EAST TIMOR (JANUARY 2010)

EAST TIMOR

We went to Dili where taxis are either 1$, 2$, or 3$, depending on the distance, no meter. (After a 5 hour journey from Mariana), we checked into the only backpackers in Dili, East Timor Backpackers. Rested most of the day, then went to the beach to look at Aussie UN soldiers slather sun-block all over their friends. Some over-priced terraced places catering to the UN salaried aid workers, which looked nice from far, but far from good, unless you are OK to pay 15$ for a 2$ meal. Luckily, there are local places that sell the same food for 2$, which of course, is where we ate. Anyways, on the beach, we saw local Timor men and families drinking two fours of Carlsberg, Heineken, etc., right on the beach. Some Portuguese hotties in bikinis, too!! I said to Carol: "Dewi, we aren't in Jakarta anymore!!" I did some snorkeling right there, in a city beach!! Visibility was "dusty", because when it rains, the dusty streets of DIli get cleaned too, and the run-off makes it's way to the oceans. That being said, I did not find any plastic in the sea like in Indonesia, or cigarettes, like in Korea. We bought Breakfast and dinner at the grocery store, well stocked with Aussie goods, being bought by American UN-Pol and other aid workers. Lunches, we ate out at 3$ all you can eat Sri-Lankian, Malay, or East-Timorian/Portuguese buffets, or at this 5$ rotisserie chicken place next to our hotel. We'd eat breakfasts of fruit, eggs and oatmeal in the garden, and eat suppers of salad in the living room, while watching DVDs. On Monday, I went out exploring,, and had a Malay buffet, while Carol rested at the guest-house. I took photos of various monuments, churches, the governors palace, a light house, etc. Then I went to a library which focuses on presidential things. I watched a video about the Santa Cruz Massacre. Back in November, 1991, A young man, about 21 years old, was killed for being a part of the resistance, so about 200 friends and family went to a memorial at a church, the same day that a UN/Portuguese delegation canceled their fact finding trip to Dili, one which the people at this memorial planned to show evidence about the Holocaust that Indonesia was enacting. Well, the people marched to the cemetery, waving Eat Timorese flags and shouting: "Long live a Free East Timor". When they got to the cemetery, the Indonesian military opened fire, killing over 100 and then another 100 witnesses over the next few weeks. The difference between this massacre and the several others that preceded it was that one Kiwi boy was killed and the Western Media managed to video tape it. Some call this the turning point in the fight for freedom. At this point, I was quite tired, so I went home. The next day, Carol followed me to the Ramos Library, where we watched another video about the massacre, and then went to the Santa Cruz cemetery, which actually had a monument to the fallen, but we couldn't find it. This cemetery was very crowded, and I left feeling like my energy had been spent. Carol said that it was because there was a lot of sadness and negative energy there. The next day, we went back to the library, after a hearty Sri Lankian buffet. This time, we saw a movie about the struggle for independence and how America approved the invasion of East Timor in 1975 and even provided the transport, ammo, and guns for them to do it. Famed linguist and now political activist, Noam Chomsky stated: "In WWII, over 40,000 East Timorese died defending 100 Australian soldiers, and now, (early 1990s) Australia is supporting the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. The Aussies have a funny way of thanking those 40,000 dead Timorese soldiers." Basically, the world had denounced Indonesia for what they were doing, but did not want to actually take any action. You see, it would look bad to the world if the West attacked a new democracy; Indonesia, but actually they just wanted the trade. It's all about the $ man. Who cares about over 200,000 dead East Timorese when your making money, dude!! Then we went to the Giant statue of Jesus. Basically, we started everyday of our trip by watching a video of some sort at the Ramos museum, and then we'd go to the location, such as the East Timorese version of S-21, where many Timorese were held as political prisoners and tortured by Indonesians. We also visited an Indonesian Military graveyard, which was unfortunately rather empty compared to the Santa Cruz grave right across the street. We also climbed over some very steep and dangerous cliffs to get to the other side of the Jesus statue, so we could see the landscape, hills, beach, and to snorkel. We also went to Dili rock on the outskirts of town, where I snorkeled in the rough waters. I even took a photo with 2 UN soldiers holding machine guns from Malaysia. They were actually very nice, but I wouldn't have wanted to of met up with some of their counterparts from America or Australia. Those guys looked mean. Towards the end of our trip, we found an East Timorese buffet, where a bunch of African guys were piling on the food, man, if I've ever seen guys eat like that, it would only be comparable to eating at the all you can buffets in Montreal with me and Brian having an eating contest, but for these guys, it was just a regular Friday night. East Timorese food is heavily influenced by Indonesia and China, so there actually wasn't much in the way of authentic Timorese food, but at least this buffet had a bit of everything, including Portuguese beef stew, very similar to caldereta, from the Philippines, via Spain. When we were at the boarder, the same lady that Carol befriended, noticed that the Indonesians were budding in line, pushing and shoving, as they normally do, so she reached over all the them (some people [agents, bus drivers] were handing over 15 passports at a time) and took ours. On the 15 hour bus journey back to Kupang, we met a UN policeman from Nepal, with whom we engaged in interesting conversation.

Should you go to East Timor? Yes, because they have a very important history that the world needs to know about, which can be spread through our words. Additionally, it's one of those Asian countries you'll want to put a stamp into your passport and one day say: "East Timor? Yes, been there", because it's a lot easier than let's say, Bhutan, or North Korea. Wait until it's a bit easier and cheaper to fly in, though. There are direct flights from Bali and Darwin (Australia), but it's a bit expensive. The advantage of flying though is that they'll give you a via on arrival. Same by ship, too.

Are there other things to see in East Timor except Dili? Absolutely, 2 to 3 full weeks worth, but after a 15 hour & 1.5 day bus right from Kupang, we were quite intent with one week in Dili.

Now, for all the countries in Asia, I've got 2.5 left: Mongolia, and North Korea. The other half is Bhutan; is that in Asia or is it part of the Indian sub-continent? I mean, some look like Indians and some look like Chinese?? I am confused there.

And here's one that is going to hurt you all: YOU KNOW THAT CONTINENT CALLED SOUTH-EAST ASIA? YOU KNOW ALL THE COUNTRIES THERE? CAROL AND I HAVE BEEN TO ALL OF THEM.

EAT TIMUR IS VERY SCENIC