#include<cstdio>
int n,a[100005],b,c;
int main()
{
    scanf("%d",&n);
    for(int i=1;i<=n;i++)scanf("%d",&a[i]);
    b=c=1;
    for(int i=2;i<=n;i++){
        if(b&1){if(a[i]>a[i-1])b++;}
        else{if(a[i]<a[i-1])b++;}
        if(c&1){if(a[i]<a[i-1])c++;}
        else{if(a[i]>a[i-1])c++;}
    }
    printf("%d",b>c?b:c);
    return 0;
}