Steve’s Travel Blog

Hello all, it has been over 2 weeks since I wrote in the blog last and I really need to do it more often.  It is hard to go back so far and remember everything that has happened.  Good thing I have my journal to remind me.
I was very excited to get to Indonesia.  I really had no idea what to expect and so everything is going to be new and with tons of adventure.  The bus ride from Dili to Kupang takes 10 hours with plenty of stops along the way for food and bathroom breaks.  Most of the trip was pretty quiet and I sat in my seat and read for most of the time.  Crossing the border was an interesting process.  We got to Motoain on the Timor Leste side and we had to grab all our stuff and walk across the border. Once we got to the other side there was a hoard of people that swarmed me trying to get me to exchange money with them.  It was so crazy and I just told them all Tidak (No in Indonesian) and go away.  Since Timor Leste uses the USD and Indonesia uses the Rupiah they figure everyone needs money, but I was prepared for this and had some already with me.  They were giving and exchange rate of 1USD = 9000RP.  In the next town we stopped at they were giving 1USD = 9250RP and most banks ATM I get 1USD = 9400RP.  All this works out to be 1CAD = 9000RP. Okay enough about the money.  They have a long building at the border with 3 rooms and you have to go through all 3.  The first one is where they inspect your Visa and make sure it is valid.  From there you go to door #2 and this is where they inspect your luggage.  I was asked to open my backpack and they barely looked at was inside and then asked about my daypack.  I only undid one of the zippers and they say the computer and said ok and told me to move on.  I had a third small bag and they did not even look at it.  I thought it was going to be a lot harder than this. Now on to door #3 and I got my passport stamped and I was on my way.  The whole process to 5 minutes and every time I walked out of a door the same guys were still trying to get me to exchange money.  I was shuffled off to another bus, different than the first one and when everyone was back on we were on our way.  It was cloudy for most of the day and it rained some as well, so it was not great for taking pictures but I got a few.  The bus dropped me off close to my hotel for the night a place called Lavalon.  I got my room which was not much but all I really needed for 40,000RP.  They also had a bar just down the street and I knew that there was free internet there and I could get updated and it was also the place for tourist information.  Edwin who was running the place was not that helpful and his internet was down because of the rain so I made my way back to the hotel and just chilled out.  I was pretty tired from the bus ride anyway.  The next morning I got some breakfast (came with the room) and decided to walk around the town a bit.  I went up the main street for a long while and finally turned around and made my way back.  About the only thing I got accomplished was getting an Indonesian SIM card for my phone.  On the way back I stopped and picked up my computer and headed to Lavalon Bar for some internet time.  I was online for most of the afternoon making plans and chatting with whoever wanted to talk.  I also chatted with Edwin about what there was to do in Kupang and area and he told me that Kupang was just a stop over for most people and there is really nothing to do.  It would be best to make my way to the island of Flores where they have much nicer scenery and things to do. There was a boat the next day to Ende, Flores and I decided that I would take it.  There was a French lady staying at the hotel as well and she wanted to go on it as well.  The next morning I was up at 7am and the boat did not leave until 1pm so I lots of time to get ready.  We were told to be at the terminal at noon to get our tickets.  We decided to take a beno (local bus) cause we had lots of time.  Annie negotiated the deal for us and said that it would be 3000 each, which sounded really cheap.  It took the bemo forever to get us to the terminal as it dropped off a ton of others first.  When we got there and Annie gave them 3000 and they said no it was 30,000 which made more sense.  Annie would not accept paying 30000 and just gave them 3000 which they threw back out the window at her.  We started walking away and they tried to grab Annies bag but she had a tight grip on it.  We went to the window and got our tickets and one of the personnel there asked about the bemo.  We told him the story and he told us to just get on the boat and not to worry.  My ticket initially cost 93,000 but when the ticket guys came around we were sitting in what was considered 1st class and had to pay another 20000.  Annie again refused to pay so she went to the back of the boat and got a mat to sleep on.  This boat was nothing special and there were lots of bugs but again it was comfortable and all I needed.  It was not very full so I could spread out over about 5 seats and make myself a nice bed.  This was going to be an overnight boat ride and we would arrive in Ende at 7am.  Once we were on our way I made my way back to the kitchen area and asked for my dinner, they asked for my ticket which I did not have cause the ticket guys took it and now I could not get any dinner.  There was a nice man by my seat that asked me why I came back with no dinner and I told him the story and he gave me his ticket and said that he brought enough food for himself.  It was so nice of him and I thanked him and he gave me a big smile.  Dinner was okay and after I continued to read.  We had a really nice sunset to watch and even tuna jumping along side of the boat.  It started to get late and I was feeling tired so I tried to sleep.  I did quite well even with walking a few times during the night but felt rested when I got up a 6am.  We made it to Ende at 8am and when I got off the boat I was bombarded again by locals who wanted to give me a ride.  They were all asking to much money and finally agreed to pay 20,000 to get to the bus terminal.  The driver took me to the wrong place and all the drivers around there told me there were no more local busses for the day.  I knew they were lying but still needed a ride because I wanted to make it Moni that day.  I paid too much for the transport I got but oh well not much I could do at that point.  The ride was okay except for the lady beside me throwing up for half the trip.  They do not stop for this either, they just hand you a little plastic bag and when you are finished you throw it out the window.  Yes I know it sounds disgusting but that is what happens here.  One thing I noticed right away was the amount of garbage all over the place, it seems that they just throw everything on the side of the road.  I made it to Moni in good time and was dropped off at Sylvesters Homestay.  It was a fairly clean room and came cheap.  I was early enough to get a few things done as well.  I got an ojek (motorbike) ride to Mt. Kelimutu.  This was the main reason for coming toMoni and it did not disappoint.  The easy walk up the mountain was enjoyable and at the top you could look down on 3 different crater lakes.  The area was created by a huge volcano many years ago and since then the water color in each crater has been changing.  Scientists’ believe it is due to the different minerals in each lake.   The locals tell a different story.  Originally the lakes were blue, green and red.   2 are now almost the same turquoise color and the other black.  The locals believe that when someone dies their spirit goes to the lakes and if they have been good they go to the green and blue lakes and bad spirits go to the black one. It is up to everyone to make up their own mind on what to believe, all I know is that it was a cool sight to see.  After heading back to the hotel I was asked if I wanted to see a custom village by the manager of the hotel.  I said sure and the 2 of us were off on the bemo again.  We drove south out of Moni for about 1/2 hour and then stopped at a village.  There was only one traditional house here but it looked pretty neat.  From there we continued south for a long time and ended up at a village called NgGila.  There were plenty of traditional houses here and I was able to among them and take some pics.  I tried to talk to some but they did not understand any English so I just smiled and they smiled back.  The village is right on the coast and high above it so the views are spectacular.  After walking around the village we made our way back to Moni for some relaxing.
I was able to get everything completed in Moni that I wanted to the next day I headed back west for a town called Bajawa.  It was a 7 hour bus ride that was non-eventful except for when we almost hit another bus on a narrow bridge that showed up suddenly around a corner.  Everything was ok but it freaked a girl out that was near the front.  I was sitting at the back reading my booked and missed it all, which is probably a good thing.  We got into Bajawa and I booked in to a hotel called Edelweis.  It was a nice place but expensive (125,000) for what I was getting. Just to give you an idea almost all of the places here have squat toilets and bucket showers and I am quickly getting used to them.  Edelwies had a western toilet but no flushing, you had to pour water down to flush.  I pretty much chilled out for the rest of the day after the long bus ride but did meet a Dutch couple (Jacqueline & Paul).  We had discussed going trekking together the next day and found a local guide that could take us. It was early to bed so that I was ready for a good hike the next day.
We were picked up by our guide (Philip) and his driver and taken to the local market.  Philip picked out a bunch of fresh fruit and snacks for our hike and then I expected that we would have to pay but it was all included in our price.  We drove out of the city and to the starting point of the hike.  Our hike for the day went through volcanic rock areas, forest, jungle and garden areas.  We saw wild horses but no other animals along the way.  The amount of fruit and crops was amazing.  We saw mango, coconut, passion fruit, orange, vanilla, macadamia, ginger, corn, tomato, pepper, breadfruit and some others that I just cannot remember.  Philip was very informative about all the nature stuff and gave us lots stories about the culture of the people out here.  He runs an NGO (Non government organization) that is working with the villages to make their lives easier.   The villages we plan to go to are all part of it and just recently got a water system put in so they did not have to walk miles each day to get it as well as solar power.  The first story that Philip told us about was how the people came here from India and China to form the Indonesian people.  Before they got here there were aboriginal people here but they were displaced by the Indonesians and now very few aboriginals are still here.  After about 6 hours of hiking we made it to the village of Watu.  The entire village is made of traditional homes and the chief (Nicholas) gave us a tour around.  After the tour and some fun with the kids we were asked to sit on the porch of one of the homes for some food and drink.  The drink in these parts is called Arak, which is basically moonshine made from palm wine that they make from palm trees.  Arak is very, very strong to say the least and does not taste that good.  After 2 shots of the stuff I was already feeling the effects and declined to take any more.  I drank my water and was happy with that.  Several other men joined us and the women prepared the meal.  We talked as best we could and they had as many questions for us as we did for them.  They consider themselves catholic but also live by the practices taught to them from their elders.  It is a very different catholic than what I know and I think they mix the 2 practices as they see fit.  One strange part is they believe in 2 gods, the catholic god or what I understood as the sky god and an earth god that takes care of earthly things like their crops and stuff.  They did not understand me and my situation.  At 41 and not married with a bunch of kids, did not register with them and did not make sense.  They kept asking me “who keeps me warm at night” and then offered me one of their women.  I quickly declined the offer and they continued to ask.  They seem to have a lack of respect for women and they are only there to serve the men of the village.  They have to cook, clean, take care of the children and the gardens.  In their culture as people grow older it is the kids who take care of the elders as well.  If I had no kids who would take care of me when I got older?  They do not understand the western way of saving up retirement funds and taking care of ourselves.  This does not mean I want to be alone when I am older it just shows the cultural difference to the west.  The women in the village also chew what is called Betel nut.  It is the same idea as chewing tobacco but has some different effects.  I never tried any but was told it makes your head bigger, whatever that means.  The nut itself is red and thus it makes their lips red and when they smile it just is not that appealing.  The disgusting part is when they spit, which is also red and they will do it almost anywhere.  The stuff cannot be good for their gums and teeth or at least they gums and teeth I saw.  After some more conversation we were very tired and it was time for bed.  We said our goodnights and when I went to shake the chiefs had he would not shake mine.  I think I offended him when I did not drink any more Arak and turned down his offer of a woman.  I was alright with that and headed off to bed.  Our stop at the toilet included getting rid of a scorpion first so that we could go without getting bit by it.
In the morning we were given breakfast and Arak if we wanted it but we all turned it down this time.  When we left we gave Nicholas some books and pens for the kids and this time he shook my hand.  Still lots of things I would like to understand but it is sometimes hard to get the information from the people and guides.  Philip has been good but I still have a lot of questions for him.  Once we started on our way for day 2 of hiking Philip told us another story.  The people out here are called Ngada people and they live by 4 principles of life.  1. Be nice  2. Work hard  3. No gossip  4. No trouble (which includes fighting, stealing or anything like that).  They make sense to me and an easy way to live but I still trying to see how it all fits.  They are nice people but how they treat their women just does not seems that nice, the women work hard for sure and themen to when there is a project on the go but other times they just seem to sit around.  The no gossip I like, can you imagine the magazines that would not exist if we had no gossip. The no trouble covers a lot and makes sense.  If they people live by these principles then all is good but if they do not them they are removed from the tribe and that means forever.  On our hike we stopped at the next village (Mighilewa) and we could see a noticeable difference.  Everything seemed to be a little more strict here and in line.  Philip told us that Watu to an easy approach to life and this village followed more rules and the wiseman from here spoke for all 3 villages.  It is where the school for the area is and we sat in the chairs and had a short lesson trying to learn the numbers in Indonesian.  The chief here was a woman but we were told that she has very little power and the wiseman made most of the decisions.  From here we walked to the last village (Jere) and they were in the process of building an ancestor house.  The house is built when someone dies so that the spirit has somewhere to go.  They are built exactly the same every time with 7 panels across the front, one is the door and 3 on each side that are the same size.  While they are building the home a pig is sacrificed every day and since they had done the sacrifice already we were required to stay and have some of the food.  They bbqed the pork and served it with some rice and it was very good.  Philip must have told them that we did not want any Arak because it was there but never opened or offered.  After the food we made our way out of the village too many smiling faces and handshakes.  We walked down the rest of the hillside and actually I ran parts of it with 2 kids that came with us. I was in my hikers and the kids in flip flops but they were still faster than me by a long shot.  I almost fell once when I tripped slightly on a rock and thought it was better to slow down and not kill myself.  We were picked up at the bottom of the hill by the driver and drove along the ocean for a while.  We stopped at a black beach and went for a swim.  It was very refreshing and some of the locals joined us.  We had 2 gentlemen join us for the ride back to Bajawa and again I got the same questions as before about been single.  This man was also catholic but he had 4 wives and 9 kids.  He was married in the Catholic Church to his first wife and the others he got married to in the village.  I am thinking that he must be a very busy man to keep them all happy and he pretty much said as much.  We got back to Bajawa in the late afternoon and Philip invited us to his house for supper and some drinks.  We chilled out for a few hours and then got picked up by his driver.  We stopped to pick up a few beers and pop and headed to Philips.  It is very difficult to find hard liquor in these villages, they mostly drink Bintang (beer) and Arak.  We had a great evening with Philp and his other guests with lots more questions from both sides.  There were some interesting discussions but really hard to communicate because they speak very little English.
The next day was pretty much a chill out day.  I slept in and caught up on some internet stuff.  I went for lunch with Jacqueline and Paul and another girl Anouk (Dutch) who helped with the different NGO’s in the area.  We discussed the culture and the changes they are making.  I think that they will find it tough to accept western ways and not sure if they need to.  Anouk made the point that in the way they treat women they need to progress and I would agree with that.  Over the last few days I have seen so many cultural differences and have learnt so different ways to look at things, it has been interesting and fun.  One thing I have not talked about is how much fun it was to travel with Jacqueline and Paul, thay have been great fun and had many discussions along the way.  I have met lots of Dutch along my travels and they are so nice and friendly.  After lunch the 3 of us headed for what the locals called a waterfall.  We were not sure what to expect but it was a really cool place.  It was a waterfall/ hot spring/ sauna.  There were lots of locals there and even a group of nuns.   We headed a long way down and they sat in the waterfall just after the hot and cold streams came together, this way it was to not hot or cold.  It was like getting a great massage all over the body.  I found different spots so that I could get my back, shoulders and feet all massaged by the water.  We stayed there for a long while and by the time we left it was getting dark.  I took over an hour to get back to the hotel and then we decided to go for dinner.  We were not sure where we were going to go but then saw that the place next door had a band playing.  We had our dinner and listened to the band, who were friends of Philips and we had met some of them before.  After a while the one guy asked me if I wanted to come up and play with them, I said to start but they would not accept that.  I went up and they gave me a guitar and asked me what I wanted to play.  I told them anything that was easy cause I had not played in a long time again.  I started to play “Rock you like a hurricane” and they knew the song so that got played.  I started to play so blues riffs and next thing we are jamming away and just making things up as we go.  After that the bass player gave me his guitar and we jammed a little more.  I finally gave their guitars back but still sat with the band and played a bongo type drum for a few more songs.  It was a very fun night and we still got back to the hotel by midnight.  I did not book a bus early enough the previous day so I was about to have another chill day.  I really slept in and it felt great.  I got on the internet and had some great chats with some friends back home.  It was nice to catch up with them and find out some of the stuff going on there as they are all getting ready for Christmas.  Not a lot was accomplished today but still hung out with Jacqueline and Paul for parts of it.  They are headed in a different direction tomorrow and so we parted our ways that night after going and watching the band play again.
So you know where I am at, It is now the 11th of January and I have an early bus from Bajawa to Labuan Bajo.  The journey started at 7am and I got into LB at 6:30pm.  It was again a non-eventful ride and I actually read over 300 pages of another book.  I do not think I have ever read so much at one time.  When I got in I checked into the Gardena Hotel (150,000 per night) and got settled.  I went for a walk along the main street and found an ATM and a bunch of shops.  Labuan Bajo is on the far west coast of the island of Flores.  I was pretty tired from the bus ride so I got some dinner and then relaxed back at my room.
I slept in even though I went to bed early, I guess the bus ride took more out of me than I thought.  I went for a walk along main street and this time found a lot more things now that I was not walking in the dark.  I found 2 restaurants that offered free wifi and went back to the hotel to get my computer.  I spent a lot of the afternoon on the internet catching up with friends and sending emails to family to set up a few chats for the next day.  It was Saturday and I knew a few people that were going out to a place called Paradise Bar and one of the only places that served rum.  I got an odjek that evening to the bar and met up with some of the others I had seen over the past week on Flores.  I ordered a rum and was completely shocked when the bartender told me it cost 48,000RP.  A 1 liter Bintang costs 24,000 so I was totally caught off guard.  I had the one rum and then I had 1 Bintang even though beer never does me any good.  The band that was playing was not very good but we made our own fun and had some great conversations as well.  I headed back to the hotel around 1am and went to bed.  Labuan Bajo is a get away point on Flores and the only way to get to Kmomdo National park, so I spent Sunday looking for a tour that I liked and would fit for my travel plans.  I found a 4 day/3 night boat that would get me from LB to Lombok and take in all the sights.  After getting that booked I got on the internet again and had some great chats with my family and some friends.  Boyd even sent me some Christmas music for my mp3 player.  The rest of the day was spent chilling out and getting ready to leave the next morning.
I was really excited about the boat tour and up at 6:30 and at the office by 7:15 ready to go.  I was told to wait there until the others showed up, there were 7 others on the boat as well.  After waiting for over an hour they finally came and told me that the boat had been cancelled because the other 7 people had pulled out.  I was very disappointed and mad.  It was frustrating to get accurate information from them.  I left after another hour with nothing solved but I could not stay around any longer or I would have lost my mind.  After I had relaxed for a while I went back and they were already trying to find others that might want to go on the trip.  The only part I was really mad at was the fact that the others canceled the night before and if I was told I could have gone on another trip that was similar but only 2 days and then a different boat to Lombok.  There are not many travelers around right now so I knew it would be a few days before they would get enough for a boat to leave.  That afternoon I took a bemo (local bus) to a cave and walked around there for a while.  A lot of the cave had been destroyed but graffiti and garbage but deep inside it was still pretty cool. There was an awesome spider that I have never seen before that looked half spider half scorpion.  The rest of the day was spent chilling out and some on the internet and looking for people that wanted to go on a boat trip.
Finally on Wednesday morning the boat trip was on and I went to the office at 8:30.  I had to wait again and started to think that this was a repeat performance but then was taken to the boat.  There was only one other guy on the boat but they decided that was enough and we were on our way.  The other guy was named Steve as well, but I think he may have booked the wrong trip for him.  He was more of a birdwatcher than an adventure traveler, si it was going to be interesting to see how he handled it.  The boat left at about 10am and it took about 2 hours to get to the island of Rinka.  I had been told be some that this island was better than Komodo and was really looking forward to it.  As soon as we landed I could see about 10 monkeys hanging around on the beach and in the trees.  From there we walked to the admin office and signed in.  Under one of the buildings were 7 Komodo dragons just handing out.  We found out that they are actually feeding them and now they do not leave and hunt on their won and just wait for scraps.  It was kinda disappointing for my first sighting of komodo dragons.  We where then taken on a walk around the island and saw a buffalo and few komodos in there natural habitat.  The dragons were not as big as I thought they were going to be except for 2 that were under the building.  The walk took about 1 hour and then we were back on the boat.  We boated for 2 hours and got to a place called Red Beach for snorkeling.  They gave me a life ring to help me along and I got into the water and started swimming around.  The coral was absolutely incredible and so many fish.  It was similar to what I saw at Bounty Island in Fiji and way better than the Great Barrier Reef in Oz.  There were some many colors and formations I think I could have stayed there for hours but we only had about 40 minutes.  I had noticed that Steve was back on the boat and found out later that he did not enjoy it much and got back on the boat.  I can’t believe that I was the better swimmer of the 2 of us, I guess I must be getting more confident in the water.  There were some many different types of fish and even one that was shiny like a pearl.  Once I got back on the boat we went for about an hour and then stopped with a few other boats for the night.  It was nice to talk with some others and the group was doing the same tour as us but going the other way.  Once it got dark there was not much to do so I turned on my computer and ended up watching some Seinfeld episodes.
The next morning we were up at 6am and on our way to Komodo Island.  The entire island is part of Komodo National Park and there is a village of about 900 people there as well.  We got there at 7am and they were just starting to set up for the day.  They were getting a cruise ship in from Italy and expected a bunch of people around 9am.  We got our guide and started our walk and the scenery already was better than Rinka.  After about 5 minutes our guide spotted on and we had to run to catch up to it.  We only got to see a little of it before it ran into the trees, the run about 18km per hour.  We then continued our walk and Steve kept pointing out the birds, while I was looking more for the dragons and buffalo.  We spotte a herd of deer and all I could think about was Daryl Harvie hunting them.  We spotted another dragon on a hill and the guide went straight for it.  We climbed the hill and got right up to the dragon, I assumed it was safe because he was there but he had a stick with him (like that was going to stop a dragon) and I stuck close to him.  Steve did not climb the hill and waited below for us to come back.  We then continued and climbed another hill where we had a great view of the area and could see the cruise ship coming in.  We walked down the hill and at the bottom were 5 dragons hanging out by a water hole.  There were 2 that were at least 3.5 meters long and a baby one that was about 10months old.  We watched them for about 15 minutes and then proceeded back to our boat. The cruise ship tourists were been shuttled onto the island by the time we got back and were put into little groups to go off on their tours, it was great to have our tour done before they got there.  We traveled for about 2 hours and then stopped for lunch and a snorkel.  The snorkeling was not as nice as the first place cause most of the coral was dead but the fish were still great.  We got back on the boat and had a long ride ahead of us.  We were boating overnight and that afternoon and evening the waves were quite high and we were bouncing around a lot.  It is not a big boat so it was a bit scary but I was told before not to worry that the guys knew what they were doing and if they were not smiling then that was the time to worry.  Every time I looked at them they were smiling so that made me feel a little better.  The boat is very loud so I did not get much sleep, maybe 2 hours.  We stopped at about 7 in the morning for an early snorkel and it was pretty good.  They waved me over to a path and then took me to a crater lake about 10 minutes away.  It was very warm and had black sand all around it.  After the walk back I snorkeled back to the boat and we were on our way again.  We went for another 2 hours and got to an island called Moto where I snorkeled to the beach and then walked with a guide to an inland waterfall.  It was nice to get some fresh water on me instead of all the sea water and when we got back to the beach I asked if I could go back to the boat on the little canoe they were using.  Steve stayed on the boat for all of this and missed out on some great sights.  We then traveled for another 4 hours before putting down the anchor by some island for the night.  We got dinner and I could have gone snorkeling again but I passed as the current looked pretty strong.  We had 4 workers on the boat and only one spoke English and he only spoke a little bit.  I would have been great to communicate with them more but that just did not happen.  They knew I was having a good time and really that was all that mattered.  We went to bed early as we knew it was going to be an early start the next morning.
The roar of the engines woke me at 2:45am, I knew it was going to be an early start but I did not think this early.  I guess they wanted to get home for the weekend.  We got into Labuhan, Lombok at7am and I thanked the crew and hoped on a odjek to the bus terminal.  There is nothing in Labuhan so I wanted to get to Mataram.  After I got to the bus terminal I got a local bus to Mataram that took 4 hours.  The bus had 17 seats in it and 24 people, so it was a tight squeeze.  I got taken to the accommodation (Oka Homestay) and got booked in and relaxed for a bit. I met a Dutch lady (Mariom) that has been here for 2 months helping out at a project for kids.  I decided to go for a walk and see the Hindu temple in the area and even though I did not know what to expect, I was disappointed with what I saw.  I talked with a guy from India after the walk through and he said also that it was not very good and that I will see plenty of really nice ones in Bali and other places.  I walked back to the homestay and changed out of my long pants in shorts and walked in the other direction.  I was told there was a mall 10 minutes down the road.  The last time I was told about a mall it was just some shops all together so I did not have many expectations.  Next thing I see is a sign for McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut, it all looked so out of place.  The mall was huge and just like a big western mall.  I Walked around for a bit and then found and internet café near the back.  I was able to get all my pics uploaded on Facebook and send out a few emails. By the way, no I did not eat at any of the western places, Mariom and I went out to a side street café and ate there for dinner.  The rest of the night was spent writing this blog.  I am posting this on Sunday morning and then headed for a town called Sengigi about ½ hour away.  From there I plan to go to the Gili Islands for a few days and then to Bali for Christmas.  Not sure what to expect from Christmas there but I will let you all know how it turns out.  I hope to continue to learn more about this culture but there is one thing I need to say.  All the differences I saw in the villages are not the same as I travel west and to bigger centers.  There seems to be a more open society in the bigger centers and some of it is definitely got western influence.  I will try to get more from these people and see how different it is.  I am also going to start to see less of the Christian faith and more Muslims as I continue west.  I just keep learning and expanding myself as I go and all the time really enjoying myself.  I have so much to learn.
I guess that is all for now, so just I case I do not get another blog written before Christmas, Merry Christmas to all!!!

BTW – there are tons of more pics on my Facebook page.
Steve
PS: I am going with some early birthday wishes this time.  1st off is my wonderful godchild Nadean on the 23rd of Dec. Next is my Aunt Audry who always writes on my blog and I appreciate it on the 25th, my cousin Lindsey is on the 29th and that beautiful boy that I have only seen in pictures, my newest nephew will turn 1 on Dec. 31st.  Happy Birthday to you all!!!

Hello all,

Well the last time I wrote, about a week ago, I had just finished an amazing trek south of Dili and was hitching everywhere.  Since then I have based myself in Dili and spent time in and around the area.  I hope to give you a better idea about the people and culture that exists in Dili.  I have spent my time the last few days in museums, cathedrals and government functions.  So I have been able to understand the people a lot better than before.

The people in East Timor or better known here as Timor Leste are called Timorese.  Back in the early years (like 2000 years ago) the area was populated by East Indian and Chinese cultures and some of these influences are still around (especially in the food).  In the early 1800’s the Dutch and the Portuguese came to the area and the Portuguese took over.  They ruled the area for a very long time, like they did with many areas in South East Asia.  The only time they did not rule it was during WWII when the Japanese had control until the end of the war.  The Portuguese then took over again but the Timorese people wanted independence.  Finally after many struggles with the Portuguese they got their independence on November 28, 1975.  Think about that, because it is not that long ago.  The unfortunate thing was that 9 days later they were invaded by Indonesia and they took over.  The Indonesians had help along the way to keep East Timor as a province of its country, help from the Americans, Aussies and UK.  The Indonesians fooled all these countries that they were aiding East Timor when in actual fact they were depriving them of many essential things.  After many protests the rest of the world heard their cries for help and the Indonesians were forced to leave in September of 1999 by the UN and the country declared independence once again.  This time the UN was sticking around to make sure all the corruption was gone.  The only bad part was that before the Indonesians left they burnt and destroyed about 80% of the buildings and killed at least 100,000 Timorese. Again, think of this fact, only 10 years ago they were still fighting for their rights!!! This is a fact that just amazes me.  10 years ago I would have been working for McCormick, living in a great house and having almost any luxury I wanted.  These people were still fighting just for freedom, really makes me appreciate what I have and what I am able to do.  What were you doing 10 years ago???  The UN handed the governing power back to East Timor in 2002 and it has been a pretty stable environment since, although there have been coup attempts even up to last year.  With all this fighting and influences from different areas I still find it hard to describe the Timor culture besides saying survivalistic.

East Timor is 85% Catholic and this is very evident in all the statues in the area of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.  On the East end of Dili they have built a huge statue of Jesus and constructed and massive set of steps all the way up.  Along the way is the full “Ways of the Cross” and is very impressive.  Like most things in East Timor it is not complete yet and they are working to finish as quickly as they can.  East Timor moves like most of the rest of South East Asia which is slow paced.  Time is irrelevant here as most take a long lunch break (at least 2 hours) during the heat of the day.  One of the main things you see in East Timor and especially Dili is construction.  They have had to rebuild everything and that is exactly what they are doing.  It seems that they have some kind of construction on almost every roadway, if you think Alberta road construction is bad in the summer just come here.  They are almost finished a big Catholic Cathedral here and it looks amazing and will be a main gathering place for the Timorese. Lots of new embassies are going up and they have rebuilt most of the shops to a good enough standard.  In most of the government web sites and reports they tell you that East Timor is still is a huge struggle and that it is not safe to travel, but I have found that to be completely wrong.  The websites tell of refugee camps everywhere and I have still to see one.  The Timorese are always smiling and try to be as helpful as possible.  English is not widely spoken here; the national language is Tetun, with Bahasa Indonesian and Portuguese as well.  I have been learning some words in Tetun to be able to get by and the rest I use hand signs or whatever else I can think of.  Sometimes it is frustrating but I try to remember that I am in their country and all these learning experiences are really good for me.  At this point I can count to 10 in 5 different languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Tetun), and I plan to learn many more.

The people here are very proud of their fighting spirit and you can see it in many different ways but one of the neatest that I have seen is in their sidewalks.  I know that sounds funny but in most places here they do not have any, but where they have build them they are in colored bricks that are the same as their flag (Red, Yellow and Black).  Imagine walking down a sidewalk in Canada that was all Red and White!!!  After spending time in 2 museums (Chega which is in a jail & the Resistance museum) I got a better understanding of the struggles that I have already spoken about.  It showed some videos on the violence and places where the Timorese hid undergrond from the Indonesians.  I also got to go to the parliament building but not inside and I also took in the Independence Day ceremony at the Presidents Palace.  Whenever you take in these places you must wear long pants and proper shoes.  The Independence Day ceremony was very interesting.  It started at about 9am and had dignitaries from everywhere.  A full color guard was standing at attention during the whole 2 hours or so.  They were from the military, ambulance service, police, forest service and traditional warriors.  I saw 3 soldiers pass out because of the heat and felt sorry for them as they were standing out in the hot sun for a very long time.  After several speeches and a cool flag raising ceremony all the color guard marched past the President.  Then they promoted 2 Generals and the ceremony ended rather quickly.  No one waited for the President to depart, they just all got up and starting mingling with each other.

The day before is when I went to the Jesus statue and on my walk back I stopped off at a beach.  They have a beach on either side of the statue and they are called Jesus Beach 1 and Jesus Beach 2.  I was at Jesus Beach 1 but had my day pack with me and really had no where to put it.  I found a group on people that spoke English and asked if they minded if I left my pack by them while I went for a quick swim.  They were mostly Aussies and Kiwis and were really nice.  I walked into the water looking for a refreshing swim and it was so hot, like a hot tub at home.  It cooled off a bit when I got deeper but I did not want to go too far because crocodiles have been known to be near the area.  After I had a quick dip I went back to the group and had a great conversation with them.  I got invited to an event for Saturday afternoon with them called HASH.  First thing I thought of was a group of people doing drugs but as it turns out it is a group of expats that get together every week for a social walk or run.  There are HASH groups all over the world and if you would like to know more about them just look them up on the internet.  They picked me up on Saturday afternoon and took me to where everyone was meeting.  Each week they pick a different part of Dili to explore and some walk and others go for a run.  It takes about an hour to complete and we walked up the side of a steep cliff that gave us some great views and then through some of the outer communities.  It costs $5 to go and with that they give you water to start and then all the beer you want to drink after the run.  They have some fun introducing the new people to the group and then have some fun with others also in the group.  I met some really cool people and spent a lot of the walk talking with an American originally from Montana.  He is here working with the coffee growers of East Timor.  East Timor coffee is known as some of the best in the world and until recently had the biggest area of organic fields in the world.  Actually East Timor does not use any chemicals in any of its fields so the whole country is organic.  They are also big in the Fair Trade practices in the coffee industry.  I also meet a few Canadians during the event but most of them had been gone from Canada for at least 5 years and did not watch much that was going on at home.  I also got a ride back from the event from a nice UK couple and we stopped to take a picture of the sunset.  That night the government put on a huge fireworks display for Independence Day.  I was very surprised by it and say that it would put the nightly fireworks display at the Calgary Stampede to shame and I think the stampede puts on an awesome display.  I think the big difference was how close they were.  They basically shot them out right over us and some of the ground ones were right in front of us.  It lasted about 20 minutes and had a band playing music in the background as well.  They had a party before the fireworks and it kept going for quite a while into the night.  One thing that stood out as well was the amount of kids at the fireworks.  You see kids everywhere here as East Timor has the 2^nd highest pregnancy rate in the world.  They are trying to educate the Timorese on family planning but it is a slow process.

Another thing I have been able to complete over the last few days is get my Visa for Indonesia.  I am planning to enter over land and so I must have a Visa before I get to the border.  If I was flying in I would get one on arrival.  I had to get the proper forms from the Indonesian Embassy and then fill them out along with a copy of my passport, a passport photo with red background and a letter stating why I wanted to enter the country.  It costs $45 to get a 30 day visa and the same price for a 60 day but with the 60 day you have to have a more detailed letter, I am getting the 60 day.  Once I had everything together I had to go to the embassy in the early morning to get on a list, I got there at 6:15 and was number 27.  Then I went back to the hostel for a nap and back to the embassy at 8:30 to wait for my turn.  Once I got called I got another number (40) and went inside and had to wait there.  Not sure how I went from 24 to 40 but at least I was in.  After about an hour I got called up and they review all my info and I was told to come back the next day at 3pm to pick up my visa.  I went back the next day and handed in my receipt and had to wait for another hour while they went through all the people there.  I got my passport with the stamp in it, it takes up a full page but looks impressive. I have 90 days from now to enter and then 60 when I get in.  Not that I am going to need 90 days to get in as I am leaving for there on Wednesday.

My expenses have dropped dramatically from Australia here.  I am paying $12US a night for a dorm room and most meals cost about $3.50.  Most of the attractions to see are free and I have walked to most of them.  Whenever I have had to take a taxi it is usually $2-3 to get across town. I have cooked some of my own meals as well so I would say that I am spending about $20US per day.  There is an internet café across the street that costs $1 per hour and I have used that to keep in contact with friends and family.

I started making my plans to head out of East Timor on Monday and now I will be taking a bus to Kupang (West Timor) on Wednesday.  The bus journey takes 12 hours and goes along the coast to the border and then inland through West Timor.  Once I enter West Timor I am officially in Indonesia.  Indonesia is a massive set of islands that are going to be very interesting to travel around, with another new language to learn, new religion to see (85% Muslim) and new adventures to seek out.

I guess that is about it for this time.  I hope you all have an idea now of what I have seen in East Timor.  I would recommend to anyone that is planning a trip to South East Asia to not miss this small part of it.  As they continue to rebuild and get more facilities for travelers I think this country will just prosper.  I do worry if the UN every decided to completely leave if the peace would stay or would some country around try to take it over again.  I would hope the world would not let this happen again.

Thanks to all, everyone take care,

Steve

PS: Can you believe that it is December already!!! That is crazy; you will all be getting ready for Christmas and the office parties that no one really wants to go to.  Still not sure where I will be for Christmas but since it will be in a Muslim nation I am guessing that there will not be a lot going on.  I will have to have my Christmas vicariously through all of you.

PPS: What the hell were the Riders doing taking a penalty with 5 seconds left??? What a way to lose!!

PPS: Happy Birthday goes out to my cousin Myron, thanks for everything you are doing for me while I am gone.  I truly appreciate it.