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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EAST TIMOR - MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Me and My New Besties

Local Praying at a Virgin Mary Statue

Timor Leste flag waving proudly on the street

What an amazing country Timor Leste is, I haven't had this same feeling for a country since I volunteered in Cambodia 10 years ago. From the custom officials at the building they call an international airport to the little old lady that grabbed my hand adoringly and wouldn't let go (no, she didn't ask for money). The people here are sensational. For a country that has so recently seen such hardship, everyone is so upbeat. 

 

There is an odd dynamic here though because it feels like there would be no foreigners around and yet it is full of them. They are mostly Aid, UN and government workers. There are very few foreigners here for tourism and the tourist infrastructure is hard to navigate.

Everything in the shops seem to be from elsewhere. Packaged food and drinks are imported from Europe to Australia and everywhere in between. Possibly part of the reason this country is so expensive.

The currency is in USD, I went to buy a towel from a standard local shop, the price said $18.50. I don't understand how a person living in a bamboo hut can afford to spend $18.50 on a towel. I thought the price might be a mistake, I didn't ask because my tetum is rusty (actually non-existent). Nearly 40% of the population in East Timor live below the intentional poverty line

 

The only big, nice buildings in Dili are government departments or foreign embassies. Lots of the embassies are beach front. They would be prime real estate anywhere else in the world.

 

There is something about this place that has so much charm. I think the most important thing in a country is the people, secondly the food, then the sights. This order only changes when the sights or the food is mind blowing. So far, on first impressions, the people in East Timor absolutely make the place.  

 

I'm off to go and look at a statue of Jesus at sunset!

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