Articles
Grandma Says Don’t Cry
For three days, the child hid in the jungle.
On the second day, my friends consulted the local witchdoctor. The 'horoscope' is how they...
The Waiting Game
Just sitting, just waiting. Without talking, without being able to track the time that's gone by; without knowing how long you'll be wa...
From Bad to Worse
After my little machete stand-off the previous evening, the morning dawned clear and sunny and I was expecting a better day. Machete du...
Machetes at Midnight
It all started off innocently enough.
I arrived at Morobo hot springs in the afternoon, and I was fading like the day. The road from Su...
Beastie takes a mudbath somewhere near Indonesia
I spent a day in hot, hot Suai. Every passing truck dragged a cloud of dust from the powdery roadsides. I slept late on my bunkbed, swe...
Darkness my old friend
After five days at the convent I was ready to face the world again - specifically, the supposedly awful road along the South Coast to S...
Tears Before Tea Time
After the old man had mugged me with his frailty for the stale doughnuts I didn't want, I was in a funny mood. Viqueque proved to be a ...
In which I am mugged by an old man
The road winds down the Southern side of the mountains; if I were a local, I'd be coasting silently with the engine off, saving fuel. B...
Jungle and Ghosts
Lospalos is a sprawling town. I've heard that it's a major cultural centre; that Lospalos people are renowned as artists and musicians....
Moonrise in Com
Time to get back on the road and explore the wilds of Timor. I'd been told that I 'couldn't' ride ride around the island because the ro...
Rest
After Jaco Island, I loop back through Baucau and sleep late for a couple of days.
When I emerge from under my mosquito net and venture...
Will I make it? The road out of Jaco
I'd been sweating about the road back up the mountain ever since I came down it. There was a particular steep bend with powdery dust at...
Never smile at a crocodile
Timor is full of crocodiles. Hot weather, beautiful beaches and dramatic rivers with broad gravelly beds, all with bonus crocodiles.
I ...
Sinking into Baucau
Baucau's Old Town clings among jagged basalt outcrops, red-roofed Portuguese buildings gazing over a hazy blue sea. Further uphill, hid...
Dust & Joy
The map showed only one main road running East along the coast, and I'd just found it completely closed by road works. Not a good start...