This was a pleasant read, even without any photos, I got a pretty good feel of your surroundings, and the life in Papua.

Its interesting what you said about haggling, I have experienced something similar here in Ecuador. If you're in a touristic area you better haggle. If you are in a more rural residential area, haggling too much can be seen as taking advantage of the locals... and yes things can even be more expensive than the city, because of the delivery cost, but it is what it is. The most important thing to do is build a relationship with the shops you go to - this ensures that they don't attempt to upcharge you.