We quickly threw our bags on the beds and rushed back out to call another taxi to take us to The City Cafe in the Lae City Hotel.   

We reached the restaurant at 11:30 pm. At this point, we were starving. After choosing a place to sit, Katelin began by ordering the fried Kway Teow. Jessie ordered the City Cafe Burger, Ayesha got the Grilled Salmon Fettuccini, Sarah ordered the Wonton Noodle Soup, and Sierra got the Yang Chow Fried Rice. Our lunch was delicious, except Katelin complained that there was a deficiency of chicken and prawns in her food. 

Outside the university

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Technology): With full stomachs, we headed out and took a taxi to the Papua New Guinea University of Technology. We were all excited to see what education was like here. The clear, blue skies and green grass welcomed us from outside the building. We walked down the sidewalk and passed a tapestry that hung by the walkway. Finally, we entered the university. 

The inside of the building was just as nice as it was outside. Ahead of us, there was a visitors desk. We approached the lady behind the counter and kindly asked for her more information about the university. We learned that the university was the second biggest university in Papua New Guinea, and the only technological university in the South Pacific (besides Australia and New Zealand). The school plays a vital role in contributing to the development of the country. It started out with just 37 students, but it now has over 2,000 and the number is growing every year. 


We also asked her what we could do around here. The lady told us the facilities and services were open to the public. She also said we should check out the haus tambaran-style (spirit house) coffeehouse, the 36 Sepik-style carved pillars, and the parks and gardens that surround the buildings. We thanked her and began heading back out. As we were walking down the hallway, we could see pictures of graduations and athletes.         

A picture we saw in the hallway.

Once outside, we started towards the spirit house/coffeehouse. We thought it looked pretty cool. It had a resemblance to the spirit houses we saw on TV during the Ambunti Crocodile festival. We sat down on the seats underneath the roof. We didn't want any coffee, since we all were still stuffed from lunch. After spending about 10 minutes there, we headed over to the pillars.

The spirit house/coffeehouse.

The 36 Sepik-style carved pillars were located in the Duncanson Hall. We thought they were interesting, but both Jessie and Ayesha thought they looked creepy. We examined the various designs and objects that were carved into the pillars and then left to wander around in the parks and gardens.       

A Sepik-style carved pillar.

The grounds had colorful flowers and plants and added to the reputable image of the university. It felt nice to walk around in the gardens together. At 4 pm, we hailed a taxi to take us back to our hotel. We were tired and wanted some rest. After arriving, we walked up to our rooms and plopped on the beds. Sierra and Katelin immediately slept, while the others switched on the TV to see what was on.

A sign telling us where the Bunga Raya Restaurant is located.

At around 7 pm, we headed out for dinner. We told the taxi driver to take us to the Bunga Raya Restaurant. It was the only Chinese restaurant in Lae and was next to the Lae Golf Club. We heard some really good reviews from this restaurant. Ayesha really wanted to go here, because supposedly it had very good seafood. 

We entered and picked a table to sit at. The waiter soon took our orders. Ayesha got the Coconut King Prawn. Jessie and Sarah ordered the Sizzling M. Lamb, and Katelin and Sierra got the Pata Pork. 

We ate our food, savoring each tasty bite. Ayesha practically forced us to eat some of her prawns, because according to her, they were really good. The rest of us took a bite and nodded our heads in agreement.

After finishing our dinner, we rode a taxi back to our hotel, got ready for bed, and called it a day.