Land Roamer - Around The World

Monday, May 15, 2023

Read FIRST - How to see my blogs?

NB – Many of my blogs are not yet indexed...

If you want to discover my trip, you need to rewind time/my blogs.

May 2023 - ??? - South America ... Be patient...

March - April 2023 - Islands of the Pacific Ocean ... Be patient...

March 2022 to March 2023 - Touring Australia is here

October 2022 - Timor-Leste is here

July 2021 - Greece in a camper-van is here

April 2020 - Coronavirus strikes is here
March 2020 - New Zealand is here
February 2020 - Shipping my Land Roamer to Australia is here
December 2019 - Short trip to Sri Lanka is here
November 2019 - Indonesia 2 (Lombok, Bali, Java) is here
Sept - Oct 2019 - Indonesia 1 (Sulawesi, Flores, Sumbawa) is here
July-August 2019 - Borneo is here
June 2019 - Cambodia is here

May 2019 - Vietnam is here
March 2019 - Singapore is here
February 2019 - Malaysia Peninsular is here
December 2018 - Thailand is here
November 2018 - Laos is here
October 2018 - China is here

September 2018 - Mongolia is here
August 2018 - Kazakhstan and Russian Federation are here
July 2018 – Pamir highway 2 (Kyrgyzstan) is here
July 2018 – Pamir highway 1 (Tajikistan) is here

July 2018 – Tajikistan is here

June 2018 – Turkmenistan is here and Uzbekistan is here

May 2108 - Iran (second trip) is here

April 2018 - UAE is here and Oman is here

March 2018 - Iran (first trip) is here

February 2018 - Departure, Eastern Europe & Turkey is here

Enjoy without moderation!

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Welcome to the Land Roamer's blog!

I created this blog to keep my family and friends informed about the Land Roamer’s
preparation, planning for the trip and later to keep in touch during my overland adventures.

Some of the pictures are NOT award winning,

but they illustrate what I saw and are memories of my trip.

Having had both a Land Rover and a Land Cruiser, I decided that I would call my

4x4 camper-truck, a Brimont Brutt (more info here) "Land Roamer".

To roam: "To travel purposefully unhindered through a wide area. It suggests wandering freely
and often far afield." Etymology: Middle English, 14th century, Merriam-Webster.

"Live for the JOURNEY, not the Destination!"

Monday, October 31, 2022

Two weeks in East Timor also known as Timor-Leste

October 17 to 31, 2022 - 740 kilometers

While waiting for spare parts for the clutch of my Land Roamer to arrive in Cairns, I tought that it would be exciting to fly to near-by Timor Leste, rent a motorcycle and explore parts of the island.

East Timor also known as Timor-Leste officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, of which the western half is administered by Indonesia, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-western half, and the minor islands of Atauro and Jaco.

East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975. Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an Indonesian invasion and annexation. Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule, and in 1999 a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory. On 20 May 2002, as Timor-Leste, it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. That same year, relations with Indonesia were established and normalized, with Indonesia also supporting East Timor's accession into ASEAN.

The total population is over 1.1 million, and is heavily skewed towards young people due to a high fertility rate. Education has led to the increasing literacy over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the 30 indigenous languages spoken in the country. The majority of the population is Catholic, which exists alongside strong local traditions, especially in rural areas.

From Darwin, it's a short flight (1h20 minutes ) to Dili, the capital.

Dili is the capital and largest city of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountains. The climate is tropical, with distinct wet and dry seasons. The city has served as the economic hub and chief port of what is now East Timor since its designation as the capital of Portuguese Timor in 1769. Dili's growing population is relatively youthful, being mostly of working age. The local language is Tetum, however residents include many internal migrants from other areas of the country.

Driving the rented motorcycle along the Southern Coast

Driving to Bacau

The Pousada de Baucau is a charming, flamboyant pink hotel located in the old part of Baucau. The Pousada was created in the 1950´s, with the name “Estalagem de Santiago”. The actual name was given in the 60´s, where some restructuring was made.

During the Indonesian occupation the name was again changed to “Hotel Flamboyang”, and the building was used as the headquarters for the secret services of the Indonesian army and served as a prison in some of the areas. It was named “Pousada de Baucau” in the beginning of 2002.