Cristo Rei Dili

We stayed in Dili with Sr Mar-lou at the Dominican Orphanage in Bidau. The kids are gorgeous and there is always a smile to welcome you home when you arrive. Sr Mar-lou and her comrades run a tight ship - they work miracles with very little resources and have HUGE vision for the futures of the 65+ children that are in their care.

As well …

... of Paradise Tours to get bus tickets to cross into Indonesian West Timor and on to Kupang. $17/person. Tomorrow we'll relax at the beaches which we can see off in the distance to the east under the Cristo Rei Statute. But we'll take a taxi out ...

... in Timor Leste has not many sightseeing spots, and if you find something it is very much broken. But ... it has charme. Timor Leste is normal, not touristically organized. Travelling in Timor Leste means travelling like the locals. Of course I support ...

Dili is the capital of Timor Leste. We arrived late afternoon yesterday. Today (Sunday), we have off before we start work with the rest of the USAID Team. After breakfast, the three of us from the Dept of the Interior, took a cab out to a famous statue, ...

... agreed the East was for Portugal and the West for the Dutch. Culturally this means Catholicism is predominate in East Timor - or Timor-Leste as it is called locally - more evidence of the influence of the Portuguese.  The Portuguese pulled ...