Welcome to Timor-Leste, my
118th Visit and 113th Run UN Country. Thank you for waiting for the first post since internet in East-TImor is very slow in the Capital and non-existent in most other places I stayed.
TIMOR-LESTE means Timor Island East. LESTE is the word for EAST in the language of the biggest ethnic group called TETUM. The word TIMOR was given by Indonesia and is the name of an early chief.
East Timor comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, of which the western half is administered by Indonesia. East Timor was settled by waves of Melanesian and Papuan peoples dating back 42,000 years, which are reflected in the country's diverse mix of cultures and languages. East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975. The Portuguese were looking for minerals like gold and by 1975 they gave up hope and left the island. Up until 1975 the Portuguese occupation of the eastern half of Timor was called PORTUGUESE TIMOR whilst the Indonesian western half was called INDONESIAN TIMOR. The Indonesians tracked the Portuguese disinterest and 9 days later after the Portuguese left the Indonesians invaded the east and occupied it until 1999. In this period there have been 183,000 recorded deaths of East-Timorese, mostly civilians. Australia sent journalists to East Timor in 1975 to tell the story of their annexation to Indonesia and sadly died in Balibo, a place you will soon see. In 1999, a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory. On 20 May 2002, “Portuguese Timor” became Timor-Leste, the first new sovereign state of the 21st century.
Up until now, Timor-Leste remains relatively poor (40% of the population live on less than $2USD per day), with an economy that relies heavily on natural resources, especially oil, and foreign aid. Aside from oil, coffee is one of East Timor's largest exports, and makes up a substantial percentage of its agricultural output. East Timor also remains one of the most isolated countries in the world, with roughly only 27% of the population having access to the Internet in 2017, and having a limited number of direct international flights from nearby areas such as Singapore, Bali, and Darwin. However, despite these challenges, East Timor has built a mostly successful democracy.
The population is 1.36 million, and is heavily skewed towards young people due to a high fertility rate. Education has led to increasing literacy over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the 30 indigenous languages spoken in the country. Almost everyone (97%+) is Catholic, which coexists alongside strong local traditions and beliefs, especially in rural areas.
I travelled to Timor-Leste with my travel buddy Maureen Lubinsky. We first met and travelled together through South America in 2011 for 3 months. In 2013 we drove Route 66 plus a number of other US routes in a convertible Ford Mustang. For this trip, I flew to Brisbane, picked up Maureen and we flew to Darwin. We overnighted there to catch the 630am flight to Dili (the capital of Timor-Leste) the following day.
Dili is only 65min flying time from Darwin across the Timor Sea. When the island of Timor emerged outside my window I could not believe how mountainous it was. Those mountains hit the sea on all corners. The approach into Dili is spectacular – you fly just offshore with views of the city and background mountains before you hit the runway. Dili has a population of 277,488 and is situated on the north coast.
Maureen and I were picked up by our driver and guide Felipe in a 4-wheel drive Mitsubishi Pajero and we reached out hotel in 15min. Dili has its own look. It is unlike any other capital. The streets are rundown with many street sellers. There is poverty here with many rundown buildings still painted in the faded colours of colonial Portugal. The ocean is vibrant blue-green and Dili is surrounded by high hills sparsely covered in trees that look like an elephants back. The landscape is not lush. In fact Timor-Leste has no rainforest – only wooded bushland at best but most of it is bare and savannah like just like southern Africa.
We dropped our gear off at our coastal hotel and ventured into the city by car. Our hotel was basic and reminded us of the early Balinese wooden huts, clean and colourful with a clean central pool.
Dili itself is tiny by Australian standards and you can get around from site to site in minutes. We set out at 8am and returned at 3pm having seen the following many many attractions: Government Palace, the Casa Europa (the European House, a former colonial garrison), Santa Cruz Cemetery, Taibessi Market, Díli Catholic Cathedral, Presidential Palace, Praia dos Coqueiros (New Suburb Embassies), Farol Residential Quarter, Cristo Rei Beach, Cristo Rei Statue of Christ, Mesquite An-Nur Mosque, Ministry of Finance, Dili Harbour Lighthouse, Motael Church, Santa Cruz Massacre Monument, Dili Park, St John Paul II University, Our Lady of Fatima Seminary.
The weather is cool in the mornings but quickly heats up with rising humidity, surprisingly nowhere near Darwin’s. I liked the temperature and humidity of Dili. One surprise was the HUGE Chinese ship (Liner) that had pulled up at Dili Port to offer FREE medical and dental services for the people of Dili. China is heavily involved in Timor-Leste. Ad per usual story they are building roads, office towers and hospitals in exchange for a share of the rich offshore reserves of oil and onshore reserves of natural gas. Nothing wrong with that.
The highlight attraction for me was the Christo Rei Statue and Beach situated on cape approx. 15km from the city and overlooking it and the surrounding blue-green sea. Cristo Rei is a 27m tall statue of Christ much like in Rio made of copper and with open arms embracing and blessing the entire Dili. It takes only 15min to climb the 580 steps with the 12 stations of the Cross along the way. Very moving. The view from the top is to die for and is a 360 degree bonanza. The only way to beat this “heavenly” experience was a 1.75km swim along Cristo Rei beach at the base of the statue, which features much coral, but nowhere near as colourful as the best I have seen in other parts of the world.
By the time I got back to the hotel, I was fading fast, especially after a 4am rise that day and a long ocean swim. Nothing that a good bottle of wine cannot fix !!! Thank God I found heaps at the local supermarket along with the Golfco Pictures staples of olives and cheese. Tonight, Maureen treated me to a fabulous Japanese feast overlooking the bay. Dili is famous for diving and like Micronesia is mostly run by Japanese owned dove shops employing local people – excellent. Even though Japan invaded and occupied Dili from 1943-1945 they visit Timor-Leste in droves hence the presence of this very authentic restaurant in a city that is quickly finding its feet and inviting the world to visit it.
Please visit Dili now with me and enjoy the images of a country that struggled to find independence…
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