Once on the island of Timor, half a day's drive takes you to the border of Indonesia and East Timor. The latter being (unnecessarily) air-conditioned and UN-controlled.

From the border, there is a road to Dili which quaintly and effortlessly traces the contours of the coastline, which the Indonesian cartographers have decided to ignore on their map. According to their publication, you have to veer off into the distance, venture through the clouds, play among the treeline, and wear out your brake linings on a circuitous mountain route.

Am I dreaming? If I am, please don't wake me up.

Once in East Timor, the road to Dili gives some fantastic views of its coastline. It's just a pity that such beauty has also been the home for so much violence and human suffering in the recent past.

However, this is typical of this new country. Things are changing so fast that scripted information is either already out-of-date, about to become out-of-date, or simply unavailable.

Dili is one of those surreal towns. Created by flooding too many dollars into an environment which is completely unaccustomed to their presence. That is, it's just another example of excessive and uncontrolled UN resource, being poured into an underdeveloped zone of the world. With the majority of the funds going to create a very comfortable lifestyle and a healthy bank balance for those expats posted there.

In Dili, you find rows of newly converted jazzy bars and cafes, frequented solely by UN personnel, where copious amounts of dollars flow into the pockets of a few local owners. Outside are parked dozens of UN Land Rover Discoverys. Why not 4-door Toyota pickups: half the price, double the practicality and cheaper to maintain, given their location and use?

Why doesn't the UN world of humanitarian assistance take a leaf from the Japanese post-war aid system, adopted elsewhere in SE Asia? Tight control of resource allocation and use of local materials provides a longterm benefit to the indigenous community. Instead of leaving political corruption, local "entrepreneurs" breezing through town in Mercedes coup�s amongst threadbare compatriates, and a lasting hatred for the "white man".

Anyway. Time to put the soapbox away, and find somewhere to jet wash the entire truck and trailer. With the aim of protecting nature's balance within Australia, foreign soils, seeds and any traces of dirt, have to be completely removed from anything entering the country. Everything has to be spotless to pass the Australian quarantine authority.

So. Has anybody seen a decent jet washer in town?