Monthly Archives: October 2015

Day 79 – Liberation day!

Finally, after 25 days of waiting, cursing and hoping, Rocinante is free. As of 10:30 today, she is officially back on the (East Timorese) road! Too long. Never again container shipping!

Am i in the way?

Am i in the way?

It took us a bit to decide what we were to do now. Go now? Take our time and leave tomorrow morning? In the end, we decided for the more relaxed version. After nearly 3 weeks without the bike and our gear all over the place, packing took a bit of time.

Around 2ish, we were mostly done. We needed to stock up on a couple of things and, of course, get more fuel than what was left in the tank after shipping. Heading out to refill our tyres with air was a little adventure in itself. Flo had seen a tiny shop that had air. Stopping there, we caused a little uproar. People are not used to such big bikes and would stop on the street, just to look at us. The shop owners on the other hand were delighted that we came to them and asked all sorts of questions. The most popular ones seem to be “how big is the engine?” and “where do you come from?”. We left with much waving and headed for the backpackers to say

good bye to the travellers we met there. Hubert and Alex were still cleaning their bikes for the shipping and were easily spotted. Marten and Reed said hi as well while we were parked in the yard.

A last shopping stop at Timor Plaza with more questions later, we were done. Smaller chores still had to be done and Flo hopped back on the bike to organize dinner and get our flash drives back which we had lend to Joris.

In the evening, we watched “No” with Gael García Bernal, which felt oddly right in Timor-Leste.

Day 78 – Communities

Musings

“Hi, the ship has arrived, can you come in for the paperwork tomorrow?” that was last night– by 7:50 am today I found myself walking through the bed of the Comoro River. ANL open at 8 am, at least on paper. I am not desperate at all …

The dwellings on the bank do not appear to be strictly "legal"

The dwellings on the bank do not appear to be strictly “legal”

But back to the river: There is only one road bridge over the Comoro River, about 2 km north of where we live, a suburb under the unofficial name Delta. ANL is about as far away from the bridge again, so all in all a 5 km drive. On the other hand, it is maybe 1 km west from here as the crow flies. Luckily for me, it is still the dry season, so there currently is no Comoro River, just a free for all gravel pit buzzing with lorries, diggers and sorting sieves. That is how a gold rush must look like …

8:06 am, I am at the office, the staff is not yet in full strength. I apologize in Tetum for being so impolitely on time. Once the staff arrived, it was all a matter of maybe 5 minutes and another $50 US and all that is left is for the container to arrive and for me to pick up the bike sometime in the next 2 days. As quick as that I was out in the dust again, finding my way through the illegal buildings hugging the riverbanks and back on my way. Continue reading →

Day 77 – Chilling at Barry’s place

Originally, we had planned to take the water taxi back to Dili at 9.30am. However, yesterday night Barry told us that the water taxi is booked for a diving trip and thus will only make a trip at 3pm. Since we had nothing planned except for waiting for the bike, it didn’t bother us too much. Almost another full day on Ataúro with time to read and chill sounds promising.

The aforementioned "platforms" - great chill out.

The aforementioned “platforms” – great chill out.

Breakfast was lovely again, this time with pancakes. The usual eating room was booked for a full day workshop so we sat outside in the shade, having a lovely conversation with two German travellers, Lüder and Renate.

Afterwards, we occupied one of the “platforms” to read and write to our heart’s content. We watched as one of the huts at the beach got a new roof in the traditional manner and a veranda was added to the hut. Since not a lot happened, I’ll use the space to describe Barry’s place some more.

Heading over to Ataúro, Flo and I were almost certain that we would have no reception and no power so we left the laptop in Dili. As soon as we were in Beloi, it turned out that ‘no reception’ is a first world problem. Even in Adara, on the other side of the island, Flo’s mobile phone had a full signal. I am unsure about the power situation but Barry’s place at least had solar panels so we could have charged the phone or our laptop if we had brought either with us.

Ladle, pot, some soap. It was clean and just right for us

Ladle, pot, some soap. It was clean and just right for us

There is no sewer system on Ataúro so a long drop served as that. It must be quite good and efficient version, as despite a temperature of 30 degrees, the smell was minimal. I particularly liked the shower: A generous room with a basin full of water and two ladles to fill water into a pot with tiny holes above you and have it rain down on you. It is particularly nice if you have someone there who refills the pot constantly while you have a nice long shower. 🙂

Since we had to stay till 3pm, we had a last lunch on the island. Barry gave us the lunch for free, which was very lovely. Having fresh salad is always a treat but especially if it is prepared for you. Makes it feel more like a holiday.

At 3pm Tony’s water taxi and the dive crew arrived. They then had to unload all the air bottles so that we set out at 3.30pm. The taxi was rather small for crossing 35km of open sea and (at least in my humble opinion) the ride was rough. It was all I could do to hold on to the handrails and stare at the horizon…otherwise I’d probably been seasick. Flo enjoyed the ride way more than I did, looking out for flying fish (apparently there were many) and later for the Darwin trader. The ANL Darwin trader is the ship on which Rocinante is supposed to come over to Dili. It was scheduled to arrive at 9am this morning so Flo had his fingers crossed that he might see it in the harbour or, if we are lucky, already docked.

Oh what a joyous sight!

Oh what a joyous sight!

We were lucky: The Darwin trader was docked in the wharf and looked as if it was half empty already. Flo just stopped short of jumping for joy. 😉

Having land back under your feet is an amazing feeling, I can tell you. The ride over had taken 1 ½ hours so it started to get late in Dili. I will never really get used to the fact that near the equator, the sun simply sets at 6.30pm, no matter if it is summer or winter. It really cuts your daylight time quite short.

Hubert and Alex hard at work at the infamous Timor Backpacker

Hubert and Alex hard at work at the infamous Timor Backpacker

We had one last thing to do today: Walk past the backpacker in Dili and see if we can find any more motorcycle travellers. Chantal had told us about two more guys riding BMWs who are supposed to be staying there. It didn’t take us long to find them as they were out in the yard taking their bikes apart to clean them for the Australian biosecurity check. Hubert, a German traveller, and Alex, an Italian guy, took their work pretty seriously. There was even some scrubbing of a tire with a toothbrush. We had a chat and decided to have a drink together tomorrow night, once Chantal is back from Ataúro island as well.

Day 76 – There and back again

Flo woke me up quite urgently because the sun was rising right outside of our room. I stumbled out, into the hammock and we watched the sunrise.

From bed to hammock, that is as far as Nina got.

From bed to hammock, that is as far as Nina got.

A quick check of the clock told us that it was 6.30am and breakfast would be served at 7am.

I never have a problem with breakfasts (being vegetarian) and this one was great. Fresh bananas and pieces of oranges next to omelettes and hard-boiled eggs. As a baseline, there are always small, round bread rolls with jam, honey, peanut butter or marmite. It was delicious and I stuffed myself. Right after breakfast, we realized that we’ve forgotten to take our doxycycline today. So back to the table and more food…oh, the pains. 😉

We packed a daypack for hiking and went to talk to Barry about hiking to Mario’s place. Mario’s place is on the opposite side of the island with a hike leading across to it.

Like a map for a treasure hunt ;)

Like a map for a treasure hunt 😉

Barry gave us a basic map of the track (no markings) and we packed our lunch in the kitchen before heading off.

The first 1 ½ hours are along the road. Despite us leaving in the early morning, it was hot and the track was lacking trees for shade. However, the view back down to Beloi and the bay was great.

Finally, we came to the first real turn and the track went off into a forested part, leading past limestone walls and caves. Some of them are gigantic, with roots from trees hanging down. Immediately, it was cooler and the slight breeze refreshing. A couple of goats could be seen at both sides of the path. Continue reading →

Day 75 – Beep, beep, beep…

Twice in one week, the alarm clock went off before sunrise. This time, the diabolical sound put an end to our peaceful slumber at 4am. I must admit that it was a small solace to know that Herman would break the peaceful slumber with us to drive us to the wharf.

Crowd waiting at the gate to embark

Crowd waiting at the gate to embark

At the waterfront we found that a crowd had already gathered, sleep drunken, in the dark in front of the closed gate. Our tickets stated 4:30am, it was 5am now and nothing but goods was allowed through the gate – no reason to worry in Dili.

We shuffled through the gate at about 6am in the end, which was all well for us. The wait gave us a chance to get to talk to a group of malae waiting there with us. It turned out they had another motorcycle traveller in their midst. Chantal, recently from Australia, originally from the Netherlands, is on a very similar route to ours. Continue reading →

Day 74 – Carnet Success

Herman had been trying to convince us to go to Ataúro Island on the weekend. Apparently, there is a ferry crossing over on Saturdays and if you get tickets for it on Friday, they cost $4 each. So Herman gave us a lift this morning.

That was ... too easy. Take that, Australia!

That was … too easy. Take that, Australia!

We briefly stopped at Timor Plaza with just enough time for Flo to realize that he had gotten the bill of lading from ANL and for Herman to print it off for us at his office. Getting the bill of lading meant that Flo could get started on the carnet paperwork.

Regardless, we had come to town for a reason and so we wandered around at the wharf to by ferry tickets. People kept referring us to “the next gate” until we ran out of gates and wharf. Actually, the tickets were sold through the fence in a corner of the area. You handed them your passport and the correct amount of money (no change!) and then got a ticket for the 5 am ferry. Oomph! I was not aware that it would be quite that early, but it is due to the tides and the very shallow harbour in Dili.

By accident we met Reed and Marten on the street in front who were looking for the wharf themselves, as they are both waiting on their motorbikes as well. Turns out they even saw Rocinante in the warehouse in Darwin where they dropped off their bikes.

It got worse since then. Ouch!

It got worse since then. Ouch!

After a chat and a brief excursion to Hotel Timor so that I could hand in my postcards, we exchanged email addresses and parted ways. Flo and I went on to Pateo, the Portugese supermarket, to buy some bread rolls.

On our way to find a mirkolet, I managed to fall down on a flat section of footpath. Luckily, I am only bruised (my poor knee) but Flo hailed a cab and we took a good look at my knee at home. While at home, we grabbed the carnet for Rocinante and headed back out again to hunt down a stamp.

A slow ride in a very full mikrolet later, we were back at the wharf. This time, we only had to ask two people before we were in the customs office and as soon as Flo said “carnet” they knew what to do: We got to the right person who took us into her office. We handed over the carnet and got the stamp. Easy as!

Yep, they have great food. Ignore the open drain ...

Yep, they have great food. Ignore the open drain …

So by lunch time, we had pretty much done with what we wanted to do. Flo organised our accommodation on Autúro and our transportation back to Dili with two phone calls. We were completely set. 🙂

For lunch, we went back to the Hani Ristaurante & Coffee Shop near the stadium and had yummy food. They had an eggplant-chili-salad that was so good and Flo ate a grilled fish with it.

$3.50 USD ... all of it, for both of us, including drinks :)

$3.50 USD … all of it, for both of us, including drinks 🙂

In the evening, Herman took us along to the SkyBar in Timor Plaza where all the volunteers gather for Friday evening drink. Flo and I had a lovely time chatting to many of them, but we still were not able to meet everyone.

The SkyBar is on the roof of the 5 story building; outside tables with a bar and even live music set the scene. Apart from all the volunteers and expats it was still crowded as it seems to be a popular spot to spend a Friday night.

Dinner in a Japanese restaurant rounded off the night for us and we went home to pack and get some sleep. There is an early start ahead of us tomorrow morning.

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 71 – First world problems and an enchanting city

Flo woke me up at 7am after a good night’s sleep. I had been very tired the evening before as the 3.30am start into the day did not go down well with me.

Herman was already up and back from his morning run (shame on me) so we had breakfast together before he headed off for work. Breakfast was delicious but I started to feel really unwell. Most of the morning saw me in bed with stomach pains. I am unsure if it was a reaction to the malaria prophylaxis in the morning, the local food yesterday or the crushed ice (aka tap water) in my juice last dinner. Whatever it was, it was most definitely a reaction of my body to something new.

Pretty and convincing for fake flowers.

Pretty and convincing for fake flowers.

So Flo had to go out without me to procure lunch which he did while I took a nap. He made it to a Vietnamese bakery close by where he bought some kind of sweet treat for me. When the lady at the counter asked for $1, he was sure that he was being ripped off because he’s malae but then he came home with a whole plastic bag full of the treats! More than enough for both of us for lunch. It turned out to be several quartered bananas wrapped in dough and then deep fried in oil. There was probably some honey put on it as well. Sweet, fatty and quite delicious.

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

Continue reading →