Destination East Timor
Asia’s newest country is moving silently in its transition to mature its Economy and Society. It is a country where a lot is still on the drawing board and where there is always an opportunity to start things with best practices considered. I guess you can say that East Timor is an El Dorado for Nation Building because a lot of the experiments are hits and misses.
Take Tourism, for example, the industry is not well developed, and people there are still not that used to tourists, but that for me is one of the big reasons why you should visit East Timor. People here are a lot less consumer-centric than in most countries you will have gone too. But I have to say that somehow the City has a one country two systems feel. The UN has had a significant presence in the islands, and it seems that there is a UN ex-pat price and a local price. For example, foreigners pay with a base price of 1 USD for a taxi, but locals pay much less. It can be quite expensive in EastTimor, though, the island does not have enough resources yet.
Locals at Dili Beach
There are around 230,000 inhabitants in Dili, but the City itself feels like a small town. It is tucked between a mountain range and a beach. Unfortunately, the mountains have not many trees, but still, the city setting is beautiful!
East of Dili
East Timor, also boasts of lots of pristine white beaches. They have recently improved the roads going East, and so just drive a little bit further East to find your beach if the one near Dili gets crowded.
Areia Branca
If you’re into Diving, you’re in luck, Dili is one of the best-kept secrets for divers; like the Philippines, it has lots of good spots which are untouched, and it is even more off the beaten track! Make sure to stay in a Diving-centric hotel; a 3* hotels not facing the sea can have a very Spartan feel. I guess hostels are a lot better than these types of accommodation, at least it is easier to find travel mates if you are going solo.
Languages of East Timor
If you know a little bit of Spanish or even better Portuguese, you can try it out with the locals, a lot of them understand it, but “elite” East Timorese mainly used Portuguese. So the vast majority speak local languages like Tetum. Portuguese and Spanish remain a big Ice Breaker when it comes to communicating with the locals. I’ve tried it out a lot with taxi drivers and have had good conversations with them.
Food in East Timor has Portuguese and Pacific region influence
Although I got a little bit of apprehension going to East Timor because of what I have read about the country in terms of security in some guides, I have to say that I felt safe in Dili.
I visited East Timor while I was in Bali, the direct flight to Dili took a little bit less than 2 hours. Singapore and Darwin are other gateways to East Timor.