People in Asia

Beautiful, mountainous Kalinga Province is famous for its ancient warrior culture which has survived into the present. Some villages have gongs made of human jaw bones and people covered in full body tattoos that were awarded for success in headhunting raids. Although these practices have now ceased, tribal warfare is still a large part of life here, and in the remote Tanudan area people openly walk around with Uzis, M16s, pump-action shotguns and the like. Kalinga is certainly not for the faint-hearted and that goes for the drive here too. The first seven hours from Manila is a deceptively smooth ride on perfect tarmac, then the road becomes a dirt track for the next six hours and shoots off into the mountains, reaching heights of over 2250 m before descending into Bontoc. After Bontoc, only the occasional jeepney goes the last eight hours north to Kalinga but the scenery is utterly spectacular. The orangey-brown track streaks up and down mountainsides into and out of the clouds as if there were no tomorrow, millennia-old rice terraces cascading down the lush green slopes all around.

Stilt fishermen have become iconic for Sri Lanka. They sit on stilts close to the shore and fish for small reef fish with their rod. Often it is the poorest of the fishermen, who can't afford nets or boats. In some places, the stilts are passed on from father to son, while in other places it is first-come-first-served. Since they have become a tourist attraction of their own, there will sometimes be someone on land to ask for money if photographing them.

The people of Tajikistan is a mixed bunch. Most are ethinic Tajik, but there are also a good share of Pamir, Uzbek, and Russians. The etnic Tajik often have light skin and European features like long noses and round eyes, contrary to for example their Kyrgyz neighbours who are more Mongol looking. While most Tajiks are Sunni Muslims, the Pamir Tajik belong to the Ismaili branch of the Shiite, who has bilionare and Swiss resident Aga Khan as spiritual leader. In generel Tajiks are very easy going and hospital, which mean you never need to worry about finding a place to sleep when venture into the countryside.

Ban Ho is a charming Tay village which is picking up on the trekking tourism. This means there are now several homestays and eating places, but also more cement and bricks which doesn't go very well with the otherwise beautiful wooden Tay stilt houses. There road coming down to Ban Ho is spoiled with nice views of rice paddy fields. There is also a waterfall a small walk from the village.

Sin Chai village is actually two villages, an upper (Sin Chai A) and a lower (Sin Chai B). Both are inhabited by the Red Dao minorities, which is one of the most colourful ones due to the women fine headdress, called a hung. Unless it is a special occasion, most of the men wear normal Vietnamese clothes these days, but the women are still wearing their traditional clothes which are made of embroidered smaller pieces. The ladies and girls sit all day long during the winter months and stitching away, making a pair glasses - or sometimes two on top of each other - handy when ones eyesight is failing. There are several road and trails to Sin Chai and a guide is necessary.