Do you remember East Timor who became the first country of the 21st century?

Do you remember the country called East Timor? It was the first independent country in the 21st century to fulfill independence from Indonesia (Portugal in international law) in 2002. Now, what is going on ...... I visited from such curiosity What I saw was "the last paradise in Southeast Asia".

Hello!World newspaperA special reporterTomohiro Uetake (Tomohiro Utame)is. I am currently traveling around the world, I am in Malacca, Malaysia, the 5th country. (Red line is an air route, blue line moves over the land)


Speaking of East Timor, I think that many people remember that the SDF was dispatched as part of PKO (United Nations Peacekeeping Operation) from Japan. Is not it dangerous because security is bad? While holding the uneasiness, I stayed in the capital Dili from April 29, 2014 to May 2, and tried to explore its charm.

◆ What is East Timor?


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs'Timor-Lest Basic Data"East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century and occupied and consolidated in Indonesia after 1975. On August 30, 1999, the independence from Indonesia was decided by the United Nations led referendum, and after under provisional rule by the United Nations, on May 20, 2002, it became independent as a democratic republic of East Timor. The total area is approximately 14,400 square kilometers, which is almost the same as the combined area of ​​Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures. The population is approximately 1,210,000 people, the majority of which is occupied by Melanesian people. The influence of Portugal, a religious country, is strong, the official languages ​​are Portuguese and Tetun. Christianity (Catholic) accounts for 99.1% of religion.

◆ To Timor Leste by air
The largest gateway in Japan is Presidente Nikolau Robat International Airport in the outskirts of Dili. There is no direct flight from Japan, it goes through either Singapore · Bali (Indonesia) · Darwin (Australia). I have passed Bali this time, but because Indonesia's entry visa and departure tax total $ 47 (about 4800 yen) separately, I will recommend via Singapore.


When entering the country you can get a sightseeing business visa for 30 dollars (about 3100 yen). When departing from Japan, it is necessary to pay 10 dollars (about 1020 yen).


◆ Dining circumstances
The cuisine that comes out in the local dining room is similar to Indonesia, and its name is exactly the same. About 1 dollar a day (about 102 yen). The price is slightly higher, about 5 dollars (about 510 yen), but there were Indian, Chinese, Italian and Japanese cuisines.


Instant noodles with baked eggs (different depending on the shop) with meat dumpling and yu, buxo. You can eat casually with a dollar.


Ayam Goren (a set of rice and baked chicken). This is also reasonable at $ 1.25 (about 127 yen).


Seasoning called sambar which is also in Indonesia. Peppers and garlic are included to enhance the taste of cooking.


Banana juice exists in every shop. It is a sweet and addictive taste.


In Timor-Leste, US dollars are adopted as the official currency, but original coins called Centavo are also used as an auxiliary currency.


◆ The sightseeing spot is the whole city!?
East Timor is not so famous yet compared with other Southeast Asian countries, and there are only a few places to call as sightseeing spots, but there were plenty of things in the city.

1: Christian architecture dotted in town
Occasionally we see churches in East Timor, where Christians account for 99.1% of the population due to the influence of the former colony Portugal. In southeast Asia, Christianity has penetrated so far only in the two countries of the Philippines and East Timor.


It is a tourist attraction representative of East Timor and also a landmark of Dili is a gigantic Christ image called Christo Rei. It is located at the tip of the peninsula about 10 kilometers from the center and the height is 27 meters.


2: Expressive rich nature
About 60% of the land is East Timor in the mountains.


People living in the suburbs of the city, surrounded by forests rich in tropical plants.


On the other hand, people living while grazing livestock by the seaside.


It seems that the sea has high transparency and the outskirts of Dili are also popular spots for scuba diving.


3: Rural landscape spreading also in the capital
In the center of Dili, roads are maintained and concrete buildings are conspicuous ... ...


If you walk for about 30 minutes, there are houses made of Tetan, rural area where the road is rattled. Atmosphere changes steadily.


The market in the forest. It is very wide and it is complicated like a maze so it gets lost soon ....


Here we have everything including vegetables, meat, fish, clothing, daily necessities.


This market spreads along the stream. Products are arranged until bouncing at the water's edge, people shop while walking in the creek. Is not it a sight that can not be seen in Japan?


4: East Timorese who love hospitality
The East Timorese are very friendly and will smile when their eyes meet. There are things that I can talk to, but something was never sold or fooled. Speaking of the contents of the conversation, things like Japan, the impression of East Timor and so on. It seems that curiosity towards foreigners is strong.

It also invites you with a smile even in places where tourists do not visit.

People I found when I was walking in the city. Looking into it ......


It was a cockfight. When trying to see it mixed in the crowd, he let me see from the aisle for the contestants.


Building in which colorful wall art was drawn, found by chance at a complicated residential area. Thinking of something and looking into it ......


It was an outdoor gallery that young people around the age of 20 made using ruins.


Again, they let me watch the inside of the site where wall art and collection was adorned, pleasantly.


Even when I passed through the university gymnasium, I was invited to a student who was practicing basketball, got to see the practice scenery and got local copy (sweet coffee).


5: Children who love pictures
When walking in the streets or narrowly intertwined alleys, there are many things that children are impressed with "Photo! Photo!", They do not check the pictures of themselves, they are crazy to say thank you .


When I set up my camera, my grandmother's shivering and embarrassing ...... In addition to this, the boys reflected in the photo were also a burst of laughter.


◆ The attraction of East Timor is people
East Timor's biggest attraction I felt was "people". When I actually visited, there was no dangerous impression that I had in the beginning, I received the impression of peace itself. It seems that there are now few countries that are blessed with such beautiful nature and are attracted to people. Why do not you visit the last paradise of Southeast Asia by all means? I'm sure the people of East Timor will be greeted with a smile with a warm welcome.

Sentence / coverage: Tomohiro Uetakehttps://twitter.com/hiro_uetaken
Supervision: World newspaper
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