When I was about 15, my mother yelled out to me "Chris, where the hell is East Timor!?" She said "Timor" very emphatically yet even I, despite knowing the capital of every country, had no clue where it was. It was all over the news and I had no idea why. Only later did I learn about Timor-Leste when I learned it became independent from Indonesia in 2002 after a long struggle for independence. The name literally means "East-East" as "timor" is "east" in Bahasa Indonesia and "leste" is "east" in Portuguese. A few months ago I was planning a trip to Vietnam but the cost of flights kept rising. When I found a cheap flight to Timor-Leste I booked it straight away. My friend Jakob has been to 115 countries and was here at the time.
Flying here from Darwin yesterday, there were just five passengers on Airnorth's only international route. With a flight time of about an hour and ten minutes it's easily the shortest international route from Australia and, in fact, Darwin is closer to Dili than to Alice Springs. The visa for Timor-Leste costs $30 and is for 30 days, meaning it costs $1 per day to be here. Upon leaving the airport I dealt with the usual heckling of "taxi" but I was instructed to take a microlet. These small vehicles remind me a bit of the buses in Samoa since they're painted an array of colours and operate on fixed routes. To signal the driver to stop, you tap a coin on the metal bar above your head. Josh is my CS host during my time in Dili, and when the microlet driver dropped me at Josh' work, he tried to charge me $5 but I don't think so. Feeling bad I gave him $2 but would later learn that all fares are 25 centavos. Timor-Leste uses the US dollar as its official currency but like in Panama and Ecuador, they issue their own coins.
Dili is easily up there with cities like Port Moresby, Apia, or Pape'ete: it's a functional capital and a good place to get your bearings and provisions but there's nothing super flash about it. It is very hot here and sweat stings as it drips into my eyes. The best thing is that I flew here on a one-way ticket, therefore I'm able to relax a bit and not run around like a maniac. I hurt my hip last week so I'm taking it easy a bit. After leaving my stuff at Josh' home and getting some of the worst Chinese food I've ever had, I wanted to visit the presidential palace. Jose Ramos-Horta is regarded as the founding father of Timor-Leste, and he was recently re-elected president. Although one of my goals is to meet an active world leader, I've actually met two: Toke Talagi of Niue, and Charlene Warren-Peu of Pitcairn Island. The palace grounds are open to the public and the president's guards don't carry guns.
Timor-Leste is the youngest country I've visited, as well as the only country I've been to that's younger than me. It is also the only country in Asia to be entirely within the southern hemisphere. Today I took a hot and steamy walk up to the statue of Christ, and a commanding view to go with it.
Always carry more water than you think you'll need in these hot climates. Last night I wrote a letter to His Excellency, Jose Ramos-Horta, and dropped it off at the palace today. Let's see if I get a response. Two things I absolutely love photographing in cities are fruit and vegetable stands, and street art. Dili sure has plenty of both.
I couldn't eat chilies this hot...
The real charms in Timor-Leste are outside the capital, so I'm sure not to spend all of my time in Dili. For at least the next two weeks I'll be exploring this fascinating country where only a smattering of intrepid visitors set foot.
