Steve’s Travel Blog

Hello all,

When I wrote last I was in Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia.  10 days have passed and now it is time to update you on my adventures.  I left Mataram and took a bus to a town called Sengigi where I booked into a hotel and met 3 people from Edmonton.  I decided to go for a walk and see if I could get something booked for the next few days.  I went to many different travel shops but ended up going back to the first guy I had talked to because he was very nice.  By the time I was finished I had the next 7 days booked and had spent plenty of money.  The guy was so nice that he also took my shoe that had started coming apart and was going to get it fixed while I was out at the Gili Islands and have it ready for my trek.  The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent relaxing and I did go on the internet for a while.

The next morning I was picked up at 8:30 and bussed to Bangsal harbor for a boat ride to Gili Trawangan.  They put a lot of people on the boat and most of them were tourists.  I meet a couple of guys from Ireland and Scotland while on the boat.  It took about 40mintutes to get to the island and once I hopped off I had a bunch of locals asking if I needed accommodation.  I was told before going that it might be hard to find a place to stay because of the holiday season but that turned out to be very untrue.  I ended up getting a very nice place I little away from the beach for only 100,000 which was a good price for this island.  After getting settled in I decided to go for a walk and see what the island was all about.  It is known for its diving and snorkeling and it is also a bit of a party island.  There were tons of restaurants and dive shops with so many choices of activities. On the way I saw the People I had met earlier with a few more that had made it earlier and I chatted with them for a bit.  We decided to try and book a snorkeling trip together so that we could get a better price.  We found a really cool place that rents out a big pirate ship with everything you need for the day and the crew.  It was more expensive than the rest but it also looked to be the most fun.  We booked the tour for 2 days later and then chilled out for the afternoon.  The beach is great and clean in most spots and that is where I hung out.  In the evening I had a nice supper and then met the group for a couple of drinks at one of the bars.  They have what they call Jamaican Rum but it is made locally in Indonesia and does not taste anything like Jamaican rum.  It is actually quite bad but the vodka (again local) was ok.  We ended up leaving the bar to go to a bigger bar with more people and dancing.  It was an ok place but I was getting really tired and left at about 1 in the morning.  The next day was all about chilling out.  I had slept in till very late and spent the day on the beach and napping.  I really did nothing all day.  The place I am staying is on local power which does not run all the time so the room gets really hot with no fan on.  It seems that each area gets some power at certain times of the day and then later on in the evening everyone gets it.  The island is all about the tourists and they are so many of them which is different than what I saw in the eastern parts of Indonesia.  My final day on Gili Trawangan was spent on a pirate ship sailing around all the Gili islands and snorkeling.  We had a crew of 7 people to take of us for the day and they did a fabulous job.  Our first stop was just off Gili T and the snorkel was average.  The fish were great but the coral was very damaged and most of it looked dead.  Our guide in the water did a good job of explaining lots of fish and other stuff in the water.  Near the end we saw a turtle and followed it for a bit.  Back on the boat and morning tea was served with some fresh fruit and we had the music blaring out some great tunes.  Our next stop was at Gili Meno and the snorkel here was about the same as the first one.  We spent a little more time in the water here but the coral was still really damaged.  Once we got back on the boat we were served a great lunch while making it to our last snorkel spot.  After some rest and good conversation we got back in the water at Gili Air and this is what I came to see.  The coral here was very much alive and looking awesome.  A lot more fish, turtles, sea snakes, clams and on and on.  We stayed in the water a long time here and even swam to Gili Air and sat on the beach for a bit.  Our snorkel guide was great at showing all there was to see and made for a great day.  It took about 1 hr to get back to Gili T and by the time we got there everyone was really exhausted.  We decided to meet up later for some dinner and a few drinks.  I went back to my room and had a much needed nap.  We met up at around 8pm for dinner but no one was really in the mood for drinks.  After dinner I headed back to the room and chilled out before falling asleep.

I was up early the next morning as my boat left Gili T at 7am.  When I got back to Bengsal harbor I was met by my organizer who had my hiking shoe with him and all sewn together.  He got me transportation to a town called Senaru which is the start to the trek up Gurung Rinjani (the 2^nd highest peak in Indonesia).  I was dropped off at the trekking center and the stored my big backpack there and I only took my daypack with whatever I thought I would need.  3 other trekkers had started out earlier in the day and I would meet up with them along the trail.  I started my trek at 10am and it was supposed to take about 7 hours to get to the crater rim where we would spend the night.  The climb was very steep for most of it and a lot of hard work but the guide took a nice pace.  There are 7 stops along the way and we ended up catching up to the others at the 4^th one where they were waiting for lunch.    I met Christie from the UK and Ann and Arnu from Spain.  While we were eating a rain storm hit and it was coming down in buckets.  We ended up waiting there for about 2 hours for the rain to stop but it finally did and we were able to start trekking again. I was surprised that with so much rain that the track was not all that wet or slippery.  The guide said that the rain was really late this season so the ground is really dry and soaked it up easily.  He also said that they will only do treks for about another 2 weeks and then stop until May because the track will get really dangerous once more rain comes.  We ended up getting to the crater rim just after 6pm and the sun was setting.  We set up the tents and the porters started to make dinner.  You could tell that a lot of people had been at the top because there was lots of garbage all over the place.  The view to the crater lake below was awesome and once it got dark you could see the lava from the volcano exploding inside.  It has not erupted since the 60’s and from where we were it all looked pretty safe.  There were lots of wild dogs in the area as well and one of them took my shoe I left in front of the tent.  It took about 10 minutes of looking before we found it a little ways away.  We got our dinner and ate in the dark but for where we were it was really good and they fed us so much.  It was actually Christmas eve that evening and we sat around the fire for a while chatting about the special place we were at.  After a long day I was very tired and we all went to bed at around 9pm.  The very thin mat that we had to sleep on was not comfortable and I was up for a lot of the night.  I would fall asleep for a while then wake up from some pain.  Even though it was not the best sleep it was amazing to watch the sun rise on Christmas morning at the top of the mountain/volcano.  We had breakfast and packed up camp and got ready to go.  The other 3 were doing a 3 day trek and I was only doing 2 days, so we said our goodbyes and they headed off in a different direction with the guide and 1 porter.  Myself and the other porter made our way down the mountain fairly quickly and were at the bottom by noon.   By the time I got down my legs we very sore and my one knee was aching.  Going downhill is quick but it can hurt a lot more that going up.  I waited about 1 hour for my transport back to Mataram and after about a 2hour ride I was in Mataram for the rest of Christmas day.  I stayed again at Oka homestay but Mariom was not around.  I walked to the mall and most of the shops were open as this is a Muslim community so they do not celebrate Christmas.  I checked my email and caught up on Facebook for about 1 hour and then had some dinner.  No turkey, stuffing of potatoes to be found here so I had Nasi Goering (Fried Rice) instead.  These are the times when you really miss family and friends but I really love what I am doing and it is just one of the things I have to deal with.  I got back to the homestay and realized how exhausted I was.  I was in bed early and thought I would read for a bit but I think I may have read 2 pages before the eyes would not focus and I just fell asleep.

I was up early and off to the internet for a skype call with my family.  It was great to see everyone at home except Rod who had to work up in Fort Mac.  We chatted for about 1 ½ hours and then they had to go because their dinner was ready.  All the kids were asked to look up some information on Indonesia and come up with an idea of what they would want for a Christmas present from here.  After my chat I called my uncles and aunts as well as my godchild Nadean.  I missed her 18^th birthday on the 23^rd so I really wanted to chat with her.  Chris and Tara were also online and I chatted with them and the kids for a bit too.  It felt so good to talk with so many people at home, it made my Christmas!!!  I had to get back to the homestay for my pick at 11am.  I was heading for Bali and needed to make the boat by noon.  It is a good thing that everything runs a little late here cause my ride was late and we did not get to the boat until 5 after 12.  The boat was still there and ended up not leaving until about 12:30.  It took about 5 hours to cross to Bali and I met a few people while on the boat.  Bali is a pretty big island with many towns and cities to stay in.  I had talked with some others before and decided to stay in Ubud in central Bali.  It is touristy but not as bad as Kuta and the other towns to the south.  It is also more central to take day trips from.  I walked up the main road looking for somewhere to stay and ended up at a really nice homestay for only 60,000.  The room included a western toilet, shower, hot water and a really good breakfast.  I have been in Ubud for the past 5 days and hope to leave tomorrow and continue on my adventure.  While I was trekking at Gurung Rinjani my camera stopped working so I did not get any pics but the others I was with said they would send me some.  My camera that I got back from Mom and Dad is also not working and has the same problem as it did before.  I guess I will have to send it back to Canada for a 2^nd time to get fixed.  This all leads to my first day in Ubud.  I went walking looking for a camera and some much needed new clothes.  Even though this is a tourist area I was having a very hard time finding a camera and the clothes were very expensive here.  I went back to the home stay a little disappointed but the lady running the place offered me a ride to Denpasar where everything is cheaper.  It was an interesting drive in and everything looked a lot different than everything else I have seen in Indonesia.  Bali is almost all Hindu culture and there are temples everywhere.  Lots of colorful shops with paintings and stone carvings are along the roadside.  Once we got into Denpasar you could tell we were in the big city.  Our first stop was at a camera store and I was able to get a new camera for a good price as well as some sd cards to send some pics home.  From there we went to a big outlet mall and I was able to get some new short pants and a few t-shirts.  We headed back to Ubud with me taking pictures the whole way and testing out my new camera.  We got back at 5:30 and Ketut (my home stay host) had booked me to see a show that started at 7:30.  I got cleaned up and started walking to the show stopping for a quick dinner along the way.  The show was a Fire and Trance show and the story was based on a Hindu love story.  The costumes were amazing and the singing great.  At the end of the show the lit up a bunch of coconut husks and a man walked over them with his bare feet.  After you could get pictures with the group and the guy that did the fire walking and his feet were all black. After the show I walked back and got on the internet for a little bit and then to bed.

Ketut had me booked on a Temple tour the next morning and I got picked up at 9:15.  There were 3 others on the tour 2 from France that spoke very little English and 1 from Columbia that spoke French and English.  It was a fun group and saw a lot of temples.  Now if you do not know what a Hindu temple is then let me explain as best I can.  It is not like a church and you do not enter a temple.  Most homes will have a temple in them and then there are much bigger public temples.  It is a place for prayer and reflection.  Most are set in garden areas and are very beautiful.  The design and sculptures on and in them are amazing works of art.  We started off at the Elephant temple but I could not find any elephants there, which was a bit strange.  Lots of stone carvings though and about 30 different temples though out the area.  Next was the Mount temple and similar to the first.  The next 2 temples were nicer than the first 2 (Rocky temple and Holy Spring temple) with nicer garden areas and more design to the big temples.  After that we changed the pace a bit and went to a coffee and spice plantation.  This was really cool to see especially since I spent so many years in the spice business.  They had 5 spices laid out for us to see if we knew what they were and I went 5 for 5 but they were pretty easy ones (cloves, pepper, vanilla, cinnamon and turmeric).  We got to taste fresh coffee and some teas and they also have a lot of fruit that is growing there.  I could have stayed there for longer but we had to go on.  Our next stop was at Mount/Lake Batur where we had lunch.  The clouds had started to roll in by that time and we did not have a very good view but got to see a little bit.  Lunch was a buffet style and since it was 2pm we were all very hungry. As we ate the rain started and it stayed around for most of our drive back to Ubud.  One last stop on the way back was at a large rice terrace which was amazing to see.  On the way back we started discussing doing another tour together the next day and by the time we got back we had it all planned out and hired the same driver to take us.  Once we got back I chilled out for a bit then went for dinner and put my pics on the computer.

We were heading to the north part of Bali today so we had an early start.   I got picked up at 8am and then we had to get the others (Herve, Fredo and Sandra).  Our first stop today was at Lake Bratan and the Ulun Danu Temple.  This was better than all the temples we saw the day before.  With it set in a botanical garden and along the lake, the area was so peaceful and inviting.  Lots of people were around but you could not really tell because it was so big.  We spent an hour here but could have spent all day.  Our next stop was at the twin lakes (Tambungan & Buyan) and the surrounding mountains.  It was a quick stop and then we were off to Munduk.  Here we hiked a 1km trail that lead to a waterfall.  Sandra and I were the only 2 to go into the waterfall and damn was it cold.  The force of the wind at the bottom made it very difficult to even stand but we were able to get some pics from Fredo.  From Munduk we went to Banjar and the hot springs.  It reminded me a bit of Radium but looked very different.  It was a public pool and had lots of locals and tourist in it.  It was nice to stand below the flowing water and have it massage my shoulders.  After about ½ hour in the pool we dried off and made our way to Lovina Beach for lunch.  This was one of the places I really wanted to go because my Aunt Lovina back In Bow Island.  I thought if there was a place named after her I just had to go.  I would like to say it was the nicest beach I have ever seen but that is not the case.  It was more like a fishing community and the beach was loaded with fishing boats.  We had lunch at a restaurant along the beach then I took a short walk along the black sand.  I was able to get a picture of a sign for my aunt and I know she will like that.  It started to rain again (always in the mid afternoon) so we started to make our way back to Ubud.  We got back at around 6pm and had a great day.   I stuck to what seems to be my evening routine of dinner and an hour of internet and then bed.

The next morning I was feeling a bit lazy so I stayed in bed till lat.  I finally got my but in gear and I went walking to the Monkey Forest.  It was a few kms from the home stay and took about an hour to get there.  It was a really cool place with monkeys everywhere.  The monkeys are not afraid of people and come right up to you.  I had one jump on my back and try to get into my daypack.  You can feed them if you want but I chose not to.  The forest itself is nice to walk around with huge trees everywhere and some stone carvings as well.  I stopped part way thru and had some lunch until the afternoon rain hit.  I scrambled away from where I was and to a shelter along the way.  I was the only one in the shelter for a bout ½ hour and then some monkeys came and joined me.  Soon there were at least 20 monkeys hanging around and one even tried to pee on me.  I got tired of waiting for the rain to stop so I started walking back to the home stay.  It did not take long before I was totally soaked but it was fun to walk in the rain.  I got asked a bunch if I wanted a taxi but since I was already wet it just did not make much sense.  When I got back I dried off and the Ketut set up a massage for me.  It cost 50,000 for a 1 hour relaxation massage and it was nice to work out some of the kinks that had formed.  After that Ketut had set up for me to get a haircut from her neighbor and that cost 20,000.  One thing I do have to say is how nice the Hindu people are.  I have asked plenty of questions and they are always willing to answer them truthfully.  It is so much different than when I was in the eastern part of Indonesia.  I am not saying that they were not nice but it is just different here. The Balinese are always willing to help you with any problem or question.  I stuck with my evening routine again of dinner, internet and sleep.

The next morning (New Years Eve & Nicholas’ birthday) was relaxed again.  I went for a walk through the local market and there were tons of gifts for cheap but I refrained and just walked around.  They are always trying to sell you stuff and saying “cheap, cheap”  but I just smile and say “tidak” (mean no).  The afternoon rains came early so I decided to do some early internet time and chat with some people back home.  I got to talk to Roy and Boyd on skype and a few others on Facebook.  I sent off a few emails and got a few from Kirsten and Emerson now that they have their own email addresses.  I headed back to the home stay after about 2 hours online and chilled out for a while.  In the evening I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner at one of the nicer restaurants near my home stay.  I had a nice carafe of Aussie red wine and great steak.  I finished it off with an awesome chocolate cake that went great with the red wine.  From there I was told by Ketut of the place to be for New Years Eve and made my way there.  The open air bar was right beside where the street party was going on.  It was supposed to cost 50,000 to get in but for some reason they did not charge me.  I got a beer (yes a beer as there was no other choice) and sat at a table.  I was joined by some locals for a little while and then by a Dutch couple.  We had a nice conversation and brought in the New Year together.  They had fireworks on the street and we had the perfect view of it.  I had a nice evening and ended back at the home stay at about 1:30.

I slept in on New Years Day and did not accomplish much but getting this blog written.  I did talk to Mom and Dad in the afternoon which was nice although I think I could have timed it better as Team Canada was near the end of their game with the US and dad had to miss that.

Tomorrow I will look at moving on from Bali as I want to get to Kalimantan.  It is one of only a few places left where Orangu-tans are in the wild.  I want to do a jungle tour there and so I will make plans to head that way via Java.

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a great New Years.

Cheers to everyone,

Stephen

Hello all,

Well i flew into East Timor on the 18th of November and it has been hot and humid ever since.  It has been in the mid 30’s everyday with at least 85% humidity.  It is taking a bit to get used to it but I am getting there.

I left Australia at 6:30am so i did not get a hostel bed that night and just tried sleeping at the airport.  That sis not work so well and I ended up getting no sleep.  I landed into Dili at 7:15am and got a taxi to the only hostel in the city.  I got a room right away and pretty much fell asleep.  I got up at around 11am and felt a little better.  The dorm room has air con so it kept everything cool and helped me sleep.  I had a talk with the manager, Ben from England, about what there is to do in the city.  He had lots of good ideas and I then went for a walk.  I only walked for about 1 hour and the heat really got to me so I went back to the hostel.  I chilled out for most of the rest of the day trying to get used to the heat.  Late in the afternoon an Aussie bloke (Nick) checked in and we chatted.  After some supper and more rest for the evening it was time for bed and I still needed it.  I did not accomplish a lot for my first day but my first impression is that the people are always smiling and very nice.

The next morning I was up at 7:30, rested and ready for the day.  Nick and I walked to the Indonesian embassy to pick up the forms needed to get a visa for that country.  Because I am crossing by land I need to get it in advance.  While we were there we meet a Dutch girl (Rianne) who was doing the same thing.  Nick and Rianne waited around to get their forms processed and I headed back to the hostel as I was in no rush for my visa.  They both came back to the hostel a little later and then we all went for a walk together.  On the way we got East Timor cell phones that cost $10 which included the phone, Sim card and $3 of credit.  We then found an internet place that was cheap but so slow that I was able to get nothing done in a full hour of trying.  We left the internet and decided to o for lunch.  We took a taxi to a place the Nick had heard about and ended up going on some roads that were  closed because of paving.  The taxi driver did not seem to care and all the workers had to get out of the way.  The restaurant ended up to be a bit out of the way but we had lunch in front of the beach.  It wasn’t a great beach but was fun to watch the fisherman in front of us.  After lunch we walked along the beach and stopped at a few places to check them out.  It was a long walk back and by the time we made it to the hostel I was wiped out.  I went into the cool room for a nap and Rianne headed back to her hostel, Nick went to a museum.  That evening Nick and I discussed going on a trip south of Dili and into the mountains.  We had looked at some tour groups earlier and they are all very expensive and usually only go if you have 4 or more people.  Later that evening an English guy (John)  checked in but was very tired so he did not talk much.

On Friday morning we got up at 7:30 and got cleaned up and ready to go south.  We left our big packs at the hostel and only took a little bit of stuff with us.  At the last minute John decided to join us znd we all caught a taxi to the bus stop.  The bus stop ended up been more of a spot on the side of the road were some people met up. When we got there we asked where to catch a bus to Maubisse.  After much talk and not understanding the language very well we found out the bus does not leave for another 3-4 hours.  We decided that the best thing to do was to hitch hike and see how far we got.  We walked to the edge of town about 10 minutes away and started to flag down vehicles.  You do not use a thumb here, you wave your hand in a downward motion like you are asking them to slow down.  It did not take long and we were picked up by a guy, who worked for the telecom company,in a 4 door ute (small pickup)and he took us all the way to Ainaro.  We walked out of Ainaro for about 2 hours and saw a big group of monkeys.  They were to quick to get a picture but there must have been 50 of them.  We then got picked up by a 5 ton truck, just imagine a big farm truck.  We rode in the back with 3 other guys and were taken to a town called Casa.  We continued our walk and were then picked up by 2 Philippino guys that we executives for a company that was repairing some roads in the area.  They roads are not in great shape here and full of pot holes so they have a lot of work to do.  The took us as far as their construction site and then set up a ride for us to Zumilu. This ride was in the back of a 5 ton dump truck again with a few others.  Our next ride was from a mikrolet (minivan) that took us all the way to Suai and our final destination.  they try to fit as many people into a mikrolet before they leave and we had about 12 people in ours but is was still surprisingly comfortable.  There are 2 places to stay in Suai, the hotel at $35 a night or the convent at $10 a night.  We had to search out the convent but finally found it and the sisters were very nice and got us some beds to stay in.  For the first day of the trip we had seen only the country side and the inside and outside of a bunch of vehicles.  There was very little in Suai but this trip is no so much about the destinations as the travel in between.  We felt great that we had made to where we did and laughed at all the modes of transport we used at a total cost of $3.  The only restaurant in the area was a ways away so we got a ride on the back of motorbikes to eat.  When we finished there were no bikes around so we walked back to the convent in the dark.  The 3 of us chatted about our day when we got back and then the power went out.  The convent turns the power off at 8:30 and we sat in the dark until about 9 and then went to sleep. What a crazy first day of our adventure!!!

We were up early and on our way by 7am the next morning.  Suai is know  for its huge unfinished cathedral, which we walked around.  After a big massacre during the war for independence from Indonesia it was just never finished.  We ten made our way to the town center and found the same mikrolet there that we got into town with.  We asked if we could get a ride back to Zumilia with then and they said yes.  Soon they were packing us in and we noticed that it was full of supplies.  Not just any supplies either but it was fuel day and about 20 20L containers of petrol were in the back along with some food and other supplies.  They pack 13 people including in as well and we were on our way.  I was getting dizzy from the fuel smell as were the others but we made it to Zumalia.  We then walked for a while which was good to get some fresh air and were picked up by 2 guys in something like a Nissan Pathfinder.  They dropped us off in the middle of nowhere but we were pretty sure where we were  and continued to walk.  After about 1 hour we got picked up by a 4 door pick up to the junction to Betano, where we actually thought we were before.  With it been Saturday afternoon there was not a much traffic but got picked up by  guy and sat in the back of his ute to Betano.  Betano is on the south coast of East Timor and has a great black sand beach.  We hung around the beach for a while and then found a place for some lunch.  We then found out that there is no where to stay in Betano so we decided we better get back on the road and find a ride to somewhere else.  We were picked up by a mikrolet and taken to Same and tried to find a ride to Maubisse but no one was going that this late in the day.  We found a guest house to stay at and organized for them to cook some supper as well.  We decided to go for a walk and see the small town.  It did not take long to see it all and on our way back to the guest house we passed a group of people and chatted with them.  They were aide workers that wee teaching blind people how to play music instruments.They invited us to check it out the next day and then we got back to the hostel for supper.  after supper we were chatting but having a tough time keeping our eyes open so we went to bed pretty early.

In the morning we were up early and relaxed a bit until 9am and then went to find the plces where they were teaching the blind.  It took a little while and after going all through town we found the place.  They were teaching them to play guitar and bass guitar when we were there and it was pretty cool to watch.  They played really well and we enjoyed our short stop watching them.  We got back on the road and walked for a while and were picked up by a family and got a ride in the back of their truck to the middle of nowhere.  We then walked for a while and finally got a ride again in the back of a truck to the junction to Hatubulico.  This is the town we wanted to get to and started to walk.  We walked for a long time until a vehicle came that was going the other way and were told that we were still a log way from the town.  If we were still walking when they came back they would pick us up.  We ended up walking all the way to the town, about 18km and found a guest house to stay at.  The reason for getting to Hatubulico was to hike to the top of Mount Ramelua the next day.  We were served supper and then chilled for a while before heading for bed real early.

Our hike to Mt. Ramelau started rel early, 2:45am in fact.  The idea is to see the sun rise at the top of the mountain.  Nick was sick in the morning and could not do the hike so John and I went with a guide.  We hiked for about 3 hours in the dark with flashlights to lead the way.  The stars were amazing and the hike was very difficult in places.  We made it to the top just before the sunrise and it was amazing.  They have built a church and a statue of the virgin Mary at the top.  The sunrise had so many colors in it and made it worth the early morning and big hike.  I think the hike would have been easier if we had not had to hike so far the day before, but it was all good.  After a 2 our trek back down the mountain we got a ride back to the junction by owner of the guest house.  Nick was still not feeling well so we stayed there to hitch a ride instead of walking.  After a little waiting we were picked up by a priest and a few others in a ute.  The priest made the other get out of the back seat and go in the back of the truck and let us sit inside.  I felt really bad about it but it was a lot more comfortable.  They gave us a ride to Maubisse and then we walked to the edge of town.  We then got picked up by some aide workers and rode in the back of a truck all the way back to Dili.  We ended up back at the hostel at around 3pm very tired and smelly.  I showered up and  then took a nap for a while.  After 4 days on the road in very remote areas our Tetun (East Timor language) is getting pretty good.  i know all the numbers up to ten and how to greet people and a few other words as well.  The word we heard the most on the trip was “malai” pronounced “ma-lie” and it means foreigner.  All the kids yell it as you are passing by and most of the time it sounds like they are happy  to see us.  The people were so friendly and had such big smiles for us even though we struggle to understand them.  A lot more people travel to the east of Dili and the beach areas where we decided to go to the more remote places and it was completely worth it.  What a fantastic experience and it did not cost much at all.  We spent about $20 a day and that was for all the rides, accommodation and food.

I am now hanging out in Dili for a few cays and will work on getting my Indonesian visa.  There is a holiday on Friday and Monday and a lot of stuff in town for the weekend.   There is supposed to be a parade and fireworks and who knows what else.  I might try to get to Aterio Island on Saturday as well and see it for the day.

That is about it for my first bit in East Timor and Dili.  Looking forward to the rest of my stay here and I will update again when I get a chance.  I do want to take a minute and reassure you all that it is very safe to travel in East Timor.  If you read the government web sites they say that East Timor is not stable but they are writing about an East Timor from 1-2 years ago.  They talk about refugee camps all over the place but I have to see one, they talk about taxis with cracked window from rocks been thrown but i have yet to see and rocks thrown or broken windshields.  The UN has a very big presence here and are training the local police and have handed over 2 provinces back to them and more are to come.  The country is rebuilding everything like roads, hospitals, schools and community centers.  There is no reason not to travel in East Timor and I will continue to enjoy the country.

Take care all,

Steve

PS: Birthday wishes go out to my cousin Troy, make it a great day!!!

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