My journey in East Timor...Day 1

Day 1:

Woke up at 6.30am to get ready and did some last minute packing. At about 7.20am, Mich came in a cab (thank God she lived so near me!) to pick me up and go to Changi airport together. Boarded the plane before 10.50am but it only took off at 11.20am. My 1st time flying with Jetstar and coincidentally 13th Dec was their 1st anniversary!


Group photo (Ps Bee already in Timor) before boarded the plane.

We landed at Dili (Capital of East Timor) at 2.50pm (SG time). Learned that the normal operation hours of the airport was actually from morning to noon, but they kept it open on that day because of us.

Timor here we come!

We waited very long for our luggages to be loaded on to the conveyor belt, I was equally shocked at how small their airport is! It was super hot and humid, the minute I stepped down from the plane, I'm perspiring like mad. In Dili, we stayed in this hotel which is opened by a Singaporean. It was rather a very small hotel and 3 persons to a small room. And bathing there seems like eternity because the water dripped so slowly.

We ended our day 1 watching video of Timor's struggles and a corporate P&W session. After the session ended, we went back to our respective rooms. I was reading the itinerary for day 2, there were a few places we need to do prayer roaming, and there's this place that caught my attention - Tasi Tolu lake. This lake is believed to be where mass graves are located. Very few Timorese dare to venture into the area because they believe it's haunted. This lake has been associated with violence and death. But interestingly, East Timor's independence ceremony was held in Tasi Tolu. Dignitaries who attended tge ceremony included the UN chief Kofi Annan, former president of the US, Bill Clinton and former Indonesian President Megawati.

And so I excitedly smsed Joyce, telling her abt the place we gonna visit. Shortly, Mich came into my room and told us (Aurelia, Lena & myself) that Tasi Tolu wasn't 1 of the places for our team to visit! I expressed my disappointment to them.