| Tips and photos for East Timor vacations and tourism, posted by real travelers and East Timor locals. Map |
 | East Timor General Tips | Tips 1 - 10 of 16 |  |
 East Timorese Kids by bkoon
16th Century - Under the Portuguese rule while the rest of the land was under the Dutch. Known as Portuguese Timor then.
WWII - When the Japanese troops invaded, Portuguese Timor was "taken over" by the Australians and the Dutch. After the war when the Japanese were defeated, it was "given back" to the Portuguese.
1974 - The fall of the Portuguese Fascist Regime and Portugal became a Democratic country. A new governor was appointed. Due to the emphasis on democracy, Portuguese Timor was given a "chance" to fight for independence. Political parties were formed.
11 Aug 1975 - A coup was mounted by 1 of the political parties, Timorese Democratic Union (União Democrática Timorense - UDT) attempting to take over East Timor from the Portuguese and also to prevent Fretilin (Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independente - Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor) from gaining power. Situation between the 2 parties turned bad resulting in 2000 deaths.
28 Nov 1975 - Fretilin declared East Timor as independent but recognised by few countries only.
10 Days Later on 7 Dec 1975 - Indonesian troops invaded and took over East Timor. By mid-Feb in 1976, 60,000 were killed as they fought against Indonesian control.
Indonesian Time - The Indonesian government invested much to boost the economy of Timor-Leste (unlike the Portuguese). The economy improved. However, the East Timorese were still very keen to gain independence and hence, they fought on.
12 Nov 1991 - One of the bloodiest massacre happened. More than 200 people were killed at the Santa Cruz Cemetery. The killing was a result of a demonstration against the Indonesian Government who killed one of the young students who protested against them. The Santa Cruz Massacre was thus a turning point for the East Timorese whereby they gained sympathy from other countries. Leave a Comment
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 Timor Leste Future Lies With
Them by bkoon
1996 - Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta, 2 leading East Timorese activists for peace and independence, received the Nobel Peace Prize and this gained some limelight in the world arena.
1998 - Suharto was forced to resign and Habibie took over the Presidency of Indonesia. Economy outlook of Indonesia was extremely bleak and Habibie did not want to invest much in East Timor. Hence, East Timor was offered "independence" within the Indonesian states.
1999 - With much international pressure, the Indonesian government decided to hold a referendum with the assistance from the UN. United Nations Assistance Mission for Timor-Leste, UNAMET was formed for this purpose.
September 1999 - 78% of East Timorese voted for independence instead of being just an autonomous province within Indonesia. Unfortunately, immediately after this, the Indonesian troops attacked and killed 2000 and much of the country's infrastructure was destroyed.
UN Assistance - Indonesia at that time was "threatened" by the US to stop the brutality and it was then a UN multinational force led by Australia landed in East Timor. Hence, administration of East Timor was thus looked after by the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) for the transition period towards independence.
30 Aug 2001 - East Timor's first elections. A new Constitution was drafted after that by the new general assembly.
20 May 2002 - East Timor became formerly independent, the president being Xanana Gusmão. The new flag was raised and the National anthem was sung.
27Sep 2002 - East Timor became a member of the UN. Leave a Comment
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 Buzz of activities by bkoonLeave a Comment
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In Timor Leste, the currency used is the USD. That makes everything very expensive, even for travellers. The East Timorese cannot afford to buy things as the USD is so expensive and hence living standard becomes very unbalanced. Well, this is a political choice and I guess after a while when the country settles down, they will use their own currency. Leave a Comment
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 The Rugged Inland of East
Timor by Groverdean
Roads tend to be somewhat unreliable though once you head into the mountainous regions so be sure you know where you are going and if travelling in wet season, make sure you have been advised of road conditions.
Apart from the breathtaking scenery and the feeling of remoteness you get when you travel here, you will come across many interesting villages and people, who have had limited contact with Westerners, if any at all. Leave a Comment
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 The Perfect Beaches of East
Timor by Groverdean
In the far northeast of East Timor are the best diving spots, around the resort town of Com and Jaco Island. Leave a Comment
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 Eddy relaxing-East Timor by Groverdean
Kids will come up to you in the street and try and talk to you. You will attract and awful lot of looks and attention. Just smile and say hello and the usual response will be a smile and an attempt to speak to you in Tetum (the local language) or poor English.
I did at times have trouble photographing people and had to put my camera away as alot of locals considered in bad luck. However, it was normally just a shake of the head and a hand wave.
The people will most likely be the highlight of your trip to East Timor. Leave a Comment
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 Street Market-Baucau-East
Timor by Groverdean
We particularly enjoyed the market in Baucau. Leave a Comment
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 Vandalised Democracy
Mural-Dili-East Timor by Groverdean
. Leave a Comment
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 USD$30 for the VISA by bkoon
Fee : USD$30 Leave a Comment
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