Cairns, Australia

The above picture is Cairns from the plane.
Cairns is in their winter months and so the weather is really pleasant without humidity. There are a lot of Japanese here. I have been able to shop for all the items I think I may need in PNG. Things are not cheap here. Prices are like England. So far Australia reminds me of the States. People are friendly, things are sold in bulk, food seems similar to American food, they sell lots of american stuff, they even have Target here. At Cairns airport I was targeted (it seems like they were only picking on me)---3 different people approached me whilst waiting for luggage to see my passport and papers. Then a dog came over to sniff at my stuff and ok this other person. But there were a lot more other people there exc they were all white but me. Hmm.......

I saw aborigines people for the first time too. They look like the people in the documentaries.

Well tomorrow is the BIG day. I'm flying out of Cairns to Papua New Guinea. I will first fly to Moro which takes about 2.5 hours. Then transfer to another plane and fly to Gobe. Then I will stay overnight in Gobe. The next day I will be driven by the oil company on oil company road to Kikori where I will be base for four months.

Saying goodbye to Ingo at Changi Airport (Singapore) was a lot harder than I anticipated. At least it's only about 130 days apart.

Don't know when I can write and update blog once I'm in PNG. But Ingo said he was going to add some Vietnam pictures for your pleasure.