How to Dally in Dili

Someone who had been living in Dili for a few months told me that its slogan should be, “Dili keeps surprising you (in a good way),” and that seemed to be rather accurate. Dili is the capital of Timor-Leste, a small Asian Pacific nation attached to its West to Indonesia and perched above Australia. Timor-Leste is one of the youngest nations in the world, emerging in the early ‘90s after a long and often brutal struggle with Indonesia, preceded by Portuguese colonization, and followed by nearly a decade of UN control... So its independence was dearly fought for and only recently realized, with its identity and language going through a series of transitions.

Dili was an entirely pleasant place to spend a week in late October, balmy and humid, right on a beach lined with palm trees, with remarkable coral reefs and aquatic life accessible from the shore. Diving is a paradox, allowing you to visit a very foreign world and yet feel so natural. Except for the few humans that go into outer space being underwater is the closest we can get to the experience of weightlessness. There is nothing in the world like suddenly finding yourself surrounded by a flashing silver tornado of schooling fish, with choreographed movements that make them seem like one large, connected organism. It’s a trip to share their world, if even for the 50 minutes or so odd limits of an oxygen tank. 

After completing my Open Water certification (yay!), I went night diving on Halloween, isn’t that perfect? We paddled out on impossibly smooth water, along a pier flitting with bats to the descent site. The base of this reef was simply trash thrown off the pier, like old tires that happen to make great habitat (and hiding places) for creatures such as moray eels, gigantic puffer fish, and crabs. It was really quite eerie, swimming in the dark with just a flashlight suddenly bringing night creatures and coral and algae covered steel structures into view a few feet ahead, with the trembling light of a solitary pier lamp visible far above through 55 feet of water.

The land-based pastimes available in Dili include visiting the Christo Rei, a smaller version of Rio de Janiero’s Redeemer, high on a hillside overlooking the city. The sweaty climb to the top is via the 14 Stations of the Cross, and rewarded with a welcoming Jesus and panoramic views across the harbor.

I'd be amiss if I didn't mention the rather tiny "Tais Market" in the city center. Tais are stiff woven clothes unique to East Timor used for decoration and as clothing. When compared to many African markets, it was almost eerie how completely the vendors left me alone as I wandered through their stalls.

The many restaurants dotting the long beach road are popular diversions, where you can eat or drink either on or overlooking the beach, privy to spectacular sunsets, the soothing sound of lapping waves, or at night, the surprisingly good Timorese cover bands.

And finally sine this was Halloween week afterall, on a hot, sunny Sunday morning I made my way by foot and taxi through local neighborhoods to the Santa Cruz Cemetery. This was the site of a massacre credited with turning the tide in the fight for independence, where the Indonesian Army shot and killed over 100 peaceful protesters. Occupying a relatively small lot of land, the cemetery is fascinating in both the quantity and elaborateness of the tombs. It was difficult to find half a foot of path to walk on, as the graves are packed in so tight.