In the Village, the Quiet Village...

The man running my guesthouse spoke not a word of English, so I found myself finally using my phrasebook. Since I was the only guest and there is not much to do in such a remote place when you don't speak the language, I walked back through the village and across the rice patties to check out the main town, which is not exactly hopping. Stopping at one of the two restaurants in town, I asked the woman for a menu. She looked at me for a moment before saying, "Noodle soup." I am not sure if it was the only menu item she could say in English or the only dish they made, but I took it. A few guys at the restaurant spoke a little English and were kidding around with me. They tried to get me to stay for some beers, but I knew that I needed to get back to "my village" before dark if I was to ever find my way home.

On my way back to my little village, I got up close and personal with some of the local livestock. This little goat was barely a foot tall. Nearby, his bigger bretheren were having a stand off with a pack of small wild dogs. I was impressed to see that the goats won.

Further down the road, I heard some splashing. Expecting to see kids running through puddles, I looked down from the slightly elevated road to see these water buffalo bathing. Not wishing to get too close, I snapped the picture and moved on. They are soooo much bigger in person!

The kids here are really friendly. The only thing I can say to them in Lao is "sabadee" ("hello"), but they will gladly say this repeatedly, waving until you are out of sight.

I walked back through my village, cutting between the houses and around the pigs, cows, ducks, dogs, and waving children. Upon arriving, I discovered that there was indeed one other guest, Matt from London. He is also traveling for 10 months, but is on the tail-end of his journey, unless he decides to stay in Australia and get a job there. We chatted for hours, happy to have someone to talk with.

Knowing how Lao kitchens work (sometimes you need to order breakfast the night before), I pointed to the breakfast menu and tried to ask our host whether we should order it "tonight or tomorrow." I was so excited when he said "tomorrow", because it was a word I had taught him earlier in the day using my phrasebook. But Matt took the wind out of my sails when he said, "I bet he thinks you just asked when we should eat breakfast." It cracked me up; he is a very funny guy.