East Timor charms visitors with its bare simplicity
Pandaya, The Jakarta Post, Maliana, East Timor
If you visit East Timor and forget a few essentials, like your toothbrush, you shouldn't have much trouble finding replacements. But there is one essential that you will be in a great deal of trouble if you forget: your sense of humor.
Basic facilities such as hotels, rental cars and telephones, exist only in the capital Dili. In smaller towns, very modest hostels are available, and electricity is a luxury for those living outside Dili.
The capital is very much alive, with cafes, inns, motels and Internet cafes -- all those amenities many international travelers cannot do without -- springing up.
In Dili, the three people in our party stayed at the Wisma Cendana hotel, which was an official guesthouse during Indonesian rule.
Its location is quite central, about a seven-minute walk from the presidential palace and the beach. Ah, this breezy beach is everybody's favorite place to hang out, with its wonderful view of the sea and Atauro island just off Dili. But this fantastic view is partly blocked by a huge floating foreign hotel (When will it go?).
Guests of the Wisma, which has recently been renovated after being burned in the 1999 post-referendum orgy of violence and destruction, are served by friendly locals and treated like long- lost Indonesian friends.
My room was reasonably spacious and cost US$30 per night, with no breakfast and an extra bed. The standard facilities are towels and a 17-inch television set.
The wonderful part is the bathroom. The shower sprays cool salty water. There is a water heater, but even when turned on the water remains chilly. There is a water tap fixed to the wall about one meter above the floor, forcing you to bend down and contort if you want to use it to wash.
Like in Indonesia, the economic hardships in the country affect every aspect of life. And as part of the austerity measures, our bedsheets were only straightened up and the blanket refolded every day, rather than being changed.
"Still cleaaaan!" the maid, Yuliana, shrieked and giggled when asked why the sheets had not been changed for three days.
If you can enjoy yourself without the benefit of being pampered in luxury, Dili and many more places in East Timor are charming. Package tours do not exist, but as more foreigners stream into the country the tourism industry is budding.
Car rental agencies, most belonging to foreigners, especially Australians, have been quick to fill the void left when Indonesia departed. Water sports equipment is available in some places, although Dili's white sand beaches are quiet most of the day.
Dili boasts numerous historical sites such as buildings, churches and traditional markets, the legacy of the Portuguese, which was the colonial ruler of East Timor for 450 years.
Most of the buildings constructed during Indonesia's rule were destroyed in the 1999 violence.
Charred remains of burned out buildings and houses are everywhere. They are the silent witnesses of the 1999 violence spearheaded by Indonesian Military-backed militias.
Among the most popular places to visit in Dili is the ancient Santa Cruz Cemetery, which is just across the street from the Indonesian Heroes Cemetery, Seroja.
Probably the best-known among the well-arranged graves in the Santa Cruz Cemetery is that of Sebastiao Gomez, the independence activist who was shot dead at the nearby Motael Church in 1991.
A demonstration held on Nov. 12 to protest the shooting ended in a massacre when Indonesian troops opened fire on the crowd. According to some estimates, up to 200 civilians were killed in the shooting.
And Seroja has been twisted by local residents to stand for "Serbuan orang Jawa" (the Javanese invaders).
We hired a four-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser to get a look at East Timor beyond Dili. The challenge of exploring the gorgeous mountain range in the central region of the country is irresistible.
Dare, a cool hilly area just east of Dili, is breathtaking, with Dili spread out beneath your feet.
The area, where thousands of proindependence East Timorese took refuge for over a month during the 1999 violence, is quite pristine. It is sparsely populated, and is reportedly becoming a favorite location for wealthy people in Dili to build private villas.
From Dare, we took a seemingly never-ending, winding road down to Ainaro in the south, some 100 kilometers from the capital Dili. On both sides were deep green valleys and rocky mountains.
The roads in East Timor were reasonably good. Although they are narrow they are paved, making you wonder how much Indonesia spent building them. But the quality of the roads naturally decreases the farther you get from Dili. Potholes and small landslides force vehicles to slow down or risk plunging into a ravine.
"We should have waited another five years before proclaiming independence to let Indonesia complete its road-building projects in Timor," quipped Mariano, a resident of Ainaro.
Small villages are scattered across the low-lying areas of the country, with residents scratching out a living through subsistence farming, mostly growing vegetables, fruits and tubers, selling whatever surplus they have in larger towns.
They live in thatch houses and pigs, dogs and chickens are the most common domesticated animals. Horses account for the main mode of transportation in some villages.
Chapels, well cared for cemeteries and statues of Jesus are typical landmarks of the hamlets in the rough and dry mountains.
The road from Ainaro down to Suai is mostly flat and straight. If you want to see more of the land, you can stay the night in Suai and leave for Maliana, a western town close to the border with Indonesia, the next day.
Suai is rather isolated. There is one bus that serves the Suai-Dili route once a day.
And the tourist facilities in Maliana are even more humble. There are three houses that have been turned into guesthouses. The electricity situation is so bad that it is supplied on a rotating basis, with each household getting electricity only once a week.
People are friendly and extremely helpful -- contrary to the image that people in Indonesian and elsewhere may have. The people in the streets of East Timor are quick to wave at strangers and wish them a good day.
For the time being, East Timor's main attraction, besides its people, is its bare simplicity.