Article - APR 16 2004

A Good Ambassador for PNG

(Post Courier, Friday April 16, 2004 )

Motorbike adventurer Frank Butlerset out on an "around the world on a motorbike" adventure on his trusted Mr Beem early last year. He passed through Papua New Guinea and documented his journey in the Post-Courier. And after some hair raising experiences through Asia and Europe, he has reached England. From there, he plans to travel to Ireland, then to Russia - and a special trip to the African continent. Since leaving Papua New Guinea on his trip around the world, Mr Beem (the name of the author's motorbike) has been to many countries and met many, many people. As in PNG, wherever he stopped he has been the centre of attention and attraction.

Whether it be in remote mountain villages in Vietnam or in huge cities like Istanbul in Turkey, his "PNG AS 176" number plate has always been the main topic of inquiry.

"Where have you come from," people would ask him. When he tells them that he has come from a ruggedly beautiful island in the Pacific, they always look astonished and ask about the place and its people. They ask about what the people eat, if their food is the same as theirs, what they look like, what god they believe in, whether they are Christian, Muslim or Buddhism.

They are always interested in the children and what games they play, and the kind of houses they live in.

They find it hard to believe that PNG has more than 700 languages and the people are so incredibly different in their culture and appearance - and that PNG is such a big place.

Then they will ask if he has any pictures of this mystical place where the seas are unspoiled and the beaches go for miles with barely another person in sight.

The people also ask if the island country has snow-capped mountains. They want to know if it has elephants and if each family has a water buffalo! Older people are curious about the crops that are grown, if they have many rice paddies - or if they grow maize or wheat.

One man at a Singapore zoo asked if Papua New Guinea has Orangutans, and when he was told no, but that they do have many Birds of Paradise, he looked into the sky and said it must be a beautiful place and that the people must be very proud to be able to call such a place their home. He was right.

During the past year, Mr Beem has visited, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Burma. Then he flew to Nepal and visited India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece. He took a ship to Italy and drove to France and then to England.

In each of these places he was able to act as a travelling ambassador for Papua New Guinea and to create awareness of a country that so many have never heard of. And for this privilege he would like to thank all of the people of PNG - and in particular, Post-Courier, Global Internet, Bridgestone Tyres, Warner Shand, Brian Bell, Danneille Vincent and a host of other individuals that helped to make this trip possible.

Next, Mr Beem will be visiting Ireland and then make a special trip to Russia followed by a trip through Africa. If readers would like to send any special messages to the people of the world, Mr Beem would be happy to be your messenger.

You can write to him at:
Mr Beem, 196 Richmond Avenue, London N1 0LS, England.