- Okay. Most of the boys have gone to the Mosque,
but there's still a few here left chewing (chews)
(sighs) like these guys.
- Like this. (man giggling)
(men laughing)
- We've left the Omo Valley
for the city of Harar (bell dings)
in Ethiopia,
also known as the City of Peace.
We're here to do two things.
One,
feeding hyenas the worst way possible,
and to try khat. (bell dings)
Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone,
a stimulant, which is said to cause excitement and euphoria.
The WHO classifies it as a drug of abuse
and can cause psychological dependence,
but it's everywhere here.
Let's learn more.
Hey!
Welcome to the streets of Harar in Ethiopia.
Hey, man, how's it going?
We are on the border near Somalia right now,
and we're coming here to do something a little bit crazy,
you'll see tonight when it gets dark.
But on the way in, we saw all these people
holding these big bags of green leaves.
It's khat.
We're gonna find some, try some, and talk about it.
(upbeat music)
(speaking in foreign language)
This is it.
Here.
(both laughing)
They say it gives you pleasurable excitement.
That's what they say.
Look at the leaves, they're like very glossy.
500 Birr for this handful.
This is for you, (thanks in foreign language).
500, right?
(laughs) Thank you.
I thought this was for a week.
This is for a day.
All right, our local contact said besides the khat,
we need to get some peanuts,
because apparently, they go really well together.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Yeah.
(thanks in foreign language)
As we're dodging traffic
through these hectic streets in Harar,
all these Ethiopian men are like, "Brother, brother, whoo!"
And I look over and they're giving me a thumbs up,
'cause I'm carrying a big bag of the green stuff.
- 'Cause we gon' get high, boy.
- This is Ben, who's helping me film the Ethiopia trip.
He's having a good time.
We were going to chew it on the street,
but our local contact, Abye,
had the perfect spot to meet the locals and chew.
So, we dive into the back alley markets of Harar...
Excuse me. Where I'm a hit.
(speaking in foreign language) Excuse me.
(speaking in foreign language)
Khat. (speaking in foreign language)
(men laughing)
(man speaking foreign language and laughing)
- I just took a little piece.
It's really bitter.
Oh.
Tastes almost like a really strong
basil or like a dandelion leaf.
(speaking in foreign language)
(both laughing)
This wasn't where Abye had in mind,
but the locals see my khat and call me in.
They've never really seen a white guy
with a bag of it before.
So we go say hi.
Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming in.
Look at all this khat, man.
Khat, khat, khat, khat. - Khat.
Everyone's got a bag of khat. (groans)
This is khat here, yeah?
- Ah, khat.
- [Ben] Go ah.
- Ah.
(everyone laughing)
- No, no, no, no, no.
- It's literally everywhere.
It was one of the most apparent things we saw
when we first arrived in the city was everyone's got a bag.
If I'm not careful, I might lose mine
before I get to try it. - Yes, this is the good khat.
- It's good khat. How do you know?
- Good khat. - This color?
(speaking in foreign language)
It's good?
- Yes. - Yeah, very good.
Ah, all right.
The peanuts are supposed to cut the really bitter taste.
(man laughing) (Mike groans)
But do I (gulps) do I swallow?
- Yeah. - I do swallow like (gulps)
Or I (spits)?
There's too many sources.
Some say swallow, some say don't.
I got some peanuts
that are supposed to cut the bitter taste.
(Mike growls)
(everyone laughs)
I've had maybe five of these leaves.
Besides tasting like I'm licking
the bottom of the lawnmower,
don't feel very much yet,
don't feel... (speaking in foreign language)
But everyone's very interested
in my fresh stack of khat.
I broke one of the golden rules of khat:
"Keep it in the bag and keep it off the ground."
- [Ben] Keep it off ground. - [Mike] Oh!
- Get up. - Uh-huh, okay.
- Get up. - Doesn't go on the ground,
because some people
have their stinky feet on the ground, too.
Like this, on the plastic.
Part of traveling the world is making terrible mistakes
and getting reprimanded (laughs).
- Yeah. - That's what I've learned.
Thank you.
Thank you. - Thank you.
(thanks in foreign language)
- Very much. Thank you very much.
(thanks in foreign language)
- Boom! Boom! (laughs) Bye, bye bye. (groans)
Okay. I'd like to stay, but we've got a date.
You want a bite?
Ah, everyone wants a bite.
Finally, we get to where we're supposed to be.
This is one way khat is commonly consumed,
and there are rooms dedicated specifically for it.
(man chanting in Arabic)
(traditional music)
(man laughs)
(crowd talking in foreign language)
- This is a tea
made from the coffee husk.
(speaking in foreign language)
(traditional music continues)
(speaking in foreign language)
I get called out for sitting too upright.
(Mike laughs)
Like this, like this, like this.
(Mike laughs)
I obviously was not relaxed enough to be here.
So like this? This is good.
So one like this?
- Yeah.
- [Mike] Ben's being swapped out for...
- Gato. - Gato.
You are a pro man.
Thank you very much.
- I just...
Oh, I get a coffee too.
Ah, amazing.
(thanks in foreign language)
And what's your name my friend?
- Mustafa.
- Sofa?
- Mustafa. - Mustafa.
- Nice to meet you Mustafa.
So we do coffee, we do double stimulants.
We do khat and coffee together.
The boys show me how it's done.
- Okay. Mm-hmm.
And just (chews like a cannibal)
(everyone laughs)
- About four leaves
and my mouth's already like Gandhi's flip-flop.
(Mike laughs)
- Honestly, though, Ethiopian coffee
is like pretty much a drug already.
Coffee is basically espresso and you always get a triple.
(Mike slurps coffee)
- You actually pick off a bunch
and you roll,
roll, and then in.
Okay.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Oh, (says thank you in foreign language).
- One of the guys wants to see the camera.
So I handed over
and I might have created Harar's first YouTuber.
(traditional music)
- I mean, this is a pretty chilled way
to spend an afternoon, right?
- I've gotta say this is a much more chill video to film.
We've gone from hunting baboons with the Hadza
sprinting for our lives for 10 hours apart
to having a cigarette,
a coffee
and some khat,
chilling with the boys.
- This is our local guide Abdul.
And he's gonna explain something.
(Abdul speaking)
(man chanting in Arabic)
(crowd prays in Arabic)
(man praying in Arabic)
- All right, Ben.
So we've chased baboons,
got some scars, seen some shit
and now we're chewing leaves with the boys.
Khat.
What's your experience?
- I mean, it was definitely positive.
I enjoyed it.
I felt a little high.
It was, at points it was difficult to tell
what was the coffee, what was the--
- Cigarette? - What was the cigarette?
- And also this shit.
- What was that, khat? But I mean, I enjoyed it.
And as I noticed, as soon as I went out in the light
I definitely felt a bit more alert.
Positive. I'd like to try about four times as much.
(everyone laughs)
- Wish granted. (laughs) - They're mind readers.
So maybe we'll take something back and try some more--
- Just pull some more out. - Yeah.
- For me, I didn't, I didn't smoke a cigarette.
I'm more of a cigar guy.
I did have two cups of coffee that does the job as well.
I've probably chewed like a condensed fist full.
- Yeah. - Of khat so far.
And I gotta say, hold on, hold.
There we go.
I still got a big load in my cheek here.
And I'll say,
I feel super awake.
Not out of control.
I mean, if you have like nine cups of coffee,
I think your, it feels like your brain's gonna explode.
I don't feel jittery, do you?
- I definitely don't understand why it's illegal
in America, Canada,
UK. - It's a controlled substance.
Here, it's totally legal by the way.
But around the world,
there's many countries that made illegal,
but it's not a, it's not something you chew
and then go punch a dude in the street like alcohol,
you don't really get high.
We feel like, I feel happy.
It's supposed to be like pleasantly excited.
- Yeah.
- Do you feel pleasantly excited?
- It's a nice natural high
with a natural substance.
I enjoyed it.
It kind of makes when it kiss you actually.
- That makes me pleasurably excited.
Maybe it's just the khat.
(both laugh)
Okay.
(speaking in foreign language)
Bye bye guys. - Okay.
On our way to Harar,
Abye, our local guide had some insight along the way.
- There's a problem with khat
because khat has taken over the good land that's agriculture
because they growing more khat
because the cash crop instead of growing fruits, for example
in this region from Dire Dawa all the way to Harar
back in the days when we grew up there was fruits
like oranges, mandarins, all kind of stuff.
All that stuff has been taken over.
And some of the areas in the south,
people are growing khat instead of coffee,
the north, which has never seen plantation of khat
is growing khat to near the Dablu now.
Well of course everybody needs money and it's a cash crop.
But at the same token
khat is addictive and it's taken the life of
entire generation away
because these people after lunch time,
they sit down and chew just like goats.
And it's a waste of time, you know?
So it's addictive.
It's not good for the environment.
It's not good for the society.
That's my opinion.
A lot of my friends might disagree because they say,
"Hey! People have changed their lives
"because they have become wealthy."
Yes, it's a cash generating crop.
But the consequences,
what it does to society is very destructive.
- Okay. Most the boys have gone to the mosque
but there's still a few here left chewing (chews)
(sighs) like these guys
right here.
Also are enjoying some khat.
How is it guys?
A little bit jittery, a little bit jumpy.
That's a side effect.
Don't worry.
You, little friendly.
So an important part of khat, relaxing.
Listen, the reason people come to Harar
isn't necessarily to hang out with goats and eat khat.
There's something that happens here at night
that involves hyenas.
You can "Lady in the Tramp" style,
feed a hyena
with meat at the end.
So, picture this,
hyena
human.
That's what we're doing next.
Big love to Ben, behind the camera.
- Goo-ey!
- Gumbo for being my Africa guy
- Here.
And big love to you guys.
Like, subscribe
and I'll see you in the next video, feeding hyenas.
On "Fearless & Far"
Take care.
(electronic music)