Cost of living in Timor-Leste is expensive. The currency is US Dollars, but coins are Timorese – it’s a weird combination. A typical meal in a restaurant can range from USD$5-20, and that’s in the “expat” types of places. In typical Indonesian or Timorese-style restaurant that serves usually serves pre-made buffet-style food, the price drops drastically to about USD$1-5… I’ve even heard that meals could cost as little as USD$0.50!
But overall, the cost of living in Timor is expensive especially in Dili, where typical things you’d find in shops in Canada would cost an arm and a leg. For example, the iron above cost us over USD$100.
Vincent,
My wife and I are coming for a quick tourist visit to Dili in a few weeks and we look forward to your new blog posts to help us know what to expect. Thanks for blogging. And we think we probably won’t buy any irons in Dili.
Best,
Bill