Of Rats and Man

Tweet I'm temporarily staying in a hotel until my apartment is ready and as I was sitting at my computer the other evening, I caught sight of something black and furry out of the corner of my eye. A few seconds later, it reappeared from behind a large vase in the room -- a fuzzy black mouse. A short time later, I spotted another one as it scampered under my bed.

The next morning, I notified the maid and she nodded that she understood and would take care of the problem.

There'd been a huge gap between the bottom of the hotel room door and the floor, but now, someone had nailed a piece of rubber to the bottom of the door. No more mice.

Tonight, as I sat at a table across from the hotel's outdoor bar -- sipping a beer and talking to a friend -- I saw a huge rat run along the floor in front of the bar. A huge Australian guy was standing at the bar -- talking to the female bartender -- when suddenly the rat started moving toward the guy. My friend and I watch as the rat climbs on the top of the guy's sandals and sits there for maybe 10 seconds -- before running under a huge planter. The guy at the bar didn't even notice. The rat was half the size of a cat.

Fishing at Low Tide

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I'm living in Hotel Dili for the next week or so and often wander across the street where a short walk through the trees takes you to this view. Fishermen are out early with their nets and boats. Fishing, as an industry, is virtually non-existent -- which makes for lots and lots of fish. The land mass in the background is Atauro -- an island that also belongs to Timor Leste.

Horse Power on the Sea

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The young man rode his horse out into the water -- just off Dili. Moments after he passed the boat, he jumped from the horse and let the horse pull him through the water. He held onto the tail and the reins.

The horse seemed to enjoy it. Just before coming to shore, the rider bathed the horse's face with water. The horse was rather reluctant to leave the water.

12, November Dili, Timor Leste

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Loy Krathong (To Float the Raft)

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Loy Krathong is originally a Hindu holiday, but taken over by the Buddhists. It's about renewal -- removing the things you don't like about yourself and sending them out to sea. In this photo taken near Dili, Timor Leste several dozen people have launched candle-lit rafts -- made of the trunk of banana trees. Loy Krathong is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.

East Timor (Timor Leste) - First Impressions

Tweet As the Silk Air flight from Singapore touched down in Dili, East Timor, the Timorese on board applauded and cheered. The plane began to brake almost immediately and rolled down the short runway and made a U-turn -- and headed for the tiny airport. A sign aboard the covered outdoor walkway said "arrivals."

Standing in the humid air, a young Asian couple was just ahead of me and suddenly the young man went into convulsions. I had never seen anyone go into an epileptic seizure, but I am currently reading Oliver Sacks' book Musicofilia -- which deals, in part, with the brain, music and epilepsy. So, my first thought was this was a seizure -- he immediately began to fall toward me -- as the convulsions continued. I broke his fall and his sister helped make him as comfortable as possible. Blood began to ooze from his mouth and he began to turn blue. I shouted for a doctor and fortunately there'd been one on the flight and was standing ahead of us in line and he came over to help. After some time, the young man was able to stand up and was taken to a local clinic. His sister told me he was going to be ok.

These were my first minutes in Dili.

As we made our way to the office, there were fruit sellers along the road -- some walked with baskets dangling from their sides -- baskets full of freshly picked mangoes. Mango season has just begun. Banana trees grow everywhere -- as do coconuts.

There are still signs of what the anti-independence militias did in 1999 -- after East Timor citizens voted for independence from Indonesia. There are burned out and abandoned buildings in Dili. I saw several on my way from the airport.

Most of the people in Timor Leste speak Tetum -- one of 16 indigenous languages -- Portuguese, the other official language, is spoken mainly by the ruling elite.

Some four hours after my arrival in Timor, I feasted with my friends on the beach -- fish, grilled shrimp, spicy salads, potatoes and carrots -- and orange-and-mango juice -- and we were treated to an amazing sunset -- brilliant reds, purples, oranges filled the evening sky -- and reflected onto the water in the bay.

I think I'm gonna like this place!

Truth to be Silenced?

Tweet The Azerbaijani government has decided to kick Radio Liberty and BBC off the airwaves beginning next year. The government says it wants to restrict local broadcasts of international media.

This is a very bad decision.

Radio Liberty and BBC are the only two stations in the country that provide high quality news and information to the people of Azerbaijan. More importantly, these two radio stations are not afraid to speak out about issues -- including corruption and bribery -- issues that would never see the light of day, otherwise, simply because all other stations are either state-owned or too afraid to speak out.

Since I've been in Azerbaijan, dozens of people have told me that the only place that they can get real news that is not tainted by self-censorship or government intimidation is on these two stations.

Personally, I have worked closely with Radio Liberty and have provided news programs to them on a variety of issues -- the government's lack of attention to Internally Displaced Persons, corruption at various levels of government, poor health care and a host of other issues. Radio Liberty did not hesitate to broadcast this material. In fact, it was often the only broadcaster who was willing to do so.

The entire country suffers if Radio Liberty and the BBC are silenced in Azerbaijan. They are the only places to turn -- when citizens want to hear something other than "happy news."

One Way - The Wrong Way

Tweet Traffic is a royal pain in Baku and when the president decides to go somewhere, the traffic situation gets even worse. That's what happened yesterday. All the main streets were blocked for more than one hour -- forcing drivers to make long detours through very narrow streets.

We need to go about seven blocks, but had to make one of those long detours. The driver, Heydar, decided to make the long detour a bit shorter. He pushes down the accelerator on his Mercedes and turns left onto a one way street -- there were three problems: we were going the wrong way, the street was incredibly narrow and the line of cars in front of us stretched on forever.

Heydar laid down on his car horn and proceeded down the street. Not a single driver seemed to think it was out of the ordinary -- they just moved over as much as they could -- and we squeezed by.

After three blocks or so, we finally got off the one-way street, but had to take another one -- and this one went right past the police station. The cops didn't even notice -- we just drove right by them -- they continued talking.

As Heydar explained, drivers feel forced to break the law since there are so many cars and so few streets and alternative routes -- particularly when the president decides to close the streets.

Tweet I met this wonderfully hospitable woman in the village of Kish. She invited us to her house and gave us a huge bag of apples from her orchard.

Round Up

Tweet This shot was taken on a narrow little road near the town of Qax (pronounced Gah), in northeastern Azerbaijan. Scenes like this one are frequent in the countryside -- forcing motorists to slow down and smell the roses...er...goats in this case.

The Fruit Sellers

Tweet These ladies were selling their fruit on a side street in Baku. Fruit sellers are a common sight in the city. The grapes are the sweetest I've ever tasted, particularly the ones grown in the mountains near Sheki -- in northeastern Azerbaijan.

Low Mileage - Real Deal

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Election Day in Azerbaijan

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It's election day in Azerbaijan. The day the country re-elects its president Ilham Aliyev. I wandered into a polling place near my office. It was a beehive of activity. My colleagues and I were welcomed -- we met the election officials and the director of the school where the voting was taking place.

There were voters of all ages in the polling station -- including a 90-year old man.

The process looks similar to a US election -- minus the gauntlet of posters and campaigners outside the polling place. The only difference -- and it's a big one -- is that the outcome is a foregone conclusion. The voter shows their identity card -- is issued a ballot -- steps into a curtained booth -- checks off the person they are supporting and then places the ballot in a clear plastic, Tupperware looking -- container.

The election officials asked if we were observers and we said no, but they asked who we were and wrote down the name of our organization. They were extremely friendly to us and to those voting. They were even polite, but firm with a man who wandered in -- reeking of alcohol. As he stumbled toward the registration desk -- he was ushered back out the front door. Perhaps he was told to sober up and come back later.

As voters exit, a local NGO conducts an exit poll of every three voters. The pollsters happily showed us the results so far -- 19 votes for Mr. Aliyev and 1 vote for an opposition candidate.

The only real question is by what margin Mr. Aliyev will win this election. In the days leading up to it, his picture has been pasted on most shop windows -- he's gotten tremendous attention on television -- where he has cut numerous ribbons around the country -- opening new schools, new offices, new roads and new airports.

His opponents, on the other hand, have had very little air time on television and radio. So little, in fact, that many people don't even know the names of the other candidates.

Tweet "Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight" - Orhan Pamuk

Making Bread -- Azeri Style

Tweet My neighborhood breadmaker has absolutely spoiled me. I guess you could say it started in Tajikistan, when I would go to the local bread maker and he'd hand me piping hot bread through the little window of his shop. It was so hot, I had to wear gloves. He didn't provide a bag.

Azeri bread is just as good. These breads have amazing flavor -- it's probably the way breads in the United States used to taste -- when everything was baked locally without preservatives.

The breads are baked in a hot tandoor oven -- as you can see from the photos -- the bread is slapped on the sides of the wall of the oven and is done in less than five minutes.

If I make it home before finishing off the loaf -- I often put cheese and tomatoes inside -- close it up and savor the flavor!