No news on the renovation but...

Still no news on a start date for building work (I think the council are slowly doing whatever they need to do!) ...but Geoff sent through some more photos today.  Here are some of Geoff, a local church service, coast line, and the President's palace.

Built atop a mountain overlooking Dili, the monument known as 'Christ the King' is a statue of Jesus Christ poised on a globe, 27 metres high.  It quickly became famous for being the second-largest statue of Jesus in the world, after the one in Rio de Janeiro. 

It was built at the request of Abilio Soards, the governor of East Timor in 1995 at a cost of $2 million. 

It has been said that the statue "is redolent with Indonesian nationalist symbolism... First, the governor told designers, the statue should measure 27 meters from base to tip, representing East Timor's position as the 27th province of Indonesia. Second, the figure of Christ alone should measure 17 meters, to remind viewers of "Integration Day" on July 17, the date East Timor was formally absorbed into Indonesia. It also marks Aug. 17, the day in 1945 that Indonesia declared its independence fromthe Netherlands." (from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/13/opinion/13iht-edmarg.t.html?pagewanted=1 Margot Cohen, 13/9/1995). 

It is felt by some that the statue is a reminder to the East Timorese of their oppression by the Indonesians and is therefore not a popular tourist site  (http://www.bloggernews.net/112322).

Here are some photos of the statue

Beautiful East Timor

I never realised how beautiful East Timor's natural landscape is....  Here are some beautiful photos from Geoff.

Sad/grumpy looking monkey.  We saw monkeys like this when in Malaysia in 1998.  They were basically a tool to local families - they were used to collect coconuts which the family then sold at local markets.  The families were usually reliant on these animals as the main source of income.

Joinery

Signed off on all the drawings and specifications for the joinery (doors, windows) today so they can be ordered.  Supply is approximately 4 weeks following the order date... not sure where things will be at in 4 weeks!

Plans are in

Heard from our builder Andrew today and apparently our plans have been submitted to council.  There was a delay due to the certifier being overseas.  Application for a boundary relaxation is currently in progress. Hopefully this all means we will have a start date soon :)

Some photos from Dilli

Geoff has sent me some photos from 'downtown Dilli' and we thought it easiest to share them here.  I get to see him most days on Skype and we can email frequently.  A bit different to his last trip when we had only one telephone call a week.

He got quite sunburnt in the first few days, says it is really hot and humid and told me last night a packet of crisps costs US$6!  I guess he'll be eating less of those for a while then.

Clear the decks!

We have emptied out the lounge in preparation for the work to start.  We now have one very squishy lounge area in what is normally our dining room.  We don't have a start date yet (we will once certification is complete and that should be really soon) so we are not sure yet how long the cramped conditions will continue.  The plan still seems to be to start sometime during February.