Timor | Chaos roaming the world

Breakfast was included in the price for the guest house so we sat down on the long table outside and helped ourselves to tea and fresh bread rolls. It was here that we met Barun, a Nepalese unicef employee. We talked about our plans to visit Nepal in March or April and might be able to get a bed in Kathmandu through him.

The last meters in Timor-Leste

We rode all the way to the border in pretty much one go. At the last shop before the actual border, Flo remembered that we needed to spend the local coins so we bought drinks and sweets for the remaining $4.5.

It’s been a while since I crossed my last land border. With the Schengen agreement in Europe and us flying to our holiday destinations from NZ, an actual crossing has become a rare thing. We weren’t quite sure how much time it would take. Arriving at the Timor-Leste side, people were very helpful, pointing out the right places for us to go. First, we filled out our departure cards and got our passports stamped before heading to customs to get the carnet stamped as well. The customs officer needed just a little bit of explanation before filling out all the required fields. And thus, we were through one side already.

Taking the motorcycle about 300 meters further down, we hit the Indonesian side of the border. Unsurprisingly, our fully loaded bike caused a bit of a stir again but of a good kind: We got guided into a parking spot right next to officials and sent to the customs office first. Again, after some brief explanation (“This is for import, this is for export, you keep this part of the page”), everything was stamped and signed as it should be and we couldn’t even say thank you in Bahasa Indonesia yet. From there, we were directed to the “arrivals” section, filled out our arrival card and got our passports stamped. We had sorted the visa in Darwin already so now we started on our 60 days in Indonesia! Everything done, incredibly painless and we were back on the road in less than an hour.

No bahasa ingglisi, but in a good mood

The western part still looks much like Timor-Leste (big surprise) just a notch better off. This was noticeable in the better road which allowed us to go between 60kmh and 70kmh in comparison with the 30kmh we used for much of Timor-Leste. This is no surprise since all of Timor-Leste’s infrastructure was purposefully destroyed in the last conflict. But people looked better off as well; we saw more stone houses and bigger ones. In Atambue, we went into a supermarket and were completely overwhelmed by the selection. From 50 different brands of shampoo over Tim Tam ice cream to plushy Hello Kitty pillows…everything could be bought here. We left without having bought anything.

On the way out of town, we stopped at a gas station to refuel. Only one pump was operated which lead to a cue of motorcycles. All those scooters formed two neat lines with already opened fuel tanks so that the operator could alternate between the lines and have the least amount of time possible between refuels. Rocinante was too big to fit in one line so after a couple of minutes, she got special treatment, was allowed to skip the line and was refuelled while pulling up from the front of the line. Flo was happy that his wait in the sun was shortened. Also, fuel cost less than NZ$1 per liter which is a new low for us.

smug about cheap food

We kept riding for quite a while, not really hungry and happy about our border experience. When we finally pulled up at a warung makan, we were in for another surprise. Even less people speak English than in Timor-Leste. Since Indonesia is so big and unites so many different people, all with their own language, the official language is Bahasa Indonesia which is spoken by everyone. Except for us. The lady in the warung makan cracked up laughing when she realized we didn’t speak a word of Bahasa. I pointed at myself stating “vegetarian” but she only had to laugh harder and ran off. Surely, she was getting someone who would speak English. But no. Just more people to look at us. Luckily, the Lonely Planet has a section with the most useful words so I managed to convey what I wanted to eat and Flo just at the chicken. While eating, a young man appeared, talking on the phone. First we thought he was having a conversation, then random English words clarified that he was live commenting our every action to someone on the other end. The lovely, laughing lady also got out her smartphone and took a picture of us in her warung. I swear this will end up on facebook…”look at who ate in my little place”….*nod*. I didn’t manage to get a photo of the lady as her kids were shy and she only wanted a photo with her kids. However, the young man on the phone was quite happy to step up. =P We paid something like $3 but the entertainment was easily worth more. We made an effort to thank her in Bahasa “terima kasih”.

Like shopping at McDonalds: One sim, biggest data to go!

At about 2pm, we reached Kefa where we planned to stay. It is almost halfway towards Kupang already. Town was quite busy and the first hotel was asked in was full. A military guy talked to us with his bits and pieces of English and when he realized we couldn’t stay because it was full, he got a bystander to show us the next place on his scooter. Unfortunately, it was booked out as well as that poor guy took us to a third place where we now have a room.

In the afternoon, we bought a SIM card so that we can use mobile data as our internet substitute. This was one of the rare times I took a picture today, just been too overwhelmed.

Back in the hotel room, we realized that West Timor is in a different time zone than Timor-Leste to bring it closer to the rest of Indonesia (which only extends east from here). So we have gained another hour.

I am not sure why I mostly enjoyed myself on the road today. On paper, there was really not much reason for it. Maybe it was going well prepared, or the lighter bike, or just that the worst pain from the sunburn has worn off. The goal for the day was simple enough: Head 106km into the mountains and be there early enough to have a good long rest for a nightly hike up Tatamailau.

This is one of the better bits, no stopping at the bad ones

The first obstacle was an easy but annoying challenge to get through morning rush hour Dili. To get to the foot of the road going south into the mountains, we had to pretty much go through the city centre. Sweating but unscratched, we arrived at challenge number two: The entire first 800m climb is currently an 8 km long road works. Don’t get me, roads are in dire need of works, but they remain in full use while being torn to shreds.

The seal is gone where they work on the roads, leaving a talcum like dust with rocks strewn in between in its place. All is constantly churned up by the lorries and busses going along, seldom compacted and moderately slippery. That is until it is combined with water – then it becomes a soap-like mud. To keep the dust down somewhat, the road is of course watered. To add some fun to this mudslide, the road itself is an obstacle course of workers, concrete, building materials, lorries, houses, people, gaping holes and a good dose of pure anarchy. At least, everyone is reasonably polite about it.

Somewhere along the road

The mountain road from here to within 20 km of Maubisse allows for great views (and gaping drops) but is of moderate to bad state, with the seal gone from 5-10% of the surface in ever changing pot hole and gap patterns. With little traffic it is mostly an exercise in “find the continuous seal” slalom, but every so often one has to come off the seal, 5-10 cm drops included, and then “bump-bump” back on again.

Before Maubisse, there are another 20 km of road works. These feature much the same, but somewhat less chaotic, which is appreciated. Even the dirt and gravel surface seems mostly compacted, except in the corners where the lorries made a powder of it again. In Maubisse (70 km from Dili) we stopped for lunch at a guest house and restaurant next to a big old church / nunnery. The food was good, affordable and they even got me good strong coffee at the end.

The last 50 km would take us another 2.5 hrs. First along the inter-district road south, again much the same as the road to Maubisse, maybe a bit worse. Here, on a steeper section where the seal has been washed out I stalled the bike going over a boulder and we dropped it, sliding a bit downhill afterwards. Nothing much happened, but I am thinking about reinforcing the Touratech pannier mounts where they bent a little.

Everyting shakes.

The final obstacle of the day was another cracker. Turning off the main road, we would go up the mountains to a village / valley called Hato Builico. 18 km on a side road. In its defence, the road was not in too much disrepair – it just has always been terrible to begin with. Basically the entire length, it is a cobble stone road made up from about fist sized jagged rocks. Even with some air let out of the tires, going over 20 km/h would have shaken us and the bike to pieces. So we went, 18 km in first gear up the mountain, over passes 2120m high. My only worry was the clutch at some points, getting used extensively when even 1^st gear was too much.

And thus we arrived, at 3pm, after a day of riding. To give you a little perspective on the roads: In New Zealand, our average speed in motion was 72km/h, in Australia it was 85 km/h (both including gravel sections). In Timor-Leste, it has been 32 km/h!

We booked into a guest house at the foot of the mountain we are keen to climb. Ronaldo, called Aldo, the 12 year old son of the shopkeeper was our English interpreter. We got a room, a very basic dinner and a guide for tomorrow. Mountain here we come!