Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Traditional Boats in East Timor

Boats have always facinated me. In East Timor I observed that almost all the boats used by the local fisherman are traditional wooden boats and all of them have out riggers. These boats are really the fore fathers of the modern trimaran.The average length of the boats are about 10 ft long. Most of the fisherman uses the boat in the protected lagoons and the calmer coastal water within a km or so from the shoreline. It takes about 4 person to carry the boat into and out of the water.
Basically they either go out alone or at the most with one other friend.

This is the season where they can catch a lot of sardines using a small drift net. I bought some of these fresh and delicious sardines to be deep fried with curry and chilli powder for dinner. mmmm ..its delicious!I suppose it is child's play to handle one of these narrow "trimarans". The two out riggers really adds much stability to the narrow canoes.
Basic designs for the boat are a narrow sharp nose and tail.I do not see nails being used to make the out riggers. These pieces of wood and bamboos are just lashed together. If anyone of you know anything about Wharram cats, they are built almost exactly like these...ropes are used to lash the hulls together.
Pieces of flattened bamboo are then laid inside the boat to be served as floor boards. again these are just lashed on to the boat

This 30 footer is only powered by a 15 hp Outboard engine. It can achieve a spped of about 16 kts.
In my opinion, these are very well built boats with a proven design which some modern boats are even trying to emulate!


Friday, April 2, 2010

Evening Walks in Dili, East Timor

The highlight of the day in Dili is at 1715 hours. This is the time that if I do not go cycling I will go for my evening walks.
At first it was only Capt Binh and I who does the hill torture but slowly it has turned to a company event! Almost everyone (Everybody mean two Malaysian Pilots, Two Vietnamese pilots, Two Vietnamese Engineers and our Malaysian enginner) comes along for the walk..which is a good sign because I believe exercise keeps our body healthy and fit. Fit crew under me mean less trouble and less work!At the start of the trip all of us looks cheerful. Even the oldest in our group, LAE Cheng is in good mood. I must have played the pipes well to get the followers to come out and sweat!


High spirits on level road. The start of the climb. Still not bad as it is gradual and it is on good road.
Getting steeper now......Soon we reach a small church that was built like a cave.Then we have to climb about 365 steps..up up and up....This leads to a trail. At this point some of them might decide to put in the "reverse gear" and these two friends are quite good at it!There are many Crosses along the trail and this is the first one. Everyone was posed as a Cross for this picture.At the top of it we are rewarded with a good view of the airport and the Banda Sea.
More photos....And a few minutes of rest.After this it will be a kilometer of walk on the ridge of the hills.With Capt Binh a Vietnamese pilot.

The "highway" can be quite busy too with locals coming up the hill to collect firewood.


How can we complain about our walk when these people have to do the same trail but with a load on their head

The highest point on the trail is 880 ft as per my GPS readings. After that it is downhill all the way. Gotta be very careful because downhill is when people hurt themselves if they slip and fall!


For those of you who want to follow our trail on Google Earth, click to this file:




From the Pope to Jesus in East Timor by Folding Bike

Well, you can go from the Pope to Jesus by folding bike if you happen to be in Dili, East Timor. The statues are placed on the Western and Eastern side of the town along the coast so it is a scenic ride esp on a Sunday when there is less traffic. In Dili I stayed in Timor Lodge which is close to the Pope so I always ride up the hill to the statue.This will then be followed by a downhill ride to the coast. It is usually a very pleasant ride if one starts early enough. The sunrise is always so romantic.This rock here marks the Western boundary of the town. Beautiful coast line along the way.

Timor Hotel, one of the prominent landmarks in the centre of Dili town. See,...no other vehicles on the road.


This is to remind the public that sea crocodiles are present in the coastal water in Timor. So it is swim at your own risk!


A typical Timorese architecture just before arriving the statue of Jesus.
More statues along the beach. And this is the statue of Jesus Christ. The ride through and fro is just over 30 km. I did this route several times and the photos in the blog are from several trips.


On the return leg, I always try and buy some fish . This is the season for sardines and they are delicious if deep fried with chili and some salt.

The Dahon comes with a rear carrier and I have no problem hauling this fish home. The spanish mackeral in this photo cost me USD 30.00 which is quite expensive.
The Dahon curve is a great and versatile bike for trips like this. I had just sold the bike this evening to a keen cyclist and I hope the new owner will have as much fun as I had with the bike.