East Timor (Timor Leste) is one of the least visited countries in Asia. It is located on the Island of Papua located between the Banda and Timor sea. Half the island is territory of Indonesia, while Timor-Leste gained independence on May 20th 2002 after decades of brutal war and guerrilla fighting against the Indonesians and Indonesian-backed groups. This makes East Timor travel commonly excluded from peoples’ bucket list, and is often overlooked in favor of other South-East Asian countries.
In the mid 20th century, Timor-Leste also experienced a Japanese invasion as did many other SouthEast Asian countries as Japan aimed to free them from colonial occupation and have an Asian leader (themselves) in place. Despite assistance from the Allies in small battalions, Australia and other allies were forced to leave East Timor in the hands of the Japanese.
Many times throughout WW2 and the fight for independence, Timor-Leste was severed from the rest of the world as radio disruption was used as a tactic by the Japanese and Indonesians throughout their various occupations of the country. Along with its ostracized location, slowness to open up to travelers and small population, Timor-Leste is a lesser known country in today’s world. However, this small SouthEast Asian country has its quirks that make it fantastic to see!
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Currency
East Timor has an extremely rare currency. Centavos (cents) are only in the form of a coin and no notes are issued. How does this work? There are denominations of 5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 Centavos coins. 100 Centavos is pegged against the US dollar and thus medium and big purchases are conducted with US dollar notes.
You can pay in country with a mix of USD and Centavos and you can expect to receive a mix of change in return. While many other SouthEast Asian countries also conflate USD with their own currencies, most other currencies like the Indonesian Rupee, Malaysian Ringit and Vietnamese Dong all have notes.
Nature
The nature in East Timor is extremely varied. Not just in terms of the different sites, but also the geological differences in species of trees and animals. While driving along the Northern coast, you will see all sorts of trees from different areas in the road. One side of the road may look like you are driving in Asia and the other, Africa!
The Timorese are not huge beach people and have typically throughout history enjoyed residing in the mountains. This means that waters are crystal clear, beaches are empty and you can view amazing coral reefs 5 meters from the shoreline in some places!
The Timorese are subsistence based, so there is no problem with overfishing as large commercial fisheries do not operate in Timor-Leste. Most fisherman use wooden boats and return with enough fish for the family and some extra to sell.
Religious Sites
Timor-Leste is one of the most populous (and proud) Christian countries in the world. It is estimated that 98% of Timorese practice Christianity (although, many in conjunction with folk religions and beliefs). This is interesting considering many other countries in the region are predominately Islamic or Buddhist.
Christianity was imported to Timor-Leste with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1880. Dili has some especially old and beautiful Catholic Churches and statues. Other smaller cities tend to have a Church which provides a Sunday service for those in nearby villages, with many artifacts coming directly from Portugal.
On top of Christianity, many people believe in various spirits. In Timor-Leste, particularly in the smaller villages, rituals and sacrifices of animals still occur in traditional housing. These ceremonies are often for the purpose of providing good health, prosperity and a good harvesting season.
Food
Produce is fresh in Timor-Leste and they import a small amount of their fruit and vegetables. Fish are caught in small amounts and organic fruit and vegetables are sold predominately in local markets and in shacks on the side of the road. This means that food is super fresh and delicious!
The cuisine is quite similar to their neighbor Indonesia – consisting of meat sticks and rice but with spicy influence from the Portuguese and Indonesian periods of occupation. Most dishes are served with an extremely hot and spicy paste sauce made from ground chillies, salt, pepper and onion.
East Timor Travel 2025
Come and see for yourself whether East Timor truly is the Anti South East Asian country – we offer a couple of tours a year for East Timor travel that you can do standalone or combine with other destinations!
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