Another expectations vs reality article, this time about the little unknown country Timor Leste, in Southeast Asia!
Where is it located?
Timor Leste is a little country in Southeast Asia. They are sharing the island Timor with Indonesia with one exclave as well. There are only 220.000 inhabitants living in the capital Dili and they are using the US-Dollar as their currency.
Timor Leste is one of the newest countries in the world, in 2002 they received independence from Indonesia. Interesting to know, all people who are born before the independence day are able to get Portuguese citizenship. Portugal was seeing Timor Leste as part of them until the real independence that’s why.
People from the Schengen Region don’t need a visa there and can enter the country 30 days for free, also others have to, but better check.
What were my expectations?
When being completely honest I had 0 expectations, I had no idea about Timor Leste, the only thing I knew was what the flag was looking like. Not even sure what language would be spoken there or what for money would be used.
Just jumping right into the country without a clue.
How did I experience Timor Leste during my time there?
After arriving in Dili I was realizing the chaotic life in the capital. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing after discovering Dili a bit more. Just a not so interesting city and not different from many others.
When walking along the beach there was a parade and as we dived deeper into the culture the more I started liking it.
Timor Leste has a lot to offer and especially the nature on land and also under water. It is beautiful and peaceful. They don’t accept MasterCards which was quite bad for me because I was just traveling with a Mastercard. Visas are fine.
There is a lot to discover in this very unknown country and the food is also very good, but a bit similar to Indonesia to be fair. It tasted way better for me though.
How are the locals in Timor Leste?
The locals I met were really welcoming and helpful. Even when they were not speaking English or Portuguese they tried to help as much as possible and also were coming with a smile at the end.
Some people tried to get money from us, by thinking of “rich white people”, that was mainly from the more poor people though, so not everyone.
We were meeting many great people, who were great to spend time with. Also, the host we had was very friendly and was telling us a lot about the culture of the little country.
When we were staying in the mountain village, there was much hospitality and they were at first feeling weird about us and didn’t have much trust, but at the end it felt like being included and a part of them.
Summary
Timor Leste is a little unknown country with high potential for something bigger. It is the country with the highest level of free speech in whole Asia and was 2023 even higher than Germany.
The people are great, it is very safe and there is a lot to discover, so for sure put Timor Leste on your list, when you are going to explore Southeast Asia. My expectations weren’t what the reality of Timor Leste was, so stay tuned to explore the next country in this topic!
