Anyhow, if you want to go somewhere beyond walking distance, you get a tour. In this town we used a guild of motorcycle drivers who ferry tourists around on the back of their motorcycles. Dave and Karen got local. We told the drivers our interests in trekking and getting into the mountains. We were driven on the back of motorcycles for an hour and visited Tiger Waterfalls prior to a trek. As grey hairs they led us on a trek to visit a minority village. After 3 hours of trekking uphill, we arrived at hill tribe village, the kind that only see tourists a couple of times a month (the guides explained, grey hairs are respectful to the elders, who are the only residents left behind each day). The heart of the village which holds 100 people in 10 houses or so was completely empty. Note the elderly woman cooking in her kitchen. All 100 went into their fields to care for their crops. Harvesting or drying coffee beans or bringing them out of buyers. The people are so hard working, making their farms perfect.
One of the crops grown is coffee. There are several types of coffee beans but the one that is the most interesting is Weasel Coffee. ……“A civet (weasel) eats the berries (beans) for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet’s intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.” – Explanation taken from Wikipedia. After learning it’s background we decided to pass on this coffee blend.
Thank you for my journey today. Loved it.
I remember in Indonesia you were supposed to get permission to take someone’s photo because some believed you were stealing their spirit. Did you find it that way in any of these countries this time?