Travel Log of the First tour group to Timor-Leste: Day Six
2012-11-15
Source:Embassy
Day Six Overlooked beautiful Dili , return Beijing with full luggage
On the last day of our trip, Ambassador Vicky took us to visit the Dear Memorial in the mountain. During the World War II, Timorese formed guerilla to assist Australian force to resist Japanese invaders. When Australian troops lost and fell back, Japanese invaders killed 60,000 Timorese which was the 13% of the population at that time. Then we went to a church school. There were many victims’ name tags and pictures of World War II hanging on the walls of the church. The diner had an overlook to Dili and the ocean from the mountain side. We could see the Presidential Palace and the building of MFA of Timor-Leste which were contributed by China, and Timor Plaza, the first shopping mall in Timor-Leste and all the places that we have visited.On our way back to the city, Ambassador Vicky took us to her house for a rest. Her house was built three years ago, right before she was posted to China shortly after the house was built. Ambassador Vicky has 8 siblings. They were all very successful. Ambassador Vicky had been fight for Timor-Leste’s independence and now Her Excellency has been contributing to the development of Timor-Leste and enhancing the friendship between China and Timor-Leste, such as the first tour group to Timor-Leste. Ambassador Vicky arranged us to go shopping in the market. Tais, a traditional Timorese weaving fabric, used in weddings and grand ceremonies, and used for trading livestock as well. The technique of Tais passed through generations. Only girls could learn how to weave. Hanging blankets were 30 dollars each. Handmade Tais dolls cost 18 dollars each. 1 kilo of organic Timorese coffee beans or ground beans with many different flavors cost 8 dollars. And the coconut oil was also the local feature. The prices of products in Timor-Leste were quite low. In the handcraft market, we had the chance to see how the Tais were weaved, how the palm leaf hats, bamboo furniture were made, how the soap were made from coconut oil and how the red earth pottery were made and printed.
A couple of days staying in Timor-Leste, we have known friendly Timorese people, such as hotel staff, drivers. Their modesty and friendliness left us a great impression. We established excellent friendship with the drivers who had been taking care of us all the way. We gave them the presents and food that we brought from China. When we were looking at beautiful Timor-Leste on the plane, it reminded us the legends and experience of Timor-Leste. Grace and Kelly made successful connect with potential business partners. It was a effective trip for all of us. Mr. and Mrs. Yuanyuan opened a bottle of Champagne to celebrate out successful trip on the plane.To look back to the 6-day trip, the only thing we regret was that the trip was too short. We did not have the time to watch whales near Atauro, to go fishing on a canoe, to visit the caves for hiding troops and vehicles during World War II, to watch the biggest coral in the world and precious birds in Nino Konis Santana Naional Park, to see the 12000 years old cave painting, to visit the biggest church in Asia, to clime 500 stairs to the statute of Jesus Christ, to watch how local people make sea salt in villages, to see how the handcrafts are made and etc.The trip was not only about the warm hospitality beyond our imagination, the beautiful mountain and colorful tropical views, the pure original culture and relaxing time, it was a unique free experience.We could not experience the feeling of owning the beach, the island, the plain and the whole mountain without the trip to Timor-Leste. We could not experience the feeling of being close to nature without the trip to Timor-Leste. We could not experience the last paradise without the trip to Timor-Leste.As the slogan of Timor-Leste “Be with us, Be with nature.” We look forward to the next discovery trip to Timor-Leste.