Dallying in Dili

---

aug25
Flight: Denpasar (DPS), Bali, Indonesia, to Dili (DIL), East Timor; Merpati
Hotel: Hotel Esplanada, Dili, East Timor, $110
Today was our last morning in Bali, we were sad to be leaving so soon but we will definitely be back here someday! Our flight to Dili, East Timor was at 10AM so it meant an early start, getting up at 6:30, quick breakfast, then checkout at 7. I paid a chunk of the hotel bill with my remaining rupiah, leaving me with just 150,000IDR each for departure taxes and 20k for drinks. We had arranged a car to take us to the airport, $30 a bit pricey considering we had hired a driver for a full day yesterday for only $45. The driver kept turning this way and that as we passed by rice paddies and towns. There's so many twisty roads in Bali I don't know how drivers don't get lost! It was rushhour in Bali, which basically meant there were hundreds of people all on mopeds and scooters and all heading from their villages towards Denpasar or Kuta. We passed row after row of shops, still amazes me just how much stuff is for sale here.. and we didn't buy anything!

We arrived at the airport after about 50 minutes; our Merpati flight to Dili would be departing from the international terminal. Checkin went very smooth but there was already a line. Paid the 150,000IDR departure tax and had a LOOONG walk down to gate 9. We still had over an hour to kill so I bought a few drinks and M. got a foot massage. The gate area was past security, once you entered the gate you couldn't get out again. After busing to the plane and boarding the 737 via the aft stairs the flight actually left more or less on time. The flight was almost full, the plane was a little worn and had tight seats. The flight itself was uneventful. Flying time to Dili from Bali was 1:40.

East Timor gets alot of bad press. It was a Portuguese colony from the 1500's until 1975 when the Portuguese basically abandoned their other colonies (Angola, Mozambique). The Indonesians invaded and controlled East Timor until 1999 when East Timor declared their independence. The transition was not a peaceful one, with militias rioting and looting. The UN moved in soon after to keep the peace and provide food aid. Flareups still occasionally happen; indeed earlier this year there was an attempted assassination on the president. The people though seem very proud of their country.

Getting to East Timor can be a bit of a hassle. Until recently, only two airlines fly to East Timor; Merpati Airlines from Bali (which usually requires staying overnight in Bali) and Air North from Darwin in Australia. Another new option is on Austasia airlines which has started nonstop service to Singapore a few days a week. We had booked tickets from Bali to Dili on Merpati, then Dili to Singapore.

When we landed in Dili we noticed there were several white UN helicopters, one of them was preparing to take off. We were in row 15 at the middle of the plane, this is the worst as people were getting off from the front/aft of the plane. This left us one of the last ones off the plane and in line to get the visa on arrival, so this took awhile. We noticed several other American passports in line, most people were working with aid agencies or the UN. The visa was $30, the officer was surprised that a) we were tourists, and b) we were only staying for 1 day! He gave us 7-days anyway, and said 'Welcome to my country!' The airport itself is pretty small and rundown. We collected our bags, then went outside to the taxi line. They wanted $10 for the short ride into town (a ripoff, should be $5) but they wouldn't back down. Our taxi was a nice Toyota Camry with missing door handles.

We drove out from the airport, the IDP camp that i had seen in photos/google earth near the airport appeared to be gone. We passed by several embassies (US, Korea, Thailand) and a good looking vegetable market, hopefully we could check this out later. We were staying at the Esplanade Hotel for $110 a night, that included AC/hot water, wifi and breakfast, but still a pretty basic hotel. Prices are fairly high here due to all the foreigners. The hotel was fronting the ocean with an open air restaurant and was where the Kiwi police force was staying. The rooms were small with a king bed, TV and in-room safe. The sliding glass door to our room had a busted lock. There was a huge safe outside the door (a decoy?)

After getting settled in we ate a good lunch at the hotel restaurant then caught a $2 taxi into town. Taxis are very plentiful here, driving up and down the beach road and most rides in town are $1-$2. The cars are in varying shape, from brand new to beaters with cracked windshields (rock throwing is a problem here) and missing door handles. The drivers usually understand Portuguese or even English and usually the radios were blaring Brazilian dance music. We started at the far end of town near the One More Bar. A gorgeous day, wonderful temperature and a nice breeze coming off the ocean. We spent awhile wandering along the waterfront back towards the center of town. We saw the Memorial do Paz, Virgin Mary, Cultural Center (old Portuguese Garrison) and Palacio do Governo. There was another market here with really fresh-looking vegetables. Fishermen were spread along the beach cleaning their fish, which also looked very fresh. They were storing them in ice in old fridges! The waterfront here has been turned into a park, there is a sidewalk winding through the banyan trees and there were children playing on swings, etc. We noticed alot of joggers as well, not just the foreigners but it looked like locals were as well. Local couples were canoodling in the shade.

After we left the Palacio do Governo we caught a taxi out to Cape Fatucama, where the Christo Rei statue is located. There were lots of beach restaurants and more joggers along the way, this being a great spot to catch the sunset. The Christo Rei statue is similar to the Cristo Redentor one in Rio and it was a parting gift from the Indonesians. It looked like a long climb to the top, I counted over 500 steps! There are alcoves along the way to the top showing the progression of Jesus' trial and crucifixion. Not too many people out here, only saw 2 others at the top, one of them who JOGGED up those stairs. Ugh. The statue itself stands atop a globe with his arms outstretched to the west.


aug26
Flight: Dili (DIL), East Timor to Singapore (SIN); Austasia Airlines
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel then crossed over the street to walk along the beach a bit. There were some kids there, we started saying hello and spent awhile with them skipping stones into the surf. Our flight wasn't until 3:30 so we still had a bit of time to explore. The hotel had some examples of tais, locally made woven fabrics. We asked the guy at the hotel about them and again he seemed surprised we were tourists. But again a warm 'welcome to my country'. He told us of the Tais market in town. We caught a cab there and had him wait while we walked around. The market was quite nice, they had a dozen or more stalls selling the tais or other souvenirs, coral jewelry, discs, and model Timor-style houses. These are boxy shaped on stilts with tall thatched roofs. The tais are different styles depending on which part of the country they are from. One of them was blue and white with the UN logo and 'TIMOR LESTE 2008' written on it. The prices were decent and you could bargain here. We went a little crazy and bought 6 tais and several necklaces! Well the money goes to the locals here so that is good.

We headed back to the hotel for lunch, and soon it was time to head to the airport. Caught a cab there for $5. We thought we were being early 2 hrs before the flight, but the checkin here CLOSES 1:45 before the flight and we were one of the last ones to checkin! There was only another American woman behind us. We had to pay $10 each departure tax, then went though security into the waiting area.which was air conditioned. There was a duty free store here and more crafts/souvenirs but nothing to eat/drink. It was a busy time of day. The Merpati flight just left, and a Our Airline (from Nauru?) arrived. Then our flight arrived, all within 40 minutes. The AustAsia flight is a SilkAir charter A319 plane; and it was only 1/3 full. We were offered juice or beer pre-takeoff! They also served lunch on the 3:20 flight to Singapore.

---

Photos

Fruit+vegetable market
Everything looks very fresh!

Christo Rei statue
A parting gift from the Indonesians; 500+ steps to get to the top

Comments

[tina]

I like tais Timor Leste.

[kiron manuel]

East Timor Postcards
Hi Jordan,I live in nearby Asia.I would like to know how to get East Timor Postcards.Would you have the address of the hotel you stayed in? Bye Kiron Manuel([e-mail])

[hauteboy]

Dili Hotel address
from their website: www.hotelesplanada.com Reservation Office: Avenida da Portugal (Beach Rd) Dili East Timor Land line: [phone] Fax: [phone]