Global Travel Writers: Articles

Darwin - gateway to East Timor

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:03:00 -0500

Australia�s northern gateway, formerly a rough frontier town, now stands on its own merits - a model tropical city, totally rebuilt since the disastrous Cyclone Tracy of 1974. Since East Timor gained its independence, everyone from UN peacekeepers to local entrepreneurs wants a piece of the action, making Darwin a boomtown gateway. A huge injection of funds from Brunei will see the Darwin waterfront totally transformed over the next five years, with beaches, marinas and a giant recreation complex gracing the shoreline.

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Dili's Door Opens Again

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:22:00 -0500

Before 1975, Dili, the capital of Portuguese East Timor, was part of an overland Asian trail to Europe that included Burma, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Yugoslavia. A pleasant and decidedly sleepy small tropical colonial town with a long curving waterfront dotted with villas, public buildings, and even the odd cannon, Dili had an easy, welcoming tone and was peopled by fine folk with an innate love of music. Now, on the streets of Dili, a city goes about its daily business, conscious of its tragic near-past but more concerned with the positive urgency of the present. A fledgling tourism industry is enticing back the adventurous, offering fine beaches, comfortable guest houses, natural beauty and a rich culture.

Back to Baucau

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:25:00 -0500

The coastal trip from the capital Dili to Timor�s second city, Baucau, provides some extraordinary glimpses of the heady cultural mix that is East Timor. The towns of Laleia and Manatuto each have their own charms, while a couple of excellent beaches along the route provide great snorkelling. In Baucau, the notorious Hotel Flamboyan, formerly used as a torture centre by the Indonesian army, has been converted into the lavish Pousada de Baucau, recently inaugurated by the Bishop of Baucau.

East Timor, Asia's Newest Nation

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 01:23:00 -0500

by Philip Game

From an obscure colony to a war zone patrolled by UN peacekeepers� it sounds like somewhere in Africa. But the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste lies almost at Asia's furthest extremity, one half of an island a short flight from Bali or from northern Australia.

East Timor is not exactly ripe for tourism, nor indeed for impatient investors. Outside Dili, the soporific capital - watch for goats crossing the road - there are no landline telephones nor banks; gasoline is siphoned from jerry cans. On the other hand, fellow travellers may invite you home to share steamed rice and fish baked in pandanus leaves.

The going may sometimes be rough but the journey will prove rewarding in human terms (and the diving is quite fantastic).

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