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East Timor (Timor Leste) – The Country

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

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 2nd 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.

 Freedom Statue in the center of Dili

 New Catholic Cathedral in process of been built

Jesus Beach 2 from the top of the Jesus statueJesus Statue at east end of Dili

 Sunset in Dili after HASH walkColor Guard for Independence Day ceremony, the group in front are traditional warriors

 Flag raising ceremony

 Soldiers marching

 Sidewalk in Dili, same colors as the flag

 View of scenery around Dili from the top of the hill climbed during HASH walk

 Fireworks from Independence Day

Steve in East Timor

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

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!!!

Along the waterfront in Dili

Me in the back of the 5 ton truck hitching a ride south of Dili

Me in the back of another big truck, just another mode of transport

Small kids in a village yelling Malai

Unfinished cathedral in Suai

Black Beach at Betano

Guy carring chicken on Mikrolet

Scenery on hike to Hatubulico

Sunrise at Mt. Ramelau