We landed in Bali for a brief 1 night stay. The heat and humidity hit me and once we dragged our bags off the airport bus and into the hotel I was pretty drenched in sweat. But… the other volunteers were in high spirits even though the travels had made us tired.
It’s funny, but travelling in a group WAS somehow more logistically stressful than travelling alone. You’re always watching out for each other, and it sort of takes a toll. I think the “company” aspect maybe balanced things out.
Loved the toilet in the Taipei airport 😂. Heated toilet seat 🤔. High tech 👊👊.
I got the best sleep “ever” in Bali… I was so tired.
In the morning, a quick gym session in the hotel, then hauled my bloodshot eyed body to breakfast and on the bus. For breakfast, I inadvertently took a ton of spicy noodles 😂, which didn’t help cool my down in the outside eating area 🥵.
LANDING IN DILI
On the morning of Saturday 5th October we arrived in Dili via a local CitiLink flight from Bali. We were greeted on the tarmac by the U.S. Ambassador to Dili ( Donna Welton) which I thought was pretty cool. She was baking in the hot sun and we appreciated her being there.
Also there was the Timor-Leste volunteer organization staff. A great bunch 😊!!
The very good news is that everyone’s luggage arrived intact. A minor miracle!
I snapped some photos on the way to the hotel in Dili.
At the hotel we were given a very warm welcome with a local Timor-Leste dance group ( YouTube link Welcome To Dili More Welcome To Dili). It was pretty awesome and, to be honest, overwhelming.
The hotel is our initial staging and orientation for 1 week before we head inland for the remaining 10 weeks of initial training. I will have more on that, but it’s going to be tough. 😬.
We managed a run, at sunrise, along the beach the next morning with a couple of other volunteers. I’m going to have to get used to running as my main form of exercise from now on. For those who follow me on Strava, you can see my progress 👍.
Next post I will try and summarize some of our first week.
See ya!!!!
Leave a Reply