Shopping in Papua New Guinea
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PNG Diabetic Centre
Laugh all your want, but PNG Diabetic Centre is a treasure trove for artefact-hunters, with masks, necklaces, shells, carvings and other souvenirs aplenty. It's run by Paul Schwartz, who also works as a 'diabetes counciller', policeman and, should you need to boost your morale, a psychotherapist.
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Hagen market
The Hagen market is one of PNG's biggest and most varied (Saturday is the big day). It's the best place to buy bilums and Highland hats. There's also a vast range of fresh produce on sale and if you're lucky you may also see cuscus, pigs and birds trussed up on poles or in enclosures.
It's busy each day and thieves work the crowd. They're mostly kids working in tandem - one might distract you while another snatches a bag or wallet. The atmosphere in the market can be edgy, and the best way to make friends is to buy stuff.
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main market
The main market, at the west end of the town's main shopping strip is pretty colourful thanks to the multitude of umbrellas used to shade the merchants. There are a few bilums (string bags) and occasionally, some small trinkets for sale; otherwise it's largely all local produce on offer. The dried fish can get fairly 'ripe' in the hot sun but it's worth poking around here to see if anyone has brought in a live baby crocodile to sell - usually with its snout tied shut.
This is also the main PMV stop.
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UPNG Bookshop
Sadly, there is only one decent bookshop in Port Moresby: the UPNG Bookshop and even that shop stocks mostly coursework materials and academic texts. Top-end hotels have a few overpriced books and there are a couple of duty-free shops at the airport (past Immigration) that have some decent books on PNG. Make sure you bring your own reading material because you can't even buy a trashy airport novel in Port Moresby.
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market
The open-air market is interesting to walk through. It's very busy on Saturday, but colourful any day and you'll see piles of potatoes and exotic leafy greens as well as more familiar tomatoes, capsicums and avocados. Bilums and Highland hats are sold, as are spools of intensely colourful twines and strings used in bilum manufacture. Watch out for pickpockets.
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Melanesian Arts Gallery & Tour Agency
Beside the old airstrip, the Melanesian Arts Gallery & Tour Agency is crammed from floor to rafter with an excellent array of artefacts. Beside the obligatory penis gourds you can pick up items from all over PNG including Sepik masks, Highland shields and Tami Island bowls. Prices are reasonable and shipping can be arranged.
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Yalaka village
Yalaka village sells striking lime pots that are small and easy to carry. These gourds are decorated with a distinctive black pattern that runs around the girth of the gourd and fitted with a boar's tusk stopper. Most pots are costed depending on size and quality, and a must for the discerning betel nut chewer.
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Handicrafts Market
Boroko's dusty central square is the best place to buy bilums, Highland hats, carvings, kina-shell breast plates, shell jewellery and the like. Moresby's sellers are used to the ways of tourists and will happily engage in some friendly negotiation, but protracted haggling is considered rude.
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Market
Bilbil clay pots are a local speciality, Highlanders come down with some bilums (string bags) and hats, and you'll see Bukaware and items from the Sepik. Have a look through the market, which also has fruit and vegetables as well as some clothing, and local shell jewellery.
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Le Riche Colours
It's worth stopping at Le Riche Colours if you're after some original souvenirs. Artist Nathalie Le Riche has very colourful hand-painted T-shirts, tribal stickers, gifts cards, placemats and other gifts that feature tribal portraits, market scenes and underwater compositions.
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Dive Milne Bay
Trobriand Islanders come to Alotau to sell their carvings and they'll find you around town. Dive Milne Bay has the town's best collection of Trobriand lime pots, walking sticks and bowls; all reasonably priced. There are small handicraft shops at the top hotels.
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Andersons Foodland
This supermarket is on the pricey side, but well stocked, including a wide selection of Australian imports. It also houses a neat kai bar just past the entrance, which rustles up tasty toasted sandwiches and stews. Good ice-creams too.
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Ela Beach Craft Market
This is the best market in PNG, with all the paintings, carvings, baskets, shells and weavings you can poke a koteka(penis gourd) at. Barbecued food and traditional dancers (about 10:00) contribute to the carnival atmosphere.
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artefacts shop
There's an artefacts shop near Mendi Motors that sells hand-loomed products, baskets and weapons. Mendi dolls make a good buy, although they are now rarely in the traditional designs, which had religious significance.
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Ralf Stüttgen
Ralf Stüttgen has a vast array of Sepik carvings collected over a lifetime with pieces from 50 different villages. His artefacts are for sale, or he can tell you where to buy particular pieces on the river.
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Kavieng Market
The bustling Kavieng Market has a good range of fresh fruit and vegetables including the giant, yellow hand grenade-like pandanus fruit. You'll also find several well-stocked supermarkets in town.
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Ning's Trading
Apart from its friendly people, there is little else to recommend Kerema. As a stop on a journey into the interior, however, it does have a useful couple of trade stores, including Ning's Trading.
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PNG Arts
The long-running PNG Arts warehouse has a huge collection of wares from all over the country. The prices are reasonable, credit cards are accepted and freight and documentation can be organised.
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Kreer market
There are several other markets around Wewak, of which Kreer market, on the airport road just before it turns inland, is the most interesting.
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Christian Bookshop
The Christian Bookshop sells the 1:500000 East Sepik and Sandaun Provinces detailing the Sepik in all its coiled, twisted glory.
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Cash & Carry
The large Cash & Carry stocks pretty much everything you might need, including bush knives, kerosene lamps, food, and clothing.
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Food Mart
You will think you have died and gone to supermarket heaven at Food Mart, especially if you have just come in from the bush.
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trade stores
Limited food and, mercifully, beer is usually available from Kokoda's trade stores; send a runner ahead to organise ice.
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Bwetalu village
Bwetalu village produce particularly fine stools although these can be quite bulky and difficult to transport.
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Nuigo market
There is also Nuigo market which sells buai, pitpit and sometimes woven pandanus satchels.
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