East Timor, or as the Timorese themselves wish to call their country, Timor Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It is a warm climate island surrounded by blue waters. East Timor is not a popular spot for tourists, so there is not much interesting information about it. However, if you are traveling to East Timor, we will help you with what we collected from our trip to this remote country.
Like most of the foreigners in East Timor, I came here to work in a government capacity to the city of Dili for a month. I still have not come across a single foreigner in Dili on holidays but I am sure they are around.
Getting flights into Dili was a challenge onto its self. While working in Bangkok, I traveled to Bali where I had to spend a night prior to departing the next morning with Merpati Airline to East Timor. Travelers must have sufficient USD to purchase a ticket from Densapar to Dili as a backup. Merpati Airlines will not accept tickets purchased by other travel agencies. Merpati will only accept Indonesian rupees or USD in Bali. In Dili, Merpati will only accept USD.
Currently, Merpati is only servicing Dili on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Once I was able to pass this hurdle, I was ok. Upon arriving, Immigration was a snap and the line was very small. It was 25USD for visas but I noticed that diplomats get into the country with free courtesy. I was startled by first sights of UN police everywhere in the airport. I noticed mostly Egyptian UN authorities. It was a little uneasy at first but then it becomes so common to see UN vehicles and personnel. After passing immigration and clearing customs, I found myself right outside the airport. The airport is small with a single runway for both incoming and outgoing flights. My hotel, Discovery Inn, was supposed to have a driver waiting for me but was nowhere to be found. Luckily, I noticed a booth with a home-made sign that read “taxi”. The cost was 10USD but I later found from the locals that it should have been no more than 5USD. In addition, most rides within the city of Dili should be between 1USD to 3USD. The airport is remarkably close to Dili just under 15 minutes away.
Please note that I read Lonely Planet book on East Timor 2nd edition. The book was remarkably helpful but some of the restaurants and hotels are either not there or changed names. More importantly, there are a few new places. Prices in East Timor also experienced a whopping 30% increase since its release in September 2008.
The drive from the airport was horrible and grim. The infrastructure was dilapidated. I’ll let you Google some recent history on this nation so that you are aware why things are the way they are. But despite such a ride, I see children just enjoying the beach and locals taking shade and just letting the world pass by.
Kids having fun.
Most of the drive in Dili was on Avenida de Portugal which is the main beach strip. My hotel was in the center of Dili by the statue of the Virgin Mary. Discovery Inn is considered the most luxurious hotel in the city. The services, staff, and facility are fine. It is by far not your typical 5 star palace especially in comparison with places like Thailand, Singapore, or Malaysia but for Timor Leste, it is grand. It does resemble a 3 star motel back for Western standards. Internet is just a draw of luck. One day it works and another day it does not and nobody will know exactly why sometime is not really working. There is no wireless but a CAT5 cable on your desk. Speed is about 0.20 Mbps which is quiet fast for Timor-Leste. It is just the way it is. However, one thing that is exactly the same to any 5 star hotel is the price. My room rate is about 135USD a night, quite pricey if you ask me. Hot breakfast and laundry included (four pieces). I can only imagine what other hotels that are half the price look like. However, I would still recommend this hotel if you can afford it. It provides very clean rooms, hot water, reliable electricity, friendly staff and a good quirky fine dining restaurant called Diya. I am in love with the Chocolate Gateaux, which is an extravaganza of chocolate lava oozing from inside a mild chocolate cake topped with a cherry. Yummy!
Discovery Inn - the Best hotel in Dili (Timor-Leste).
I dropped my bags took a shower and immediately wanted to see what the city Dili walking tour could offer. Not knowing my way, I simply just headed to the beach. The beach was sad and very dirty. More distressing was the look on the locals. I did not experience the typical smiles from Bangkok or Bali. People just seemed different here. Security concerns are like any other city in the world. Just be careful where you walk but the locals mostly leave the foreigners alone (Malay, Tetum word for foreigner). Foreign women are advised not to walk alone by government agencies but I did noticed two blonds jogging by the beach alone on different occasions. I would not recommend it but perhaps they know something I don’t.
Beach area in Dili.
I walked and saw the statue of Mary and it became so apparent to me how strong Roman Catholicism is in Timor Leste. They take their religion seriously and it is part of their everyday life. For just a moment, it felt like being in a small village in Portugal. And this is when things turned out brighter and brighter each day during my stay in Timor-Leste.
Ben S.
July 2011
It would be helpful if such notes bear a date of posting for putting things into perspective.
Dili is save and there is no hassle in walking/jogging around other than that along the beach front the road and space becomes narrow in places and subsequently dangerous – due to cars.
Discovery Inn the best ? a matter of taste
Flights (as per July 2001)
to Bali
daily flight by Merpati
Monday and Friday by Batavia
to Singapore (Air Timor – Silk Air operated)
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
to Australia
at least once per day
Great observation! I will include a date. By the way this article is from 2010 February. Thank you for additional information on flights to Timor Leste, I am sure readers will find it helpful.