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Comment by damidekronik | Hacker News Reader

Any cool facts to share about Timor Leste? My usual go to - wikipedia - does paint a rather mundane picture of it.

Crypto scammers have long operated in Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar after being kicked out of China, and were looking to go to Sri Lanka and Timor Leste next - but Timor Leste's politicians and population got together and fought back successfully, it seems:

https://theconversation.com/asias-scamming-gangs-target-timo...

(More on those scam factories: https://theconversation.com/it-seemed-like-a-good-job-at-fir...

And from The Economist - lamentably paywalled: https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/scam-inc)

I actually visited abandoned scam centers a couple weeks ago in Bavet, Cambodia. It’s really eery now.

All the units had air conditioning units, which I thought was sweet, considering many Cambodians don’t have that. But the prison bars on the windows and barbed wire surrounding the complex was a bit uncomfortable to see.

Wtf. How come you ended up in such a compound?

I live in Vietnam. Bavet is a popular border for visa runs for expats. Normally, you don’t actually leave the Cambodia border building or you just take a bus all the way to Phnom Penh to wait for a visa was approved.

I was curious about the town, because it’s famous for casinos, scam centers, and Chinese manufacturers.

Interesting, did you take pics? Most living quarters (小区）in China have electrical fences and most windows have been barred. Left over from the 80’s when crime was high. Nowadays the bars prevent pets and children from falling out of the window (plus the cage like construction allows for some extra storage space)

I wrote a quick blog post about my experience and included the photos that I took. I was traveling alone and I knew the area was not safe, so I really didn't take enough photos, but the best one is at the end.

https://www.kcoleman.me/2026/09/08/Cambodia-Scam-Centers.htm...

Thank you so much, what a great write up (did you submit it here?). Surprised you took any pictures to be honest. Some great observations! Those barred windows def look familiar. Correction:on a second look, these do not look like the typical chinese square tubing bars!

There have been big crack downs in Cambodia and Myanmar just recently. Thousands arrested.

That's great. Apparently that's why they're trying to move on to Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, etc.

I wish I could share photos. Food is insanely cheap. I had street fried chicken, rice, and I think two sides for literally one US dollar.

Their primary currency usd.

They have all the child labor problems that other countries in the region have.

Everybody seems to know each other.

Unlike French colonialized countries, Vietnam, Timor Leste is proudly and vibrantly Portuguese. Similar to Macau but not as wealthy.

The public transit system is basically a tiny van that just drives around in loops around the city. You wave the driver down, jump in, and then tap your money against the metal framing when you’re ready to get off (there are no bus stops). I don’t know if you’ve been to Kenya, but it was like very similar to the vans in Kenya, except even smaller.

What's your criteria for mundane? Basically every decent sized island in that part of the world is going to have beautiful beaches, coral reefs, mountains, and jungles.

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