A post to mark the half way point of my year living in Timor-Leste. These have been the highlights, and challenges so far.

Highlight – hiking
I’ve hiked on five continents and Timor-Leste is up there with the best I have done anywhere in the world. The scenery is often spectacular, there are trails everywhere, and I don’t think I’ve ever come across another malae (foreigner) while hiking. There is always something of interest, whether remote settlements, agricultural terraces, traditional Timorese buildings, or native birdlife.

Challenge – staying healthy
So far I’ve had dengue fever, typhoid, heat rash, entamoeba infection, and chikungunya, plus a number of unnamed illnesses or periods of sickness. This despite having pretty much every vaccination possible before I arrived, and taking care with mosquitoes, food and water. I’m hoping that my immune system improves and that the second half of my year is freer of illness.

Highlight – Timorese
The Timorese are some of the loveliest people I’ve met anywhere, warm, friendly, open and far more welcoming to foreigners than is often the case in this world of over-tourism. It is wonderful seeing their smiles when you demonstrate a few words of Tetun, the local language. They are interested in malae but also give you space. Both HAMNASA and the Ministry of Tourism, where I am volunteering, are almost entirely Timorese, and it is a pleasure working with them.

Challenge – sleeping well
Timor-Leste is a noisy place! In most parts of the country roosters and dogs will call through the night and morning, and the Timorese love playing music at all hours at ear bleedingly loud volume. It is also generally 20C plus at night which makes sleeping without a fan or air conditioning difficult, though at least the sound of these can help drown out the other noises.

Highlight – learning new skills
As one gets older it is easy to fall into routine and sticking with what you know. Moving to Timor-Leste has given me a fresh start in middle age learning new skills. Before coming here I’d never ridden a motorbike (other than 1 day of practice), created videos for YouTube and TikTok, written a book, used a new language on a daily basis (although I am far from fluent …), or flown a drone. I also hadn’t dived for over a decade and barely snorkelled. It has been an exhausting but enlightening experience.

Challenge – climate
The mountainous areas of Timor-Leste have a wonderful climate for a malae, warm during the day and cool at night. However I live in the capital Dili, which being on the coast is 30C plus during the day and 20C plus at night, with extreme humidity for half of the year (wet season), and merely high humidity for the other half (dry season). I have gotten used to it to a degree, but it is still tiring.

Highlight – motorbike
I never had any interest in riding a motorbike. In the developed world it is a niche form of transport, and I’ve always been happy with public transport, cycling or driving a car. In Timor-Leste (and much of South-East Asia) motorbikes (and scooters) are by far the most common form of transport. Knowing this I passed my basic handling test in New Zealand to get a beginners license, which scarily can be done in one day. This focused on indicating, navigating roundabouts and following the New Zealand Road Code. None of which are particularly relevant in Timor-Leste! I’ve basically had to unlearn how to drive, in order to survive the roads here, including how roundabouts work, give way rules, and correct use of the horn. It is exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure!

Challenge – language
Almost everyone speaks Tetun, as well as another local language (outside of Dili), and Indonesian Bahasa and Portuguese are also common. A number of the people I work with have some English, a few excellent English, but most Timorese have little or no English. I know enough Tetun to get by but learning languages isn’t a strength of mine.

Highlight – snorkelling
I had snorkelled in a few places, Jordon (the Red Sea), Australia (Ningaloo Reef) and Belize (Belize Barrier Reef), but Timor-Leste has blown me away with the quality, quantity and accessibility of the reefs. There is good snorkelling in Dili, but Atauro Island is next level, with some of the healthiest and most diverse reefs in the world. I’ve also been diving off Atauro Island but prefer snorkelling for the simplicity, flexibility, and brighter colours closer to the surface.

Challenge – internet
Originally I thought that the fourth slowest internet in the world would be a major challenge, but I’ve adjusted to having effectively dial up speed internet. It doesn’t work much in the evenings, but I can read the news online and upload content to social media in the mornings. Streaming services are not always reliable, and getting video content onto my phone slow, but otherwise life is fine without fast internet.