For the second time in three years I found myself celebrating East Timor National Day AKA it’s birthday, but this year I was able to up it a few notches by combining it with meeting the President of the country.
How though did I manage this, how good a party is East Timor National Day and can any old riff-raff just meet El Presidente? All of that and more in my guide to partying during the Timor-Leste/East Timor National Day.
What the East Timor?
Timor-Leste, or East Timor if you’re feeling a little retro, is a country most people can’t find on a map. Nestled between Indonesia and Australia, it’s home to about 1.3 million people and is the least visited country in South-East Asia. Yes, the least visited. And that’s part of its charm.
A former Portuguese colony that went through a bloody occupation and a violent struggle for independence, East Timor finally became a nation in 2002. It’s still got some way to go development-wise, but that’s kind of what makes it all the more real. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the place, having first visited over a decade ago. Since then I’ve advised them on tourism and even got to interview the President – which I am now apparently legally obliged to mention in every single article I write about the country.
Partying at the Palace on East Timor National Day
So, through my contacts we actually arranged to be at the flag raising ceremony which started at 8.30 am! Alas we could not make this as we took our boat from Atauro Island at 8.30 am. We were though still able to join cocktails with the President which started at 11.15. Alas most of the booze was gone by this point as it seems the Timorese like a free bit of bubbly almost as much as me.
It turns out though that the President is very amiable and he took time to come meet us and have pictures with our group. Did he remember me? Well of course he did. The rest of the afternoon was spent in museums, as well as the office of the revolutionary group FRETILIN before we returned to the palace.
At the palace we were treated to a bit of a military display, some speeches and the very interesting lowering of the flag ceremony. This was also attended by a bunch of high rollers, all of whom made us feel very much like VIPs. So, the big question, can anyone just meet the President of East Timor? No, you cannot, with us having official invites gotten partly because of our connections and in part due to the connections of our local partners. The moral? Join a trip to the East Timor National Day with Young Pioneer Tours.
East Timor National Day Party!
After taking off my jacket and tie it was time to go party. We initially began with some street food near the big statue of Jesus where most of the locals were swimming, eating, drinking and flying their flag high. I will go into much more detail on this when I write about the street food of Dili!
The place to be though was down by the harbour where every year this is turned into a party dome. Here you will find lots of street food hawkers, as well as pop-up bars. Said bars were serving cocktails, such as Cairpinha and Mojitos for just $5. Now this might not sound “cheap”, but in Timor-Leste it really is.
This though was merely to lube people up to party at the free concert where everyone was dancing and having fun. And you know how I said everyone? Well yeah we even met the Prime Minister, former revolutionary Mr Guzman getting his groove on. It was this night too that marked the culmination of a three day celebration within the country, one which it is really hard to explain just how big a deal it is unless you come here. For context though the nation is but 23 years old with some estimating as many as 200,000 people spilled blood to make it possible. In this context East Timor National Day means far more than outsiders could ever understand.
So, is it worth making a beeline for East Timor National Day? Sure, so long as you have the contacts…