Saturday November 29, 2008

I wonder as I sit here in ‘One More Bar’ just how much bandwidth at any given point of the day is taken up with porn. There are two army types sitting up from me slightly to my right who think they are being subtle and yet look exactly like what they are; two randy blokes watching porn on the Internet. It’s not just ya run of the mill porn either, from what I can see of ‘skin heads’ screen it involves multiple people and animals. Yes it is creepy, heavy-duty porn that has ‘flat top’ drooling over his mates shoulder and both guys transfixed on the laptop screen. It’s so funny to watch I want to laugh out loud but a good people watcher never lets on that he is taking notice of his prey. Like with a very aggressive dog you do not want to make direct eye contact or give any other sign that you are aware of their activities. I swear I’m not lying but ‘flat top’ just put his hand on ‘skin heads’ shoulder and is now squeezing his buddies muscled upper arm. WTF?? I’m going to stop watching it’s creeping me out hahahaha. I don’t really make a habit of watching porn with my bro’s. Sure I have but it’s not something I would suggest to while away a quiet afternoon. I can tell you, however, that if ever I am in the company of my buddies and viewing adult content I would never, under any circumstances make physical contact! I’m in no way homophobic. My close bro’s and I will hug and even put an arm around each other in various platonic circumstances. But those two are making my skin crawl hahahaha ewwwwwww!

Anyway, enough of my random observations. I have pulled out the laptop to tell you about my day not the sexual proclivities of two rather strange, strangers in ‘One More Bar’. This morning my head ached in that foggy kind of way that reminded me straight up I had gotten stoned last night. It took a shower, two large mugs of coffee, 3 bits of toast with jam and about 5 cigarettes to clear enough of the fog for me to feel safe on the roads of Dili. I decided after a short ride I was still not awake enough and retreated to Timor Telecom to finish uploading those youtube videos. I think I finally have them through so see the links I have added to Thursdays blog and peep the video. If ya technologically minded you could always just bookmark my youtube account, if you subscribe I think it even notifies you when I upload new content. Up to you all what you want to do. I will always try to get links onto the appropriate blog entry so that is probably the easiest option anyway.

After a quick cyber dip and surf on the information super highway I decided to hit the road and do some more exploring. I’m still a bit shy of anything too radical after my last big expedition so decided I would just wander the streets of Dili and maybe if I felt ok I would venture west in search of a secluded beach for a swim. It’s a gorgeous day here in Dili and it’s been too long since I have felt saltwater on my skin. First up I had to see Timor Travel and pay for our bus tickets. Tav, Meags and I have decided to leave Monday morning now. They could use the extra time as much as I look forward to bludging my way through Sunday. We are due to see a gig at Motions Bar tonight and I suspect I may be in need of a sleep in tomorrow morning. Some Melbournite, who is now working here in Dili, has contacted me and they are playing in a band at Motion. Leigh found my blog during what, I assume, are routine searches for any people writing about Dili. It’s a bit intimidating when I am faced with the realisation complete strangers are also reading my ramblings. I write these for a record of my time travelling and for the entertainment of all you peeps back home. I don’t really think there are abject strangers out there reading my stories about stiffie’s and drug use when I write them. Oh well.. I guess it’s all good to pick-up some tag along readers. I’m not a bad bloke and despite my self-incriminating honesty there is not a lot in these entries to get too worked up over I think.

I’m rambling. But it is one of those rambling kinda days. Steelers Wheel has just come on the stereo here at ‘One More Bar’ and now I can’t help but talk about what a great song ‘Stuck in the Middle’ is. If not for Quentin Tarrentino I may never have got back into all those older classics. Aside from his film content, which I love, I think his biggest impact on recent popular culture has been his soundtracks. “Clowns to the left of me… jokers (watching weird porn) to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you.” So where was I… yes that’s right I got the tickets for Mondays bus in my right hip pocket and mounted the Devil for one last day of Dili sights, traffic and… I’m sorry to interrupt but ‘skin head’ and ‘flat top’ are now watching two goats go at it. Fucking wierdo’s!! I’m going to turn around so I can’t be distracted.. just give me a moment.. ok.. done ☺

Let me get to the bloody point. I visited Santa Cruz cemetery today. It’s the site of one of the pivotal events in East Timor’s history. Where Indonesian troops opened fire on an Independence protest and killed many a Timorese civilian. That alone would be cause to approach the cemetery with a respectful sense of gravity but of course it is a cemetery as well. A large crowded, sprawling monument to the loss and grief of countless families. I really wanted to see it but always feel a sense of sombre guilt when I visit graveyards, as if I know I should have been placed in one long ago. Maybe it’s a form of survivor guilt fuelled by my medical history and the countless stupid risks I have taken since, but I found myself being very careful not to tread on anywhere a body may lay underneath. A task not made easy by how tightly the graves are packed in here. I didn’t linger too long. Just made a leisurely walk through a good section of the place, soon making my getaway. One of the things I really loathe to see in these places are the small graves. Tiny, sad little graves representing lives cut way too short. In Santa Cruz there where far too many of them.

After that I just wandered the city. I would just go off and get lost in some maze of shanty towns. It was a lovely way to spend the day and I never quite did get to that secluded beach. It seems strange to say that I really like the poorest parts of a city, but I do. Yes they are potentially a lot more dangerous but they are also much more likely to give you those amazing unexpected experiences that make your travels so special. Unfortunately today did not produce a single one of those memorable events. I just rode around for hours soaking in the feel and sights that Dili has to offer. Like that dodgy lawyer character in ‘The Castle’ would say, today was all about the vibe. Vibes are not exactly easy to write about. They are intensely personal and lack the structure or substance to enable a descriptive explanation. Just know I had mad fun and was eventually disappointed when without realising it I arrived at Tiger Fuel and decided that despite being an hour early I may as well say goodbye to my wheels. There seemed little point in continuing my punishment of Reds failing suspension so I let the little fella have a well deserved rest and caught a cab back to ‘One More Bar’.

In the late arvo or early evening I hit the net for a half hour or so and eventually when my hunger got too much to bare I took the short walk back to The Kebab Place. Antonio and I spent the next few hours chatting away, drinking beer (well I did.. I actually drank the café dry hahaha), eating fabulous food and generally just hanging out. Tav and Meags showed up around 8 or 9pm. Antonio and I were deep in a shared day dream of sailing the world and I was totally engrossed in a book Antonio was showing me about sailing in Turkey. It looked so beautiful there, especially Antonio’s home town of Barum or Borum, I can’t quite remember the name but it’s a seaside town with water so deep and calm the shore line is a solid prickly line of masts for as far as the eye can see. Right in the centre of it all is a 2000 plus year old castle. Imagine a totally stereotypical postcard photo of a seaside Turkish town and you still have only half an idea of how beautiful this place is. I can’t wait to get to Turkey.

Antonio eventually called it a day and closed shop and we piled into his dodgy little Nissan Sedan to make the drive to his home and collect his missus. His house is right behind the American Embassy on the western end of town and is a comfortable, well appointed, clean little pink building. We had a beer and tried to give Antonio’s beautiful lady (Tess) a chance to get their little girl to bed. Aleef is the toddlers name and she is the cutest little ball of personality. She agonised for at least half an hour over what toys she wanted to share with us but eventually we all had our own toy as Aleef supervised our playtime. Tav had a cool red motorbike, Meags a blue plastic dog and I ended up with the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. I was disappointed cause I really wanted Tav’s motorbike haha. Aleef was never going to go to bed with us their as captive audience and Antonio wanted to get to Caz Bar for a dance and some drinks so we all piled back into the car. I asked him about Motion and he said I should trust him and allow him to take me for drinks so I gave up on the Gig idea and just went with the flow. Getting this small insight into life here in Dili was too good to pass up anyway.

Caz Bar is out on the eastern end of town, on the way to the Jesus Statue I told you all about the other day. It’s a sizable, open aired club right on the beach that seems fairly popular with locals and visitors alike. We grabbed a beer and found a spot just across the road in a bungalow on the sand to enjoy the ‘Happy Cigarette’ Antonio had so expertly prepared again. We never really moved from that spot for the rest of the night. Chilling and chatting on the beach, hypnotised by the view across a glassy smooth ocean to the twinkling lights of Dili in the distance. Meags asked Antonio when was the last time he met another tourist and it turns out it’s been a few months. Wow!! We really are off the beaten track in this little East Timorese capital. Not much of note occurred at the bar. It was like today; more about the vibe than the events but we all enjoyed ourselves I think. Well I know I did.

Eventually Antonio had to make a move and us three were getting a bit heavy eyed anyway. The drive back to town is always a bit scary in these situations and I swear I left claw marks in the front passenger seat as Antonio alternated between racing car driver and snail on the twisty, narrow road home. Cheezus! If I make it through the whole of this trip without actually being in a crash it will be a blooming miracle. I said goodbye to Tav and Meags and wobbled my way home. The gate was not locked out front but the jail cell door was shut again in the entryway. I got my inner bogan bond out again, this time would have been much easier except I had the local wild-eyed dog trying to bite me as I performed my break in. Sure he was just doing his job and protecting his home but he’s a crazy little fucker and very nearly got me a couple times until I was forced to punch him fair on the snout when he got too close. Poor fella didn’t know what hit him as he yelped off back up the drive a few feet, gathered his courage and started barking and peeing simultaneously. Crazy little fucker is messed up in the head I reckon and I was glad to be on the other side of the gate when he launched his next attack, biting the metal bars as I laughed at him. Bed was like a large fluffy cloud and I lasted about 4 seconds before drifting off for a long, long sleep.

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