Talk:East Timor

Formatting and language conventions For articles about East Timor, please use the 24-hour clock to show times, e.g. 09:00-12:00 and 18:00-00:00. Please show prices in this format: $100 and not USD100 or 100 dollars. Please use American spelling (color, labor, traveled, realize, center, analog, program).

General

For future reference the Project:CIA World Factbook 2002 import can be found at Talk:East Timor/CIA World Factbook 2002 import.

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Census addition

The population data comes from The National Directorate of Statistics. The TLD for Timor-Leste just changed from .tp to .tl so the address will probably change to reflect that rsn.

~llaurén

Looking forward to understand a way to book tickets via Marpanti from Bali? Where you can do it?

It is Merpati. You can book online [1]. If you are not comfortable with that, a reliable Bali-based agent is Wita Tour, [2].--(WT-en) Burmesedays 23:47, 12 March 2010 (EST)

Thanks, but it shows me a message stating that there no free seats or flights for the chosen dates whatever the combination of the dates I chose on the official website in English or Indonesian. There is no availability and on the site of the agency you have recommended me. I might contact them directly.

Travel advisory warning box

It has been removed again. I am not really a fan of warning boxes (except in extremis) and would be happy to see this one gone. There has been no significant violence in East Timor since 2006 I think? Three of the four main advisories below advise caution and common sense, with only Canada advising esential travel only. The UK advisory seems to sum it up well:

We advise you to be aware of and attentive to the uncertain security situation when travelling in East Timor. The security situation in East Timor remains fragile. You should avoid demonstrations and large crowds and if you become aware of any nearby military activity you should leave the area immediately. See the Political Situation section of this Travel Advice.

Crime continues to be a problem in East Timor, including gang-related violence, robbery (in some cases armed), assault and attacks on vehicles. You should exercise caution if going outside after dark.

• Australian Government Travel Advisory [3]
• Canadian Government Travel Advice [4]
• US Consular Information on Timor Leste [5]
• UK Government Travel Advice [6]

I see no current need for a warning box. --(WT-en) Burmesedays 02:24, 27 April 2010 (EDT)

Travel advisory warning box should stay because there has been significant if short-term violence again in 2008 after the attempted assasination on the president Ramos-Horta. Although East Timor is not a "War Zone" like Iraq or Afghanistan, the country is still volatile and polarized beneath the surface and state authority is still not successfully implemented throughouth the country even in the capital. There is a risk for INDIVDUAL travellers and sightseers, in the form of mugging and robbing. The risks must be highlighted.

I have reverted your entry of the warning box. Please don't reenter it and discuss first otherwise it is edit warring which is frown up here substantially. 2008 is two years ago, it is defintely not a war zone (last time was the indonesian troops withdrawl) per our definition. I think the Stay safe section is significantly discouraging enough and the situation is not new. (WT-en) jan 07:37, 29 April 2010 (EDT)

To anon 81.214.153.85: Wikivoyage is not about politics and i protected the article because here consensus rules and not strong opinions. (WT-en) jan 10:17, 29 April 2010 (EDT)

Regions division

I haven't studied in detail East Timor, but the first division that I'm proposing is in these two regions:

1. Mainland
2. Oecusse District

Not only because obvious geographic reasons, but also because they speak a different language and usually this bring a differences in culture.

A potential further division for the mainland could be based on the central range that divide the two coasts, so we could have the following:

1. East Timor northern coast
2. East Timor southern coast
3. Oecusse District

A more expert review would be appreciated. --Andyrom75 (talk) 07:04, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Personally I think it'd look a little awkward to divide any article into just two sub-regions, three would be better. But I don't know very much about East Timor. ϒpsilon (talk) 07:30, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

I have updated the map to reflect the Oecussi/North/South region split, and will update other articles to reflect this :) Hshook (talk) 12:27, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

Prices

@Ground Zero: So are prices meant to be S100 or $100? I've noticed the latter being used, but this page tells you to use the first. So which one should we use? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 13:15, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

Corrected. It is USD, so $ is the right one. Ground Zero (talk) 13:27, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 13:29, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

Currencies

@Ground Zero: Although our policy is to use $xx for prices about Timor, I'm commonly seeing a mix of US$ and $. Before I do any fixes, I'm just wondering whether this was done to distinguish it from the Australian dollar (which is commonly used in neighbouring Indonesia's tourist resorts)? I doubt it'll be taken because the US$ is a stable currency but I'd like to double check for reassurance just before doing any fixes. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:15, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

@SHB2000: I really have no idea. I haven't been to ET. When I was in Indonesia many years ago, I didn't go to the sort of places where they would take AUD. I doubt that the people who go to Kuta would also be going to ET, so I don't think there is a need for using "US$" in ET articles, but I would defer to anyone who has been there. Ground Zero (talk) 12:02, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

So I guess we're keeping it as $xx as opposed to US$xx. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:05, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

If there is information to support changing it, I'd be okay with that, but I don't think there is, so let's leave it for now. Ground Zero (talk) 12:13, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

I just noticed that Timor wasn't on Wikipedia's "unofficial" use. It's been deleted because it was unsourced although that list doesn't look complete – my A$ was accepted in Phuket when I was a couple of notes short and then not to forget Indonesia (or mostly in Bali). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:19, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

@Ground Zero: Don't ask me why I was casually reading this PDF from the UN peacekeeping, but I found "However, if you want to, you can use other currencies present in East Timor - the Indonesian rupiah, Australian dollar, Portuguese escudo and Thai baht - for every day business." Many of our articles still use US$xx, so it might just be easier if we stick with that as an exception to the norm. What do you think? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 00:28, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

Solar eclipse

First up, I don't think it should go in a country article. It was the first thing at the top, but it is definitely *not* the most important thing to see in Timor-Leste which has much interesting things to offer.

Secondly, according to that sentence, it only lasts for one minute and seventeen seconds – if so, does it even need to be mentioned? That's not overly long, and it can only be seen on a track in Watulari.

Thirdly, if there is only a 30 percent chance of seeing it, is it even worth mentioning it? I don't think anyone will plan to visit Timor-Leste for a solar-eclipse when there's a high chance of failure. Any objections to removing? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 11:04, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Hear, hear. Ground Zero (talk) 12:14, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Grahamsands, given you added the listing, any last comment before it gets removed? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:21, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

IMO It would be petty and carping to remove it now. You'd be mad to travel any great distance in hopes of seeing it in East Timor, but if you happen to be in the area, what sort of sad travel guide would fail to mention it? 77 sec is quite long enough to enjoy, most totalities are only for a minute or two, and 30% of a populous country means that quite a few people will get lucky. Same argument for Papua further down the track. The way to get it removed is to bide your time until 21 April 2023, whereupon all entries on that track will magically vanish if I have anything to do with it. Grahamsands (talk) 12:39, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

If it should be in this guide, it should be the last sight mentioned, but the thing is, for it to be mentioned at the nation level, it should be one of the main sights, and I think the other guys have established that it is not. Mention it in the guide that includes Watulari. Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:49, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

I am content with its lower ranking, the important thing is to enhance East Timor content not knock it down. But I am not seeing arguments for ejecting this one-liner. Solar eclipses sets out why short duration and dicey viewing prospects are inherent, and why travel arrangements are key. That's why they belong in WV. Grahamsands (talk) 14:09, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Not at the country level if there will be visibility only in a small area (if at all). The traveller comes first trumps SEO claims. Ikan Kekek (talk) 14:23, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

The track of totality covers 33% of the country, and frankly that's better coverage than by WV itself, which is woefully sketchy. TTCF means documenting some of those "much more interesting things to offer" which kicked off this discussion, not jibbing at a one-liner. Grahamsands (talk) 15:17, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

OK, but I think it's good to keep it at the end of "See." Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:02, 28 April 2022 (UTC)