Tag Archives: VSA

Day 86 – Goodbye Dili

The last day of comfort in Herman’s Dili abode has come, it is finally time to move on and get on the road. Plus, there was some recovering to do from the long hike and strenuous ride back.

We spend an awful long time with the last two blog posts today. Our mobile data has run out and we did not want to buy another data package for our last days in Timor, so we went to Timor Plaza after lunch and used the free wifi there. Free unfortunately also means slow and unreliable, so all in all, it took us two hours to get the two post up online.

Nina and Joris

Porch night with the VSA volunteers & other New Zealanders

After a brief debate whether to move on late today for a short day or sleep one more night yesterday, we settled on staying and leaving the next morning. The main reason was that this gave us a chance to meet the New Zealand volunteers we have met over the last two and a half weeks one more time.

We had a great night again. A special thanks to Joris for his inside food tips and, of course, Herman for all he has done for us. He gave us a base, was our guide, driver and at times cook. Thank you, you are a big part of the reason why we will remember Dili fondly.

Day 73 – the good life

We could be happy. We should, shouldn’t we? I mean, we are in a tropical wonderland, the sea, good food, nice people and sunshine all day and all of it on a budget that is less than our rent back home. And we are enjoying it. If only I could convince my gut of the fact. Being separated from the bike for so long, plus the uncertainty of when exactly we will get it back creates this constant presence in the back of my mind. “This is not the trip, this is an interlude” – “Everything will be alright once you have the bike back”. For the most part, this was the first day where I could quiet that little voice enough to just enjoy myself and relax.

After four days in Dili, we had to do some washing. Even that proved to be an adventure as the washing machine was like nothing I have ever used and had to be filled with water from the hose. It worked amazingly well though and is much quicker than washing everything in a sink.

After four days in Dili, we had to do some washing. Even that proved to be an adventure as the washing machine was like nothing I have ever used and had to be filled with water from the hose. It worked amazingly well though and is much quicker than washing everything in a sink.

That is, until it all came rushing back to me. The VSA volunteers are an amazing bunch, but waves of doubt and terror washed over me when two of them started smirking at my expected timeline for getting the bike. The words “it might take weeks” were used and my heart skipped a beat. But no. They know a lot and were full of great advice for Dili, but when it comes to shipping bikes, I know my stuff, I have done my research. Only 3 more steps. The ship arrived in Darwin today, so the container (I know the number) needs to go onto the ANL Darwin trader; the ship needs to come to Dili, docking and unloading is scheduled for Monday, but might be delayed by up to 3 days due to traffic. Final step: The container goes to the bond yard, we pay and pick up our bike. Once it is in the bond yard, I can pester the shipping agent until they let me to my bike, so the only other delay may be getting the container from the wharf to the bond yard. A week in total, maybe, but not “weeks”.

So goes my mantra, and with that, I have managed to relax a bit. We spend the day reading, blogging and researching our next steps. The plan is for now to catch the cheap ferry to Atauro Island on Saturday and come back on Monday to sort out the bike.

Opposite to the entrance of our sunset bar. There are many stray dogs around and we've already seen a couple with puppies.

Opposite to the entrance of our sunset bar. There are many stray dogs around and we’ve already seen a couple with puppies.

We had lunch in a western style vegetarian café near Timor Plaza that Nina got recommended. The pieces and the décor made it clear that this is predominantly a place for malae (foreigners) – a fact highlighted by the two ridiculously out of place American ladies whose conversation on marketing skills would have been more suited to a posh LA café than a place surrounded by stray dogs and accessed via wooden planks over an open drain / stream. The food was good, but about 5x more expensive than our lunch yesterday. I guess, since this is the first place we ate at that handed out receipts, the western businessmen don’t care much about the price.

Half way through our almost customary afternoon nap, Herman came back. His afternoon meeting has fallen apart a bit, so he got spare time to pick us up and drive us around for some more sightseeing. This time, we went east, to the statue of Pope John Paul II, a little bit behind the airport. It tells you something about the level of catholic-ness when the capital city’s coastline is framed by two symbols of faith looking towards it.

Sun is starting to set.

Sun is starting to set.

To round off the day and get the sunset we missed last time, we went to a very posh bar on the eastern beach. Slouched on bean bags with a coke in hand, I was able to push the demon of bikelessness to the back for a while and enjoy the sunset.

Also not without mention should be our dinner, which Nina enjoyed immensely. We went back to the place from last night to check out their sit-down restaurant part serving Indian. The paneer was great. I love how international the food is in Dili, and how easy it is for Nina to find tasty vegetarian food.

So all was well … until the demon returns …

Day 72 – Volunteering

ready to go!

ready to go!

Herman hooked us up with Tony for a mikrolet tour through Dili today. Tony is a ‘trailing partner’ of a volunteer and has made it his task to show new people around and tell them a bit about Dili. So that’s what we were in for today.

We got to ride with Herman to the Katuas Hotel where we met Tony. The first point on the list was to have a coffee here. 🙂 Herman then had to leave for work. The tour proper started with Xanana’s Reading room, a complex that holds several buildings. The first public library in Timor-Leste takes up one room with free wifi, a corner with kids’ books and some shelves with books that you can borrow. Next door is a museum to Xanana Gusmão. A room filled with memorabilia from photos to awards to paintings he has made during his time in prison.

There is a UNESCO part that we only passed and a gallery which holds exhibitions. At the moment, an up and coming Timorese artist (Jacinto Batista) is showing his works. The gallery has a small gift shop with the first postcards I could find in Dili. Continue reading

Day 70 – Dili

Leaving Australia

The night was short, very short. To be in good time for our flight and be certain we got time to go to border Australia for the TRS scheme paperwork. TRS stands for tourist refund scheme, a way to get a refund on GST if goods are exported within 60 days of purchase in Australia. Given that we spend several thousand dollars in AUS, were ready to jump through some hoops to get 10% back.

warm, tired and confused

warm, tired and confused

A brief taxi ride later, we found ourselves at the check-in desk for AirNorth at the Darwin airport. Despite my better judgement I believed the check-in staffer when she said that we have to check in our luggage straight away and the only TRS desk is behind the security checks.

With plenty of time and our boarding passes in our hands we went through the checks. I got pulled over once again (my passport seems to have performance issues with the scanners), but nothing came of it. And just after that, we got the cold dark confirmation: People will tell you anything to get rid of you, especially if they know you can’t come back to complain.

“No refund, you have to show the goods!” – “I know, but the lady said …”- “The airlines problem, there was a desk downstairs” – “can I go back?!” – “No …”. I am not ashamed to say that I made a bit of a scene there and then, and when the superior border officer came around, I took my chance to plead our case one more time. She took pity, frowned upon the minion and with a “their story is pretty convincing” ordered for the full amount to be refunded. Wow, a near miss.

We even had time for a hasty breakfast and blog post before we got on board. Turned out, the breakfast was a bit premature, but then again, what about second breakfast?

A day in Dili

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