The Path Less Ridden

The morning started with a wander around the back streets of Dili, getting a feel for the town. The cathedral is the biggest non-government / embassy building around.

 

 

Getting back to the hostel around lunchtime, I met up with a fellow RTW motorcyclist – Przemek, a Polish-Aussie from Perth. We quickly worked out our bikes were on the same ship, and that we were going to follow the same route and timeframe at least for the first week, so we decided to stick together.

One of the big tourist attractions in Dili is the statue of Cristo Rei – Christ the King. Given to Timor Leste by Suharto in 1996 as kind of peace offering, it was still an underhanded denigration, with the statue’s 27m height referring to Timor’s status as Indonesia’s 27^th province. Still, despite any symbolism, it is one of Timor’s popular spots for both locals and tourists.

The statue stands around 7km east of Dili, passing through the beach and bar strip that will surely become more and more popular as Timor becomes a more notable destination.

 

 

It’s a climb of a little over 500 stairs to the top (I lost exact count around half way up), which is a popular exercise / time-trial for ex-pats, called a ‘Jesus run’.

 

 

Passing through and trying not to disturb a church ceremony half way up (it being Sunday), the viewing platforms at the top provide a great view.

 

 

Then you reach the statue itself – and I can’t resist some very mild blasphemy.

 

 

Like many tropical areas, after sunny mornings come afternoon storms. This one blocked any view of Dili itself.

 

 

From half way back down the hill, Jesus appeared to welcome the rolling black clouds.

 

 

Passing back through town, we noticed that the cargo ship had docked and was unloading containers – despite warnings that it could take a week of waiting for other ships.

 

 

As I’ve mentioned previously, the people here are genuinely friendly, and are always smiling. While waiting for dinner to be cooked (Martabak, yay!), this young lady wanted photos with me, so I took one in return.

 

 

Walking home, the tropical clouds lit up the sky, as the taxis honked their horns and the street vendors closed for the day.

 

 

That was yesterday; we have spent today running around customs and the shipping yard, getting the carnet signed off, all the paperwork processed, applying for the Indonesian visas, and finally this afternoon unpacking the bikes from the containers and getting back to the hostel.

Tomorrow we’re planning a day trip up into the mountains south of Dili, to Maubisse, the coffee-growing centre of Timor Leste, before returning to pick up our passports from the Indonesian Embassy, and heading towards the border on Thursday.