Dili Weekender

When the going gets tough in Dili, the tough get out and head to Gleno, the sleepy town which (I'm told) has a habit of declaring its independence from the rest of the country every so often.

On the way to Palm Sunday mass

Abandoned houses make for great clotheslines

For me, the charms of Gleno are as follows:

Home cooking a la Heidi, fellow Australian and chef extraordinaire

The peace and quiet that can only be achieved in a house surrounded on four sides by vegetable gardens

The local market, where wizened little women with tell tale red-stained lips (a lifetime on the old betel nut) will sell you a handful of potatoes very excitedly

A cheeky puppy with a penchant for cake mix and old socks

A hot shower (for me, the significance of this cannot be overstated)

Sleeping under a blanket – no air conditioner needed!

The recent addition of 24 hour power (admittedly we did have about 45 minutes without electricity, but still a big improvement from my last visit – snaps for the government)

John West makes the best candleholders

And of course, last but not least, Mana Heidi herself, who reigns with increasingly bilingual magnanimity over her Gleno abode.

For a girl from Sydney, the irony of escaping from what can only be described as the large town of Dili may seem a little strange. But I guess no matter where I’m coming from, I’ll always want a quieter place to escape to. Preferably with great cooking and a friendly dog.

The Gleno Weekender