Kupang 30th July 2007 The time is approaching for us to leave Kupang and explore other areas of Indonesia. Yesterday we had a taste of Timor and if that was an indication of the hospitality we will encounter as we sail through the many islands we will never want to leave. Saturday evening ,the attraction of about 100 yachts anchored in the bay, had bought hundreds of people to the water front. Young families all dressed in their best clothes, hawkers selling anything from pearls to hot cooked corn, tourist guides touting for business and young people out for some Saturday night fun. The noise and music carried on into the early hours of the morning, it seemed to have on just stopped when we had to get up to get ready for our Tour to Boti. At 7.00am 100 plus yachties assembled on shore, climbed into buses and set off on a police escorted trip into the hills of Timor. Sirens shrieking, lights flashing we drove out into the country side, people along the way standing by the road waving to this noisy motorcade disturbing their Sunday church services. As we got into the remote areas the people either waved enthusiastically or looked extremely puzzled, they rarely see one bus let alone 10 escorted by police and followed by three ambulances. The road got narrower and rougher as we bounced and bumped our way into the hills. Looking over into the steep valleys, helicopters would have been needed to rescue us, not ambulances, if a bus had toppled over the edge. We would have been in trouble too if the front bus, no 1, we had to travel in numerical order, had broken down, 9 buses would have had to back up many miles to be able to turn around. Visiting two traditional villages gave us an insight into how many people still live in West Timor, subsistence living the further from Kupang we travelled. The land is very mountainous and being the dry season not many crops are grown. Our guide said the people who lived on the ridges by the road had to walk long distances to get water. The river was way at the bottom of the valley, the bus wound its way down to the river via a series of hair pin bends. We passed 3 exhausted looking girls sitting by the road with jerry cans of water. I guess their Sunday was spent hauling water up the steep slopes to their home. Having to fill our water by hose or occasionally carry a jerry can or two doesn't seem too bad after all. At the first village we were entertained with dancing, Ikat weaving demonstrations, with many examples displayed for us to buy. Then back on the bus for the winding, steep trip to Boti. Boti is a village whose people still follow the traditional ways, pre Dutch/Portuguese religious influences. The guide who was Protestant said very condescendingly that, we must respect their culture even if they weren't religious!!! We had a beautiful lunch there, the meeting house where we served ours was a bit dark so it wasn't until we got outside to eat that we could establish the edibility of the food on the plate. Fortunately it was all delicious and recognizable! The village was a little overwhelmed with all the visitors but were still extremely hospitable. One of the yachties created much laughter from adults and children with some simple magic tricks. The tradition of Boti is that if you are offered beetle nut to chew it causes great offense if declined, thank goodness it was not offered to us, all the village men were chewing constantly. The beetle nut leaves the teeth stained red, red splotches cover the ground where it is spat, when the taste has diminished. We drove back to Kupang in our siren escorted motorcade, numbers 1 to 10 in order followed by the ambulances, we waved to all the kids along the way. There are kids everywhere here , the population seems to be very young. Arriving back at Teddys Bar at 10.30pm, a long day, there where still people everywhere including many young children. The only things that were a bit quieter were the bemos, horns and music shut down for a Sunday night.

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