Timor Leste 2024 Trip B Blog

Unfortunately, during the night a couple of us (looking at you James) got sick, so we decided to delay our journey to the mountains for a couple of hours while they recovered. Instead, we took another trip into Dili to see the Monument to the Santa Cruz Massacre, yet another reminder of Timor-Leste’s dark past.

After that, we cheered ourselves up a bit by going to the 'Things and Stories' gift shop. It had loads of interesting and fun crafts, and many of us decided to get something for friends and family back home. Then we arrived at Timor Plaza to stock up on beng-bengs. Besides that, we also tried more local food, including some (mediocre) sushi and some (delicious) bubble tea.

After a return to the Dominican Orphanage and some ball games with the girls, it was finally time to leave. We were so incredibly grateful for all of the gratitude the nuns and kids had shown us, and it was a sad goodbye for a lot of us. The trip to the Bahkita Centre was pretty long to say the least but it helped that on the way we paid a visit to Klibur Domin, a health centre where we learnt a lot about both tuberculosis and the importance of volunteering. It was an incredibly insightful and moving experience, and our tour guide was none other than Mount Gambier’s very own John Kirby, who’s been attending Timor since 2012.

After another surprise stop or two (thanks Charlie), we reached the beautiful views of Bahkita and got a delicious dinner of chicken and chips. Then it was time for a last minute dance lesson in preparation for our performance at Hetolia. After Ebony’s close encounter with a faceless minion, it was time to sleep, leaving us to a night of Owen falling out of bed and Laura dreaming of being chased by Mr Dickson. Overall, another great day full of learning and experiences!