Not only was my flight late, but the visa and customs processing on arrival took longer than I had planned. By the time I got to my hotel, it was after 6:00 pm and the sun was already setting.
Seaside Walk In Dili, Timor-Leste
It was too late to visit Cristo Rei, Dili’s version of Rio Di Janeiro’s Christ statue, but the inkeeper suggested that I have a stroll along the water.
I could see the water from my room and thought that sounded like a great idea. My phone did not work (Timor-Leste is not part of T-Mobile’s international network) and Gig-Sky also did not work, so I downloaded my Google map and set out for a café called Loja.
As I walked along the beach, I saw young people playing soccer and seaside dining on the sand with plastic tables and chairs that reminded me of my trip to Goa. I figured I would return here for dinner if my café did not work out.
With the strong Portuguese influence, Timor-Leste is an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic nation, with over 95% of the population identifying with that faith tradition. As I walked, I passed by an evening prayer service at the Church of Saint Anthony of Motael, the oldest church in East Timor. Anthony of Padua, who lived from 1195 – 1231, was a Portuguese Catholic priest and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946.
There were statues of Mary in many parts of Dili, often with candles lit under them.
Without cell phone reception, I took several wrong turns and ultimately never found the restaurant. In fact, when I arrived at what I thought was the right place, a dog bolted out and started barking at me. But I didn’t even see the café and am pretty sure I just walked to the spot.
It was taxingly hot and humid and by this time I was absolutely drenched in sweat. I ducked into a grocery store and purchased a large bottle of water for 50 cents. USD is the de facto currency in Timor-Leste and looking around, I saw that grocery prices were high…I’m not sure how people do it when the average salaried employee makes $252 per month.
Then the rain started, and not just a few sprinkles, but a torrential downpour…and I was wearing a t-shirt and had no umbrella!
I was not going to eat dinner on the beach in the rain, so I hopped into a taxi, had to negotiate a price (from $10 to $5 for a one-mile drive), and headed to a restaurant I had noticed earlier on my walk.
Next: dinner with the ex-pats
I’m sharing about my whirlwind trip through Asia.
Great snapshot.
Sounds like so many of my visits in Asia. Walking to the exact location of a cafe and finding nothing. Obv a lot more problematic with three young kids in tow in 95 degrees!
The $252 is nationwide, and not so applicable in Dili. When you get out in to the districts people really aren’t living on much. Outside of Dili, the concept of a restaurant is really non-existent. Fish on a stick (which you photographed) seems to be the national dish. In many towns there’s not even really anything to spend money on other than bags of chips and cans of Bintang.
I think the country has immense potential for tourism. Some of the best diving in the world is accessible from Dili. The country is littered with beaches, and the culture is familiar; they’re catholic after all. What it will take is improved infrastructure, and a few more amenities for visitors. Hopefully joining ASEAN will help them. If Laos can can have a thriving tourism industry, surely Timor could too if they could manage to get an Air Asia flight from DPS.
Thanks for taking us along on this one. Great reads.
Eh, give the taxi driver an extra $5 sometimes. A price may not be market for the locals, but living generously (as you certainly are doing!) is its own reward.
Timor Leste is wildly expensive, as most of everything is imported. They have oil, but it’s set to run out in 2035, at which point Timor Leste won’t be a in a great position, let’s say that.
Wish you had time to get with the local culture for the evening. The chicken fights are amazing there, some of the best. I don’t support animal stuff like that; but cool to watch it once.
Wish you had taken me up on my offer for a guide. Dili is a lot more than meets the eye. Last time out, ended up with a fugitives who were running a remote illegal online gambling operation from Dili, which seems to be common as the Indo government tracks them through Cambodia and such.
it is fun to read your stories about this trip but, as is true w/ many destinations, there is far more to experience than fits in a short drop-in visit even if you will have added Timor-Leste to your travel log which is something very few Americans will ever do.