Day 92

30/09/2009

Left Kafamenanu at 6:45 to drive the last 100km to the border between West and East Timor. At the last town before the border, there were again no signs to where we were going and we ended up following the airport sign out of town, which we knew to be "roughly" the right direction. The road became narrower and more potholed, but the GPS was still pointing more or less north, and we knew we had to reach the coast and the road to the border at some point. We climbed over a narrow pass over a hill, and dropped down, finally to meet the coast road exactly where it crossed the border. We never did see the airport.

At the border we stopped at the police check point and a young officer talked to us in reasonable English and actually took us through the exit procedures on the Indonesian side. He had apparently only been assigned to the border a few days, and was as interested in understanding the process as we were.

Not a very busy border crossing and the East Timor side was also quite straight forward.

Drove along the coast to Dili, the road being of similar poor standard we have come to expect. East Timor is as dry and dusty as West, with very little vegetation growing where it hasn't been cultivated.

Dili is a very strange city to be in. There is a huge UN presence here and all they seem to be doing is driving around in their big 4X4s with tinted windows and air-con on. Makes you feel quite uneasy.

Made contact with the shipping agent before finding a hotel, and arranged to meet him tomorrow at 8:30 so checked in to the nearest hotel to where we were which was Hotel Timor. Shock. The prices here are extortionate. US$135 for a standard room. These UN people have certainly pushed up our hotel costs. Resolved to find somewhere cheaper tomorrow, and with easier access between room and car park so we can empty and clean the van.

Lat 8 33.20 S
Long 125 34.33 E
Town Dili, East Timor