Asia’s new backpacking hot spots
Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor)
Like Bali without the bells, Timor-Leste offers backpackers a chance to enjoy life in the slow lane. The half-island nation is still finding its tourism feet, so the few curious travellers who take the leap of faith invariably find themselves padding along empty beaches or swimming in natural rock pools with only the birds for company. Splash out a few bucks to hire a motorbike for the day in the capital Dili, from the Dili Backpackers hostel or nearby Tiger Fuel (Mandarin area), and make the breezy coastal ride 45 minutes east to Dollar Beach. There, it’s all about snorkelling or lolling about in the sun while you wonder to which parallel universe all the other tourists have vanished. Even more remote is the Tua Koin eco-lodge on Atauro island (atauroisland.com), where the simple life is served up with huts right on the beach – catch the Berlin Nakroma ferry from Dili to the island.
Matt Crook, co-author of Footprint’s Thailand Handbook
This was part of a feature run by Guardian.