Many friends have asked where Timor-Leste is located. It sits at the far end of the Indonesian archipelago, north of Darwin in Australia, and at the base of the Coral Triangle. Over 60% of the world’s marine species call this place home. It’s the global hotspot for marine mammals and boasts the highest diversity of coral fish and reef species.
More travel stories about Timor-Leste: http://www.dcfever.com/travel/travelogue.php?id=2579
This small nation has had a turbulent history, enduring centuries of war and conflict, yet blessed with pristine underwater worlds untouched by pollution — making it one of the few remaining diving paradises on Earth still largely undiscovered by humans.
During my time in the capital Dili, I mostly stayed in a dormitory at a dive center — it was affordable and clean. While there, I met Brazilian diving instructor Simone Tomazela, who gave me deeper insights into Timor-Leste’s underwater world and taught me that diving also comes with rules.
Just in the capital Dili alone, there are over ten dive sites, all close to shore. Many well-equipped snorkelers can simply swim out from the beach and dive straight into the underwater realm. An Australian study found that Timor-Leste has the highest concentration of marine mammals in the world — such as whales, dolphins, and dugongs. In Hong Kong, spotting a Chinese white dolphin is harder than winning the lottery. Simone said that taking a boat from Dili to nearby Atauro Island, you’ll often find about two to three hundred dolphins hanging around — dolphins leaping out of the water are a common sight. In the right season, you might even witness a spectacular “whale express” formed by pods of whales.
Best of all, it’s not crowded. On nearly every dive trip Simone led, there were only four people at most — more fish, more coral, more sea creatures, and more sharks than people. Sharks?! Simone asked if I’d seen the movie “Jaws,” thinking that sharks are all man-eaters and thus frightening. In reality, out of over a hundred shark species, only two or three are known to attack humans. And far fewer people are killed by shark attacks compared to those killed for shark fins. She said that while sipping shark fin soup may seem like a simple act, the suffering endured by the sharks caught for their fins is long and agonizing.
She lamented how arrogant humans can be, thinking they can take whatever they want from land and sea. Take the ocean, for example — we rarely stop to consider that it’s the home of fish and other marine life. She said she never takes snorkelers out to explore an "underwater world" because, in truth, it's not ours to explore — it’s the home of fish and other sea creatures that we’re intruding upon. Since we’re visiting someone else’s home, we must follow the rules.
The first rule: don’t steal. Many divers, when they see pretty corals or starfish, will pocket a few as souvenirs. Every time Simone takes people diving, she sets the mindset right from the start — when visiting someone’s home, don’t see a nice-looking starfish or coral and think it’s a decoration to take home. That’s outright theft.
The most basic principle is respect. When you're in someone else’s home and see the residents living freely and enjoying their lives, don’t disturb them. Recently, there was news about some snorkelers in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung harassing an octopus and even uploading videos of it online. Whether true or not, just imagine: one day, a stranger breaks into your home, ignores your feelings, pulls your hair and tugs your arms, and then posts it online for fun. How would you feel?
Even in uninhabited places, we shouldn’t act recklessly. Respect other living beings — it’s basic courtesy when visiting someone else’s home.
Photos provided by Daniel Groshong