TIMOR BIRTHDAY WEEK

Diving up the Coast

Santa Cruz Cemetary, Site of the Massacre in 1991



View of Dili and beaches from Cristo Rei  (Jesus statue)



Pre-Sunset



Birthday Donut (candle and all) at the Backpackers, with good people




It was my Birthday week last break, kind of last minute I decided to go to Timor Leste (East Timor) instead of diving in Komodo as first planned. I was already in Bali and tried to book flights online at around midnight to no avail, so rocked up to the airport with cash the next morning and got the first flight to Dili.
When I first arrived I spoke to lots of different foreigners, I established that time restraints make traveling in East Timor near impossible. Busses will run sporadically if at all and there are many routes where the only reliable transport is with a private driver.

So I spent the week as always, diving, eating and also looking around Dili. I went up the coast about an hour and a half to some really amazing dive sites. The coral is so alive, it reminded me of the start of Finding Nemo - so many vibrant colours. On my birthday I went diving local, looking for the resident dugong. I had no luck seeing George, but saw my first big seahorse (I saw Pygmy seahorses that day before) and had 'fake' clownfish try and chase me away from their babies. These fish seriously thought they were huge and didn't realise actually how small and non-threatening they were.

I spent a lot of the rest of my time looking at the sights and learning about Timor's volatile history. Sounds grim but at the same time it's refreshingly positive at how forgiving and how excited the Timorese are for the future.I discovered early on in the Trip, that they do not have their own beer, but I guess they have better things to do.

 East Timor is not an easy trip, but was a very rewarding one. I will go back, for longer next time.


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