It’s been a long time but they say you either love it or
hate it here and everyone that loves it will always be back. Well hello, I’m back.
Never thought I would be, because leaving last time was so
emotional, I didn’t want to leave but it was due, it was the right time and it
was good to get back to ‘civilization’ again. That lasted a month until wearing
hiking socks in the house was no longer a novelty, time to return to the
tropics!
18 months in the Philippines and a year in Bali which was
kind of civilization and some great friends, I decided my brain was turning to
mush. I can do low pay and loving my
job. I can do high pay and hating my
job. What I can’t do is hating my job
and getting paid badly for it. Bali is
an incredible place to live but my brain needs exercising!
So back to Dili and much to many friends shock, not
diving! The job has potential and
already I’m enjoying it, overseeing an Italian restaurant with loads of other
projects underway. I never in million
years thought I would be in the food industry but I kind of adopted it in the Philippines
(kicking and fighting as I was a dive centre assistant manager) to my advantage
now. They say you have 3 careers in your
life, mine has been IT, diving now food, but I now have a passion for painting
but neither will make me rich!
So Dili has not changed much, finally Timor Plaza has opened,
(they had been building it or 2 years when I left, and it’s the same crappy shops
but in a nice new façade except for Gloria Jeans which is apparently Australia’s
equivalent to Starbucks and Burger King, haven’t faced that yet but I’m
wondering if the burger is served with rice as back in Bali KFC was with rice
(that’s just wrong! Slaw and fries).
They do have a nice place on the roof of the Plaza called
the Sky Garden, the views over Dili are amazing accompanied by a very cheap
glass of cold Australian Chardonnay at the Friday night happy hour. My artist friend lives in the apartments
there, so it’s a nice conclusion to a few hours painting.
As posh as the Plaza is (Dili Standards) you still can’t get
shoes here (unless you want 5 inch glitzy wedges), I discovered this after
breaking 4 pairs in two weeks due to the horrendous potholes which as before
they are trying to fix all at the same time causing huge traffic problems. And the dust, I had forgotten just how dusty
this place is, especially as there are unseasonal winds at the moment which
made for a very ‘interesting’ crossing to Atauro Island. We had a couple of girls from Singapore on the
journey with us who excitedly asked about whale and dolphin spotting! Not in
waters as rough as this! I actually
averted my eyes as the waves filled the whole backdrop of Joanna who was
sitting in the wet seat opposite me! And
I consider myself a hardened boat traveller.
One of the Singaporean girls was white knuckle gripping the side of the
boat with her eyes closed the whole way and bless her, she managed to not throw
up!
It was also nice to dive with Joanna again although it was a
shallow dive on the house reef due to the rough seas. Another question from the
Singaporean girls ‘where’s the swimming beach?’ Answer, you are looking at it, what
is normally a white sand beach was strewn with seaweed and rubbish and the
crystal blue water a dirty brown, unlucky, but they were good sports and very
nice company at dinner.
There were a lot more boats over at Atauro, this is all relative,
I spotted six instead of the usual one! There are a few more private owners
including Barry’s tinny which sports the XXXX beer logo (acquired from Gil
after the demise of ‘One More Bar’). One of the boats was an Ambulance boat
which Atauro sorely needed, but it’s only useful if it works! Plagued with
engine problems from the start it’s a weather beaten ornament at the
moment. The good news is though, Atauro
is getting an airport which means patients can be medivaced to Dili that is
providing they have a helicopter, a pilot and the helicopter is working!
Talking of maintenance, there seems to be multiple daily
power cuts, much more even than in 2006.
But I am one of the lucky ‘Malai’ that has generator facilities so I don’t
have to put up with the stifling heat every time the power goes off, although
the heat has not been a problem the last few days as the wind has been so high
and we have had unseasonal downpours so it’s cold! Even had to put a jumper on
one day, in the tropics! Still I have a
nice hot shower in my new bathroom and my room is finally taking shape, just
need to get some reading lamps which have always been near on impossible to buy
in Dili unless you want plastic ‘Hello Kitty’ style or something equally as
tacky. They are on the shopping list for my next trip to Bali along with 10
pairs of shoes!
