Jeffrey's wonderful world: Dili, Timor Leste

31 July 2009 812 views No Comment

This was my first trip to Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. After trying very hard to fly some engineers into the country, i decided it is time to fly in myself. This was considered as “cost saving”.

Timor-Leste also known as the East Timor, it used to be part of Indonesia. Timor-Leste became an independent country on 2002 after some fierce struggle. Timor-Leste is a mysterious country to many people as it does not enjoy much publicity. In fact it is a rather strange country to me as well.

Jeffrey has landed in Dili, Timor Leste

Why Timor-Leste is an interesting country

1. The first language is Portuguese.

2. They deal in US dollar, no local currency.

3. They have a culture similar to Indonesian.

How to go to Timor Leste

I know three ways to travel to Dili, Timor-Leste

1. There are direct flight twice a week (Tuesday and Saturday) to Dili from Singapore by SilkAir. It can be difficult to book the flight on Tuesday.

2. There are daily flight to Dili from Bali Denpasar airport, Indonesia by Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

3. There are flight to Dili from Darwin by Airnorth.

Things to note when traveling to Dili, Timor-Leste

1. Timor-Leste is 1 hour ahead of SG time (GMT +9).

2. Visa on arrival US$30 for a period of 30 days stay. Owners of Portuguese passport are exempted.

3. Airport departure tax of US$10.

What is Timor-Leste good for?

Dili is good for a few things:

1. Fresh seafood

2. Coffee

3. Diving

Where did Jeffrey go?

I am there for work. So most of the time were spent with the customers/resellers. The only free time we had was mostly at night.

Jeffrey's first dinner at Dili, Timor Leste

Jeffrey's first seafood dinner at Dili, Timor Leste.

We had the above dinner at a restaurant called Victoria. There was no fixed menu, you just go to their fridges and pick up whatever you like to eat, ask for the price and seal the deal. The chief really took their time to grill the seafood and we waited like more than an hour. Maybe due to extreme hunger, the seafood was fantastic (Haha…). To be honest, the seafood was extremely fresh. I heard from the local they were freshly caught every day.

Jeffrey visiting a local coffee factory

One of the morning, our Dili contact brought us to a coffee factory. I have been to a few tea factories but this was my first time seeing how coffee beans are processed into coffee powders. The place was very fuming. This was the day i breathed in the most coffee fume/powder. Timor Leste produces some of the best Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. The local told me that the Robusta beans are higher in caffeine and can make you stay awake a whole day. Wow!

Jeffrey bought a packet of Arabica coffee beans

I have been hearing those coffee grinding machines working very hard in Starbuck, Coffee bean and TCC, so I decided to buy a pack of the coffee beans to experiment. First i need to get myself a mini grinder. Any recommendation?

Jeffrey visiting the market places

We moved on to visit the various market places. The locals sell their goods mainly along the beach or roadsides. Their goods range from chickens, fruits, fishes, handy crafts, coconuts and honey drinks. We also saw a few rare stuffs along the way like below.

A taxi driver trying to sell a sword fish he has caught in the morning.

Before the trip, i did some research on Dili. There is a Jesus statue on the far eastern end of the island. So i asked my local contact person to bring us there. Along the way, we were mesmerized by the unspoilt beach. Wow! Wow!

Beach view at Dili, Timor-Leste

After some stairs climbing, we reached the bottom of the Jesus statue… … Only to find that it was under renovation. So sad…

Jesus statue in Dili

Ok lah! Let’s go for a good dinner! The local decided to bring us to the best western food eating place. The journey was rather long. The road condition was very poor. There were many potholes. The local has to drive very slow in order not to damage his car’s suspension.

Jeffrey eating famous steak and drinking local beer.

Jeffrey eating the famous steak and drinking local beer.

A Malaysian runs this western food restaurant cum hotel. The owner built a “private” jetty and put up a eating place on the seaside. The place offers a very good atmosphere to rest and relax. The steak was great!