In to the mountains

Sort of early start today, at least earlier than planned, which wasn't fun as jetlag caught up with me last night. I was collected at 9.15ish by Jet, my host at a homestay. On our way we made a pit stop at monkey forest where the monkeys were really gentle (unlike the Thai ones). They took peanuts from my hand with surprisingly soft fingers- though I did freak out when a male one jumped up next to me. Also had amazing views of the jungle and the sea from this spot. We continued on until it was time for a lunch stop, had some kind of BBQ-ed fish and rice by the sea with an amazing dragon fruit smoothie.

Finally made it to the homestay, and definitely more of a homestay than I had been expecting (each family member takes in one person/couple and are dotted around the village). Had a bit of chill time (long enough to find the calf next to the toilet) before being sent to watch stick fighting. As. Foreigner, I was sent to get a VIP ticket at 25000 (about £1.30) and sat in the foreigners section, I was on my own for a while but thankfully if filled up and I was kept entertained by the kids repeatedly saying hi.

When the stick fighting started (accompanied by a constant drumming), it was exactly as it sounds. Two guys dressed in traditional skirts and headscarves have a stick and a shield and try to hit each other. Hard. They made a proper whipping noise and you could see the welts on their faces/arms/bodies. One poor guy got caught where no guy wants to be caught. If the audience liked the fighters, they would dance on to the ring and throw money around between rounds. It was quite surreal, not helped by the stray chicken that decided to run around the ring at one point. Got to meet a couple of other tourists staying in other homestays in the village, which was nice.

This evening I had dinner down at Jets and was joined by a couple from Italy, a brother and sister from Spain and two guys from France. It was a nice evening, eating great food and chatting about our upcoming plans and previous travels. Also met Adi who is now going to be my guide tomorrow.

Not getting much sleep as my host, his family and some others are currently shredding tobacco leaves they've drying and putting them on bamboo racks to dry further. All right outside my door.もっと詳しく