Members of the PNG met service, who were all extremely nice, picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the met office each morning. The drive was only a few minutes, but it was long enough to see a level of destitution I have not seen before. I know it’s trite to say that travelling gives you a great deal of perspective in how your own live compares, but to see it with one’s own eyes is a level beyond the descriptions you hear from others. It really brought home how lucky I am.
It also brought home how lucky I am to live somewhere that doesn’t have malaria. We had to take malaria tablets before, during and after the trip, and were told to make sure we had insect repellant on whenever we were outside for an extended period. The repellant plus sunscreen meant I was pretty greasy for most of the day. It didn’t help that the weather at the time — temperatures in the low 30’s°C and a really high dew point — meant that a great deal of sweat was added to the mix.
We were to spend two days in each country. The first day was mainly presentations, and the second was a demo of the catalogue, given by myself. Seeing the various working spaces of each met service was an enjoyable part of the trip, despite the fact that we were effectively working in an office. At least they weren’t as drab as those you’d see in a standard office building.
We spend both days in one of the larger working spaces, which I believe was where the climatologists worked. The mains power supply was a bit of an issue; we had a few black-outs which lasted a couple of minutes, and one that lasted a good couple of hours. Each one would trigger all the UPSes, which will beep and make noise the whole time the lights were off. They would also turn off the AC, and with the hot weather, you can imagine how uncomfortable it got after a while. Having a regular power supply was another thing I learnt to appreciate.