Timor-Leste

Drink

Several beachfront bars and nightclubs provide the nightlife in Dili serving food and drink, but they cater mainly to the small expat population making them relatively expensive. Some fancy inner city restaurants include Nautilaus, Diya, Ocean View Hotel and Gion Japanese Restaurant. In the Meti Aut area is the newly renovated Atlantic Bar and Grill which is arguably amongst the best service and quality in Timor. Another is the Caz Bar where kayaks can be hired late in the night and a barbeque serves fried fish and all the beach side meals such as sizzling garlic prawns, hamburgers and a large range of cold beer.

Sleep

thumb|Night in Dili

Dili has a wide range of hotels at every price level.

Outside of Dili, there are really only two other bona fide hotels in the country, at Baucau and at Com. However, there are plenty of creative options if you don't insist on luxury, and these range from guesthouses to convents to camping.

Stay safe

Timor-Leste continues to face sporadic internal ethnic & political tension and related violence may occur. This may not be targeted at foreigners or tourists, but follow the guidelines below. There is still a considerable international presence in Timor-Leste, including a United Nations mission and international police and military (mostly conducting capacity building and training for national security forces).

Foreigners or tourists have been targets for violence in Timor-Leste, so visitors should be responsible and adhere to standard precautions as in any developing country. Remember, that you are travelling in a underdeveloped country, and crimes such as assault and theft do occur. The key to avoid such crime is to apply common sense and reduce your exposure to possible opportunity crime such as:

Avoid large gatherings (demonstrations have had the potential to escalate with little or no warning in the past). Remove any visible valuables from your car if leaving it unattended. Women should avoid travelling alone in taxis at night. Women should avoid walking alone at night in quiet streets.

Stay healthy

Malaria is no longer an issue in Timor-Leste.

Tap water is not safe to drink. Boil it or treat it before consuming, or drink bottled water.

Respect

thumb|Independence monument in Balibo Timor-Leste was devastated by the Indonesian occupation that may have killed up to 200,000 (1 in 5 of all people in Timor-Leste) indigenous people. Speaking well of Suharto's Orde Baru or of the idea of Timor-Leste becoming part of Indonesia will not be well received. However, the two countries enjoy a positive relationship today, and Indonesia played a key role in advocating for Timor-Leste's accession to ASEAN.

Many Timor-Leste people are sympathetic or even outright nostalgic about the period of Portuguese rule, where they were generally left to their own devices by the Portuguese colonial government. As with discussing politics abroad in all places, if you aren't sure a discussion about sensitive topics will go over well, don't bring it up.