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    • Laurin Hermann SchmidtFirst big travel.
      Day 222

      Leaving time!

      October 31, 2022 in East Timor ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      That’s a appreciation post for my time in Asia.

      It’s the last full day in Asia and I want to write some words down.
      Today nothing was going on and I used that for relaxing and thinking about the time I had.
      I still remember my first day in Nepal like it was yesterday (yes I got lost in the craziest city) and also many other nice days.
      My mind is way better in remembering travels days then remember other things like birthdays or the stuff I needed for school.

      Asia was a crazy ride I don’t know where I can start. So much interesting history, really nice people (backpacker or locals), a lot of party night, maybe sometimes to many drinks, great landscapes, cheap Cigarettes,some new tattoos, fell in love, got robbed and much more.

      But tomorrow it’s time to leave Asia behind me after 204 days and 10 countries.
      All around it was great and for sure the best decision in my life so far.

      The 10 pictures today are pictures from every country, works quite well 10 pictures and 10 countries.
      I chose for that time just photos of my to see the how i changed over the time.
      I am now an veteran backpacker and I guess my look tells you that a bit!
      Why I say veteran backpacker? Because I travel longer then 99% of people I met.

      Bye bye Asia see you again! (maybe soon)      Read more

    • Laurin Hermann SchmidtFirst big travel.
      Day 217

      UNPAZ university Dili

      October 26, 2022 in East Timor ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      One day later a post again?
      For that special day I need a own post!

      Today was the first day of Uni in my life, I mean I never went in Germany, so first day as a „student“ check!
      I was more like a special guest there, I talked to a lot of students about different things like traveling, Europe, environment, money, the life in Timor-Leste and more.
      Everybody was really friendly and it looked like they been also happy that I visited them. Tourism is here not really a thing and a tourist that visit them is even more rare.
      First I had a tour in the area and they show me everything, then we went to the forest and planted some trees (picture 3).
      Doing something good for the nature is always nice.
      After we finished the work I chilled with 3 of them in a Café and we talked a bit more.
      They told me that a lot of people want to work in Europe or Australia because the money here is so bad. When you think about in Germany are people they get a apartment and money from the government for doing nothing and the people here work hard (not everybody is working hard but you know what I mean) and get maybe the half of that.

      It’s not a fair world and I knew that before, but it’s different when you see it and feel it.
      We can be happy that we are born in better circumstances. The time here is a really good reminder for me to think about something like that more often.

      The day was really interesting for me and I hope for them too. It was a big pleasure to go to university for one day. I wish all of them just the best in life.
      I will never forget that and I am thankful!      Read more

    • Laurin Hermann SchmidtFirst big travel.
      Day 212

      Dili (Timor-Leste)

      October 21, 2022 in East Timor ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      Country number 11!
      What a ride so far, in 3 days I travel for 7 month and I just reached a new country.
      Not many people go here and that was one of the reasons for me to go!

      So far it’s really good (just two days in) I met in my first night a journalist working for the German tv.
      He got some recommendations for me and that helped me a lot.

      Yesterday at the Jesus I talked to a school class and the teacher and they invited me for next week to come over. I am really excited for this opportunity.
      I am not really sure what I will do there but the teacher was so nervous to see and talk to me that I can’t say no to that offer!

      Today I will leave Dili (the capital city) behind me.
      It’s so hot here let’s hope the other places are better.      Read more

    • TravelerAsia 2023
      Day 177–179

      Exploring Dili - again 😅🥰

      January 17 in East Timor ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      Relaxing a few days in Dili was needed and very relaxing, the DaTerra hostel, part of an amazing permaculture project in Baucau, is a great place to stay.
      I decided to go to Atauro island, next , to explore the outstanding reefs there, but wanted to heal my wounds, first, so some more time to go around in Dili.
      Thanks to Sara, volunteering in the DaTerra hostel, I have seen a local handcrafts workshop, producing awesome craved artworks from mostly woods, stone and bones.
      Furthermore we visited a very small private "zoo" from a local businessman. This was quite sad to see, animals were not really kept and cared for properly, the crocodile there was in a very bad shape and really looking heartbreaking.
      Passing by some extraordinary artworks, especially a huge one, close to the museum of resistance, stood out: Building a bridge between the cruelties of the past, the diversity of local cultures and tribes, the relationship to the world's people, the struggles of present days, the nature, the future of Timor Leste, so many aspects put in that amazing piece of street art!
      This country and this city are something special, it's hard to describe, but it's definitely a unique place.      Read more

    • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
      Day 5

      Dili

      May 20, 2023 in East Timor ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      Dili is the capital of Timor-Leste, the smallest and newest country in Asia. And this is the least visited country in Asia.
      The 1st picture is the Christ the King statue on a hilltop overlooking Dili and the harbor. It is reminiscent of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.
      The 2nd picture is the presidential palace, and the 3rd picture is a portion of the parliament building. The 4th picture is of a former presidential house that has been converted to a museum commemorating the life and presidency of Jose Ramos-Horta. Mr Horta received the Nobel Peace prize which is show in the 5th picture.
      The 6th picture is one of several traditional markets in town.
      The 7th picture commemorates a dark time. When the people is Timor-Leste voted overwhelmingly for a independence, the anti-independence group went on a rampage and scorched earth retreat. It became a genocide. This cemetery is when those killed at the time are buried. This particular monument is to a journalist who brought news of the killing to the world community, cementing international support for independence.
      The 8th and 9th pictures are of the Roman Catholic cathedral.
      The last picture is of the headquarters of the political party and that became the party of the early national government. As is typical of revolutions, the group leading the rebellion often takes power in the new government. That is the case here, and this is the party descended from that group. They remain a political party, albeit in opposition these days.
      Our visit coincided with both the national (independence) day and national elections. So many places were closed      Read more

    • Cold nights, warm showers
      Day 218

      Radlos in Leste

      May 15, 2023 in East Timor ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Der nächste Abschnitt unserer Reise beginnt mit Warterei. Nach dem 60-minütigen Flug von Darwin landen wir in Timor-Lestes Hauptstadt Dili.

      Am Flughafen müssen drei Formulare ausgefüllt werden: Das Gesundheits-Formular hatte es schon im Flugzeug gegeben, und ist schnell ausgefüllt und abgegeben. Das Einreiseformular ist leider aus - nur die Beamtin an Schalter 1 hat noch einen Stapel. Das ganze Flugzeug stellt sich also an Schalter 1 an, um das Formular zu erhalten, auszufüllen und sich anschließend erneut anzustellen, um es abzugeben. Mit einem Stempel im Pass sind wir dann immerhin schon eingereist. Das dritte Formular ist das Zollformular, dass seit Neustem digital ausgefüllt werden muss. Für alle, die gerade keinen Internetzugang mit ihrem Smartphone haben, heißt es also, sich an einen der drei aufgestellten PCs setzen, die Zoll-Webseite aufrufen, mit der Unterstützung des neugierig-freundlichen Personals das simple Formular (Drogen: nein, Waffen: nein, mehr als 50.000 USD in bar: nein) ausfüllen und am Ende den QR-Code abfotografieren, damit man ihn am Ausgang zeigen kann.

      Bevor wir allerdings zum Ausgang gehen, müssen wir feststellen, dass das Gepäck aus unserem Flug zwar schnell auf dem einzigen Gepäckband des Flughafens angekommen ist, dass es aber einige Teile offenbar nicht ins Flugzeug geschafft haben - unter anderem unsere Fahrräder. Mit der ebenfalls gepäcklosen Felicia, die gerade von 6 Monaten Gastarbeit in Tasmanien zurückkommt, fragen wir uns durch den Flughafen und bekommen die Auskunft, dass fehlendes Gepäck entweder zwei Stunden, 24 Stunden oder zwei Tage später mit einem der nächsten Flüge ankommen sollte. Je nach Airline, Größe der Flugzeuge und Platz im Gepäckfach. Wir stellen uns also darauf ein, einige Tage in Dili zu bleiben und hoffen, dass die Fahrräder es auch irgendwann hierher schaffen.

      Dili hat ähnlich viele Einwohner wie Bonn, liegt an der Küste und verstrahlt einen chaotisch-lebendigen Charme. Da in wenigen Tagen das Parlament gewählt wird, ist die Stadt voller junger Menschen, die den Wahlkampf friedlich und mit viel positiver Energie anheizen. In langen Straßenzügen fahren sie beflaggt und bemalt auf Rollern, Kleinwagen, Pick-Ups und LKW durch die Stadt. Der Ausgang der Wahl ist noch unklar - es wird ein knappes Rennen der Spitzenparteien FRETILIN und CNRT erwartet.

      Ohne Fahrräder nutzen wir die örtlichen Minibusse, sogenannte Mikrolets, als Fortbewegungsmittel. Das System ist einfach: die in unterschiedlichen Farben angemalten, mit Nummer markierten und nach dem persönlichen Geschmack des Besitzers dekorierten Busse fahren immer eine bestimmte Route entlang. Zum Einsteigen winkt man den Minibus heran (der dann einfach an der nächstmöglichen Stelle hält) und zum Aussteigen klopft man mit einer Münze gegen eine Alu-Leiste im Bus. Jede Fahrt kostet dabei unabhängig von der Distanz genau 25 Cent. Bezahlt wird in Timor-Leste mit US Dollarn, wobei es lokale Münzen bis zum Wert von $2 gibt.

      Am folgenden Tag hält auf dem Rückweg zum Hostel plötzlich ein Rollerfahrer am Straßenrand an: Er arbeitet am Flughafen, hat uns offensichtlich erkannt und überbringt uns die freudige Botschaft, dass wir morgen das Gepäck abholen können. Als wir am Flughafen ankommen, dauert es etwas, bis der richtige (wichtige) Zollbeamte mit dem richtigen Schlüssel aufgefunden werden kann. Anschließend können uns endlich die Räder ausgehändigt werden.

      Im einzigen Fahrradladen Dilis lassen wir einige kleine Reparaturen machen und besorgen ein paar Ersatzteile. Es kann weitergehen.      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerAsia 2023
      Day 164–167

      Dili - sightseeing

      January 4 in East Timor ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      After my long and exhausting journey to Dili and directly jumping into New Year's Eve celebrations, my body demanded some rest. So after a few days resting, mostly lying in a hammock and not doing too much, I started to explore the city a little.
      The contrasts are huge, as only around main roads and the city center the infrastructure is good, but in most of the other areas everything is very basic. Still you can see a lot of development, a lot of constructions and new built housings, especially around the coastal road and the city center some very modern buildings are built, the ocean promenade was newly built in a very beautiful way, there's clearly progress going on. Nevertheless you everywhere can see and feel the lack of resources, a lot of places need maintenance, repair or have to be renewed - a poor but developing country. As usual in bigger cities, people are not that much approaching, except of the kids, but as soon as you're asking for help or advice, you'll receive very nice and kind support. Public transportation is limited to taxis and the microlets, small public buses, run by private companies, going around the city on 13 different routes.

      As Timor Leste decided to not have its own currency they're using the US Dollar for amounts from 5$ upwards, any amount below is paid with local Centavos, coins worth from 2$ down to 5¢. Probably due to this, but as it's a small country with only around 1.3 million citizens, too, everything here is relatively expensive, especially compared to neighbouring Indonesia.

      It seems sometimes as if Timor Leste is focussing a lot onto it's history and it's fight for independence, but as this fight was ongoing for around 25 years, it's clear that this is an important part of their identity and obviously there are a lot of outcomes of this long time suffering, still affecting present times. The Museum of Timorese Resistance was an impressive experience, a very detailed exhibition, guiding through the history of that time, explaining and contextualizing the whole situations and the political backgrounds very well. No need, but nevertheless important, to say, that the so called "Western world" did act shameful and selfish, completely ignoring Timorese people's suffers, as long as public attention wasn't big. Again I was reminded, that it's usual (and way more easy) to point fingers on other countries' cruelties, than acting by himself with moral integrity. But this leads again to the unbelievable ability of Timorese people to forgive their suppressors all the cruelties and live in a peaceful neighborhood with their past enemies.
      Several monuments are reminding on their history and suffers, but still it feels as if this place is moving forward, without forgetting it's past, it feels as if this city is full of life (even if after around 8/9pm not too much is going on, in most places 😅), vibrant and busy.
      Have a look at some sights I've seen, there'll come probably another posting about Dili, showing more places and perspectives. 😉

      -----
      Learn about Timor Leste:
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor

      Wanna help?
      https://www.unicef.org.au/donate/child-protecti…;

      https://bettertimor.org/      Read more

    • TravelerAsia 2023
      Day 185–192

      Bye bye Timor Leste 🇹🇱👋

      January 25 in East Timor ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Being sick while traveling is not nice, but if you're lucky, you are staying in a great, nice place with awesome people. So Sara and the whole crew from DaTerra Dili Hostel took care of me so nicely and helped wherever needed, simply awesome!
      And after a few days suffering a lot I luckily started slowly to recover.
      However, after 8 days I felt good enough to travel on. There are still some big Indonesian islands I wanted to see! 😅
      So on the first of February, after staying exactly one month in Timor Leste, it was time for me to get back to Cepi and travel on by scooter, up to the north! 😬
      So it means first going down to the south of Timor island, back to Kupang, to catch the ferry to Flores.
      Would've had other plans for Timor Leste, but things are changing and listening to your body is imo one skill helping a lot while traveling...😅😉
      So some last impressions from Dili and my trip back to Indonesian Timor!
      Timor Leste, I will definitely come back, one day! 🥰      Read more

    • TravelerWeltreise
      Day 59

      Wieder zurück nach Dili

      July 4, 2023 in East Timor ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

      Nun ist es soweit und es heißt heute Abschied nehmen von Atauro. Mit einem lachenden und einem weinenden Auge packen wir unsere Sachen im Schlafsaal zusammen. Auf der einen Seite war es absolut wundervoll hier. Die Leute waren herzlich, das Essen war gut, die Tauchspots sind absolut einmalig hier und die Insel liegt so paradisisch und abgelegen wie im Verschollen in dem Tom Hanks sich seinen besten Freund Wilson aus einem kaputten Volleyball bastelt. Die andere Seite ist die, dass wir uns beide wieder auf anständige WCs und Duschen freuen und allgemeine eine zuverlässige Gewährleistung von Strom & Wasser sehr schätzen. Für uns beide war es hier auf Atauro eine erstmalige Erfahrung mit solchen Zuständen und das nächste Mal wenn einen so etwas erwartet ist es klar nicht optimal, aber man weiß besser mit der Situation umzugehen. So wie wir das jetzt auch gemacht haben. Einfach das Beste daraus machen 😊👍
      Beim Mittagessen gab es noch eine "böse" Überraschung. Direkt am Hafen sind ab und zu mehrere junge Frauen die hier Fleischspieße zubereiten und diese dann über einer Feuertonne braten. Super lecker und absolut einmaliges Erlebnis. Ich habe mir direkt vier Spieße bestellt und diese auch mit Heißhunger verzehrt. Das Fleisch in den Boxen da aus wie Hähnchen und schmeckte auch sonst. Allerdings ist mir beim Essen aufgefallen, dass das seltsame Knochen sind. Letztlich hat sich herausgestellt dass es Hundefleisch war. Alles in allem jetzt nicht super schlimm aber für uns Westeuropäer dennoch seltsam auch wenn es im asiatischen Raum sehr normal scheint.
      Gegen 15 Uhr mittags legte dann die Fähre zurück nach Dili ab und zwei Stunden später waren wir dann auch schon wieder in Dili. Vom Hafen aus ging es auf direktem Weg etwas Abendessen bevor wir dann wieder in das selbe Hotel wir schon auf dem Hinweg sind.      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerAsia 2023
      Day 161–164

      Timor Leste: Dili - city impressions

      January 1 in East Timor ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Timor Leste is the first new sovereign state of the 21st century, after fighting for independence for nearly 25 years against a cruel Indonesian occupation and suffering from a Genocide. Depending which figures you want to believe, Timor Leste lost around 20-40% of it's whole population, during that time, between 1975 and 1999.
      Nowadays Timor Leste is a role-model, how peace building under UN-support can work out, as they're now living in peaceful and cooperative neighborhood with Indonesia.
      Nevertheless Timor Leste is still one of the poorest countries in the world, working hard on rebuilding a functional country and self sustainable economy. Due to a lack of industrialization and a weak economy, relying now on an oil field, which will be worn out in around 8 years, the future of this country is on the edge. (Scroll down, for further information about supporting this country!)
      Visiting this country and seeing, how this country is rebuilt and how this very unique successful peace building process did work out, was one of my main goals of my whole travel.
      This country is very special in so many ways, these people are simply unbelievable and the vibes in this society are awesome, sometimes surprising, in good and difficult ways, always solidly united and helping each other's, full of lust for life, but still struggling with their past, but dealing with their struggles in a unique way, I couldn't imagine before.

      In the area of Dili around 1/3rd of Timor Leste's inhabitants are living, so it clearly is the center of this country in any way. After New Year's Eve the city was like sleeping for 2 days, slowly woke up during the 3rd of January and went back to it's vibrant life on the 4th. It's a Christian catholic country, even if their religion has widely integrated ancient tribal beliefs and rituals.
      As I've been the last 4 months in Indonesia, some comparisons will come up, even if there only the south east Asian or even oceanican roots are common with Indonesia.
      I'll try to tell more about my impressions from this country and go a little bit deeper in my following postings, but for now please enjoy some impressions from my first days in Timor Leste's capital city.

      -----
      Learn about Timor Leste:
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor

      Wanna help?
      https://www.unicef.org.au/donate/child-protecti…

      https://bettertimor.org/      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Dili, ديلي, Горад Дылі, Дили, দিলি, དྷི་ལི།, دیلی, Ντίλι, Dilo, דילי, दिली, Դիլի, DIL, ディリ, დილი, ಡಿಲಿ, 딜리, Dilis, ദിലി, Дили хот, ဒီလီမြို့, ਦੀਲੀ, ڈلی, Díli, டிலி, ดิลี, دىلى, Ділі, 帝力

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