Port Moresby was just a few streets with two roads leading a few kilometers out into the jungle. There was practically nothing to do and almost nowhere to go. There were a couple of banks, which had all been robbed since my arrival, a bar or two and a fried chicken joint next to my crappy hotel, where I felt as if I was hiding.
Law and order was one of the major problems facing PNG. The problem encompassed everything from tribal wars and modern corruption, to personal violence. The impact of westernization and the failure of economic development and education aided to the problem.
Tribal wars are not necessarily regarded as a breakdown of law and order, but as the process by which law and order is re-established. Looting a store may be seen as division of a "big man's" estate. A man who would not dream of cheating someone in his village might be proud of robbing someone from a rival tribe and feel free from any restraints in a strange city.
Although I have little good to say about Port Moresby, there is a wonderful deep-water harbor, circled by coral reefs and dotted by small islands, making it a spectacular place for diving and snorkeling. - 1989