Diving in Timor Leste was a blast! Yes, it was different than I expected but still was wonderful. I arrived at the “big” main airport at Dili and was picked up by Juan, one of the divers at Timor Dive Lorsoae. The room was big but the AC lacked the power I am used to. So with precision I moved the mattress on to the floor right smack in line of the AC air flow. Problem solved!
Eating at the Castaway restaurant above the dive shop was not only great but awesome because I was able to meet up with tons of great folks, divers and non divers. Yep, there was internet access so I always had my trusty iPad with me at all times! 
Each day we did two dives. I loved K41 (k stands for kilos. So it was 41 kilos from Dili) which had wonderful “cliff” going down about 50 feet. I did not like the long van rides to the dives though. That was not cool. But with iPod in hand it was bearable.
Timor Leste, formally known as East Timor is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island and the western half, West Timor (also known as Timor Barat in Indonesian) is owned by Indonesia. East Timor was colonized by the Portuguese back in the 16th century. After Indonesia took over East Timor back in 1975 Indonesia gave this area back and in 1999 East Timor became its own country.
An added bonus was to meet up with some American Marines training with the Timor Leste military. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit was there for about 10 days. I had the privilege diving with a Marine Major and his Australian counterpart. One of the other days I was able to dive with a Marine chopper pilot and a Medical Doctor. There is nothing like seeing the American flag when outside the U.S. I am totally a red, white, and blue American even though I was born and raised in Indonesia to American parents. From a former U.S. Army soldier, “Thank you U.S. Marines for serving, and for all Americans in Uniform, for serving our United States of America!!“
I would not say that Timor Leste has amazing diving. However, if you are looking for more of a rustic dive vacation, more of a 2 to 3 star approach, then you will be very happy diving here.
Cheerio,
Diving Doug
AKA: Doug Gulleson
Check the thumbnails out!
