It’s a while since I posted a blog, but a lot has been happening during that time. I hope to cram a lot into this blog post. All Travel and adventure!😁
Maubara Cycling
I am starting to plan more lengthy rides on my bike and I really hope I can make some epic rides while here in Timor-Leste. The more I travel, the more I realize how mountainous the country is. It’s either up or down. That, along with the road conditions in some areas, means I do have some limitations.
Fellow volunteer, Shawn, invited me to cycle with him and two Korean aid worker friends, Kyu and Moon to Maubara which is west from Dili along the coastline. Shawn is in Tibar, close to Dili, so I cycled from Fatuquero to Tibar to meet them. Map below of the full trip I made. It was a 3 night trip with one of the nights at a coastal resort in Liquisa (Alma Do Mar Resort). We fished there and, whilst we did not catch anything, it was fun. I did get a number of punctures during the trip. Unlucky. The final leg was on the last day on my cycle back up from Tibar to Fatuquero. I was not feeling great due to the shear elevation gain and what I now know was a parasite infection (Giardia Lambila Cyst) in my small intestine (more on that later). Then my luck ran out and I got a final puncture with no means of fixing it. I managed to hitch-hike a truck ride with my bike the rest of the way back to Fatuquero (I was so tired that maybe that puncture was fate 😏). Some photos of the trip are below including the map of the route (140km total). We had coconut milk close to Dili as we returned (the coconut milk here is amazing, photo below). Final photo, below, is my view from the back of the truck with my poor bike.
Singapore Visit- Back To A Big City
I had been planning this trip for a while. To visit Singapore for a week and meet my brother, Stu, on his way from the UK to Australia. Plane ride from Dili to Denpasar (Bali, Indonesia) then Denpasar to Singapore. Unfortunately the flights in an out of Dili are expensive, approx. $400 (US) return just to Denpasar (Bali Island). It’s one of the many extremely frustrating things I see is not controlled better by the government here. If they forced the flight price down, then we could have a flood of tourism here in Timor-Leste and desperately needed money coming into the country, but as it is now, Timor-Leste an expensive place for someone to visit.
The trip was almost cancelled due to me being very sick. My stomach had not been right for weeks and in the days running up to my flight out of Dili I got really bad. I was able to make it to Dili a couple of days before I was due to leave and see our wonderful doctor, Dr Sevinj. She ran some tests and diagnosed me with Giardia Lambila Cyst parasite which apparently lives in the small intestine. There are many ways I could have been infected, all of which are a risk during every day life here. I was able to take some heavy medication and started to feel better. The night before my flight I decided I would make the trip to Singapore based on the rate I was recovering. It was a good choice and I felt better and better as time went on.
During my transfer through Denpasar airport I headed straight for the food court and bought a breakfast fruit bowl, and smoothie, with dragon fruit, banana and strawberry. Tasted amazing (and easy on the stomach).
Singapore was fantastic! It was was a shock to the system to be back in a big efficient city and have all foods and amenities available to me. I stayed in a hostel called “The Dream Lodge” close to the “Little India” area of Singapore. I got the best nights sleeps I have had since leaving San Francisco. It was a “pod” hostel but super comfortable. I will definitely stay again. No breakfast however (but it was advertised 😒). I paid around $37 (US) per night. Loads of lockable storage under the bed for my bag. Lovely warm showers 😁.
Food in Singapore was amazing!! Lots of Indian food and Chinese food in particular, as well as western food. The prices for food varied wildly. You CAN eat cheaply at the hawker food courts which are all over the place. They are pretty much like a covered outdoor version of a food court in USA or UK shopping centers (malls). A photo below of a super Indian meal I had. Meals around $5-6 US.
I visited the “Buddha Tooth Relic” Hindu temple in Chinatown. Its completely open to the public and in itself is a museum. Well worth a visit. Not that crowded (unlike temples I have visited in India). Photos below.
Close to the temple I passed a tattoo shop (Tattoo World on Temple Street)and decided to go in for a “chat” (BTW, most people in Singapore can speak some English). I met a really nice artist. We schemed up something on his iPad that would be Singaporean and tribal. Below is the result. I am pretty happy with it 😀. The artist said the spine of the fish (carp) represented “waves” and “caves” to give it a “seashore” theme.
Just down the street from the Buddha Tooth Temple, we visited the Yixing Xuan Teahouse! An upstairs tea house which had traditional Chinese or Korean style “booths” where you could be shown the traditional way to make a cup of tea. It was pretty cool and not too expensive. The booth cost a rental of $4 US for the group of 3 of us and we probably spent no more than an additional 8$ US each on tea and some light food. Photos below. Tea was great!
Eventually, the practicalities of travelling “light” caught up with me and I needed to do some clothes washing. I found a launderette less than a minutes walk away from the hostel. It was the first time in 8 months I have washed my clothes with an actual machine and dryer (rather than by hand). Got to admit, it was a joy!
The main Marina Bay area in Singapore is tourist packed but an amazing place to visit, especially at night. We “stumped up” and booked an evening table at the Fullerton Bay Hotel Lantern Sky Bar which overlooked the marina. It was a min spend of $23 US each but that did not take long to achieve. A splurge that was way beyond my means as a volunteer, but it was a special occasion to see my Brother. I will likely not be visiting again. Some photos below. The next night I also visited the “Gardens By The Bay” and “The Cloud Forest”, a beautiful park close to the Marina which has some artificial structures (lighted trees) which can be climbed. They have a light-show in the evening (approx. 8pm). A free attraction and worth a visit at night. Marina Bay area and the Cloud Forest photos below.
In the older parts of town the architecture and colours were a pretty unique mix of European, Chinese and Portuguese. Particularly in the “Little India” quarter. I had a nice 5$ US haircut there. One of the better haircuts I have had recently. Also went to a small antiques store (surprisingly not many in Singapore) where the owner was quite the character. He said that “some fools buy and some fools sell” before he pronounced me “a fool” (after I bought a pendant from him 😁). I think it was all in jest. I show his photo below along with some interesting architecture.
I stayed a total of 5 nights in Singapore and on my return flight Timor-Leste I needed to stop over a night in Bali. I took some advice to visit the Uluwatu Temple which was about 1.5hrs “Grab” (east Asia Uber equivalent, cost me about $25 US round trip) ride form the airport. The temple is known for its Monkeys and they are pretty tame and naughty. Steeling sunglasses, cameras, phones etc. It was a bit of a tourist trap BUT the sea views were amazing and it was large enough to have a good quiet walk around. I would recommend a visit. I saw a number of people have their sun-glasses swiped off their heads. They then have to go to a “special woman” who has food for the monkeys to exchange for the goods stolen. So, effectively, they are trained to steel 🤔.
Before my final flight back to Timor-Leste I had lunch at Burger King. I never go there in the USA, but I wanted to get one last protean punch before going home. It tasted great, I cannot lie 😋. Returning back to Fatuquero was, honestly, a little depressing initially. But I suppose we all feel like that after a great holiday.
I will finish with a nice shot of my host Mum Mana Berta in our Kiosk. It was taken as I waited for the microlet to take me on my first leg to Dili. I thought it was a great photo op 👌. Next blog soon…. Cheers! James.
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