Timor Leste sees few tourists and I have come primarily to obtain a new 30-day tourist visa for Indonesia. This may be the most expensive way to do it but it is the easiest. Renewing the visa in Indonesia is a bureaucratic pain. It requires at least 7 days in Bali, possibly less elsewhere. I am also shallow enough that I wanted to collect another country stamp.
Timor Leste can be reached 3 ways. By land from West Timor but there is no visa on arrival here and it takes 3 days in Kuning, West Timor to get the visa then a 13-hour bus ride to get to Dili. By water from West Timor and a visa on arrival is available. And by air from Singapore, Darwin Australia or from Bali, the only access from Indonesia.
HISTORY
The eastern half of the island of Timor is a former Portuguese colony that declared itself independent from Portugal in 1975. Nine days later, Indonesian Forces invaded and occupied the country with the tacit approval of the US and Australia and by July 1976 it was annexed as the province of Timor Timur.
Over the next two decades, Indonesia integrated the colony, with many.
significant positions of authority being occupied by Indonesians rather than the East Timorese. An estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals are believed to have lost their lives during a campaign of pacification during this time.
The United Nations supervised a popular referendum on 30 August 1999, in which the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. After the results were announced, gangs of independence opponents, supported by the Indonesian military, terrorized the population in a civil war that destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. A United Nations peacekeeping force led by Australian forces was sent in to re-establish a civil society and reconstruct the nation.
On 20 May 2002, East Timor was internationally recognized as an independent state under the official name of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. UN peacekeeping forces remained and a large number of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) began operating.
In 2012, UN troops were officially withdrawn and east Timorese police and army took over any military installations. Although there are still NGOs working within the country, their numbers have been steadily declining over 2012.
Money: The US$ but coins are of Timor Leste issue.
Climate: East Timor has a hot and humid climate (tropical) with temperatures averaging 30ºC year round, November to May is the wet season when road damage can make travel difficult.
Language: Tetum (official), Portuguese (official, Indonesian, English, 37 indigenous languages
Religion: Roman Catholic 90%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 3%, Hindu 0.5%
Time Zone: UTC+8
I flew from Bali on Sriwijaya Air for $337 return.
Visa on Arrival. The cost is US$30 and as there are no ATMs in the Dili airport, you must have the cash on you. Theoretically, Timor Leste immigration requires 1. Booked accommodation 2. A flight out and 3. Proof of sufficient funds of $50/day but none were asked for. It is a fast immigration process.
The only way into Dili is by taxi with a standard charge of $10. I stayed at East Timor Backpackers in an air-conditioned dorm room (an absolute necessity in this sweatbox of a country) for $12/night. The hostel is run by Rita, a very pleasant woman with good English. She is of immense help to find your way around. Also staying in the hostel are 3 other travellers and 3 Australians working for NGOs in the country. One fellow works for Engineers Without Borders. He is here as his house was recently broken into and his boss doesn’t think the house is safe. The other Timorese engineers he works with struggle with high school math, no less real engineering. He is frustrated that little is accomplished in this corrupt nonfunctional country and feels like his time is basically wasted.
The other two NGO workers are law students. They relate that a government official was charged with corruption but the Portuguese judiciary was expelled from the country and charges were dropped.
There are many expatriates working in the country. They support the many foreign restaurants and hang out in Timor Plaza, the main mall.
The other young tourists here are adventurous, here for a few weeks and are spending quite a bit of time outside of Dili.
SEE.
Dili. Dili, the capital of the country is on the north coast. A 27m Christ statue is one of the highlights. It was a gift from the Indonesian government on the 20th anniversary of the annexation of Timor Leste into Indonesia in 1976. An exhibition on history is quite good. There is a war memorial in a cemetery that is also worthwhile. Otherwise, the main activity is dealing with the heat and going to the beaches.
Outside Dili.
East Timor is located at the end of the Indonesian archipelago, north of Darwin, Australia and at the base of the Coral Triangle, which hosts the highest diversity of coral and reef fish species on earth.
The Nino Konis National Park (situated in the eastern part of the country) is a well-protected area and is considered as one of the last surviving zones of tropical lowland rainforest in the world with a rich coastal environment. The national park accommodates bird-watching, diving, trekking and pre-historic archeological sites.
Atauro Island and Jaco Island in Tutuala attract divers, snorkelers. A must-see attraction is the local divers and fishermen in Atauro, who fish using only traditionally made goggles and spear guns. For more adventurous tourists, East Timor offers what is simply world-class trekking, which can be experienced near places such as Mount Ramelau (± 3000 above sea level), Ainaro, Mt. Matebian (Baucau) and Mt. Kablaki.
Portuguese fortresses, churches and other monuments are scattered throughout the nation. For history enthusiasts, East Timor’s resistance tourism which worth exploring are the Xanana Gusmao’s (current Prime Minister of East Timor) hiding place, Balibo (known for the killing of 5 journalists by the Indonesian soldiers), Santa Cruz (known for massacre in 1991), Japanese caves in Baucau and many more.
Coffee had been the main export commodity for East Timor since the colonial period. To visit East Timor is to taste its coffee grown in several regions such as Ermera, Maubisse, Manufahi and Liquisa. Travel to the coffee plantations takes you through winding mountainous roads, until over 1,000m above sea level altitude, a cool climate (as low as 15C).
East Timor also produces various types of weaved textiles – expensive tais (East Timorese traditional hand-weaved textile) are made from nature-produced colours, while more economical textiles use chemical dye.
I spent most of my time in the lovely courtyard of the hostel dealing with all the business details of travel. My PayPal account was hacked and I spent hours trying to sort it all out. I must have used a nonsecure internet line, $6,000 was transferred into a pending PayPal account, PayPal was unable to reverse the transfer and I have been dealing with my bank branch in Canada to rescind the transfer. They require signed documents. Just getting something scanned here is a minor nightmare. I eventually also had to courier the documents back to Canada and the charge was a whopping US$86 for 2 sheets of paper in a cardboard envelope. If I was thinking clearly, I would have taken them with me back to Bali and couriered them from there. The hacker also changed the email address of my PayPal account and the account disappeared! What a mess.
I have also spent a considerable amount of time producing a whole series of posts for the Travel page of my website on cheap flights, accommodation, banking, credit cards, phones, VPNs and security (which I now consider myself somewhat of an authority after all my troubles). One message is clear – never use PayPal and if you must, leave no linked bank accounts on the site.
I used taksi’s frequently and found the taxi drivers here an interesting lot. They drive their hunks of junk with incredible fuel efficiency. One fellow was in 5th gear at 25km/hr. If there is any coasting, they immediately shift into neutral. They never exceed 25 and brake only in dire circumstances.
It was not much of an exploration of the country. But in the final analysis, I honestly don’t believe there is much to see anyway.