Things are coming together in the house...

Ever since we moved in, (what was that, two weeks ago?) we (and by that I mostly mean Joel) have been spending pretty much all our free time trying to pick up odds and ends we need for the house, as well as spending at least one day on the weekend running around shopping together while Beni hangs out with BIL/SIL.  It's been a bit exhausting, especially for my incredibly hard working husband, who hasn't stopped busting his balls since we got here.  He deserves a huge pat on the back and a break.  Hopefully, after this weekend, he'll get to relax a bit more, because things are starting to come together... See below what a star he is though...

He found a toddler bed for Beni.  The school nurse had this one still at home

from when her son used it 8 years ago.    

(We tried to have the bed against the wall where the door is, completely away from our bed, and Beni wouldn't have anything to do with it.  She's just not ready to be that far away, and I'm more than ok with that!)

He found and installed this curved shower curtain rod. He also bought the power drill needed 

to accomplish this task (of course, I think getting to buy a drill was the fun part!).  

One of the things we picked up together was this shelf for stuff in the bathroom.

It's a little too big (someone with very long legs might have to sit slightly sideways on the toilet, or knock their knees on the shelf, but, obviously, that isn't any of us!), but, it works.  And at least I don't have all my stuff in a cardboard box anymore!

  

(The little table is temporary until we buy a smaller version of this same shelf for that side of the sink.)

We also got a bookshelf for the living room area.  He has used his new drill to hang up all our

art work in various places as well.  We still need to get that black and white picture of Beni (on the top shelf) framed, and then it will get hung up too!

Beni's playroom is fairly complete.  We bought loads of these alphabet tiles to give

 her a softer place to play, and we got her those shelves and the table. 

If you ask me, it's a very sunny, warm room, and happily for us, one we can shut the door to

when we don't want to see all the colorful plastic. :) 

Joel also put some hooks on the wall to hang up all our slings/carriers. 

Finally... my kitchen.  Aaah...my kitchen. :)  When I walked into it this morning, after Joel had woken up, I turned right around and said to him. "Thank you for my fabulous kitchen.  It makes me very, very happy.  THANK YOU."  

The additions you can see in the following picture... in the corner, my new blender, the new microwave and a couple small appliances over, the new coffee maker.  (Blissfully ground-free coffee this morning.  It was wonderful.  French presses are great, except that 1) only cool if you can get coarse ground coffee (or grind your own, but I haven't seen any grinders around) and 2) mornings tend to be busy times, and I only have time to make coffee once, but, in the french press the coffee was always stone cold by the time I got to my second cup.  The coffee maker keeps it nice and hot.  Yes, please!)  

In the foreground obviously you can see my "island".  I showed Joel a butcher block island on the Internet, and he spotted these tables when he was out driving around one day.  They are a little low, so might lead to slight back ache now and then, but otherwise, they are perfect.  Tons of work space and more storage on the shelves underneath.  Between the stove and water cooler you can see we also got a smaller version, as a spot to store the spice/oil/soy sauce rack and a place to put things I need while cooking...  You can also see that Joel put up another set of hooks next to the stove where my aprons and pot holders hang.  

We had two shelves here, but got a third.  Two shelves were not quite enough storage space, three is a little too much, but, obviously, a little too much is better than not quite enough. 

Another shot from the doorway... It may not be a "chef's kitchen" but it certainly is mine, and I'll say it's the best kitchen we've had since we've been together!  I also love how light the kitchen is...this whole house is full of windows, and full of light.  One of my favorite aspects of it! 

We're still working on our "closet" room, an office space for Joel, and the upstairs sitting area.  We'll get to those areas in time, but, I don't think they feel quite as pressing as these other areas have.  A few more shelves, a desk... we should be good soon!

One down, one to go

 See my husband... proud new owner of his very own motorbike.  He went out early this Saturday morning, and returned a couple hours later with this!  He chose the all black... what do you think?

If we were locals, this is how Beni would also ride the motorbike.  As it is, of course she will NEVER ride the motorbike. ;)

 So Joel has his own wheels now... he was able to return my SIL's motorbike to her.  Now whatever wear and tear or anything that happens to the bike, at least it's happening to his own bike.  He quite likes zooming around on the motorbike- except when it's raining.  He wears a poncho then, but even with the poncho, he still gets pretty soaking wet.
 

Our car search continues, so Beni and I are still stuck either walking or getting a ride with my SIL or BIL.  They are awesome and lifesavers for us right now!  So far in our car search we found the PERFECT vehicle, which was at least $5,000 over budget.  Then we found another vehicle that we thought could be really good, and by the time we called about it (which was as soon as we saw the ad) it was already sold...which means...it would have been good! :(  We've also see tons more manuals, and a few more that we've passed on because they are obvious conversions.  So the search continues.  Please keep sending us good car thoughts or money.  Both would be useful. :)

This little froggy went to market...

About once a week, my SIL and I go to the market to buy fruits and veggies.  The amount of fresh food you can buy for less than $10 is ridiculous.  This week I got a bunch of bananas, one head of cauliflower and one head of broccoli, a baggie of small tomatoes, three carrots, a bag of citrus fruits (I thought they were limes, but then my SIL said she thought they might be tangerines, so, I decided to give something new a go and try them out anyway!) and... maybe that was it for today.  But I got all that for about 60,000 kip, if that, which is about $7.50.

The difference in prices between the market and the mini-mart for vegetables and fruits is ridiculous!  The fruits and veggies at the mini-mart are easily twice the price, if not more.  So going to the market is definitely worth it.

When we go to the market, we attract a lot of attention, of course.  SIL and I both wear the babies when we go, so that we have both hands free to carry bags and pay for our goods.  Any number of these things attracts attention.  Mostly it's the little blonde/bald white heads and tiny white feet.  The Lao people love babies and they are not afraid to let you know.  I think my nephew got touched by approximately 50 people at the market today.  At one point, my SIL said, "That's it, little man!  You're getting a bath when we get home!"  I don't blame her.  Between the amount of people putting their hands on him and the amount of sweat pouring down the lot of us, we all need baths when we get home.

Hardly the organized, clean, open air, twice a week farmer's markets of back home... the markets here are all day every day kind places...I'm not sure the opening and closing hours, but, my guess is that it's quite early and quite late.  They seem like the kind of places that are never really empty (though I'm sure at some point they are), which also means that they never really get a proper cleaning.  They are built on concrete slabs, but often have wooden slats laid down over holes, water leaking here and there, rubbish on the floor, etc. Because of the rain in Laos, they are also covered- this means that there is very little air circulation.  The smell of the meat and the fish, and possibly some sellers piss-pot all mixes together with the food that is being cooked in the little restaurants and who knows what else.  The smell of the city and the people themselves.  Today's market didn't smell that bad.  The first market SIL took me to was the worst in terms of smell.  I honestly thought I was going to vomit at one point.  The smells were very strong, acrid, rotten smells, and it was hard for me to get through parts of it!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not usually a person who can't handle smells- I don't gag at diapers or anything else.  But these smells, they were strong!

We've gone to three different markets since I've been here, just to check them out and see what each has to offer, and this one today was not the best.   It wasn't the worst smelling thankfully, but, it did have the oddest assortment of food products, and it was not well organized.  Both of the other markets we went to did at least have all the fruit in one place, the veg in another, the meat and fish together, and then the stalls that sell packaged food, kicthen items, etc, together as well.  This one was all over the place.  Because we couldn't really understand where to go, we spent a few minutes wandering around the whole place to start just to see where we might find the nicest fruits and veggies.  You never know what else you might come across, so I was quite happy to do the wander.  But this wander took us past some more stuff that I had a little trouble with.

You all know I'm a vegetarian that cooks meat for my omnivorous husband.  I handle meat, I cook meat- I'm generally not bothered by meat.  Every once in a while the smell of it cooking might turn my stomach a little, but, I cook it anyway.  But the meat we saw at this market, made me almost toss my breakfast.  We walked past little wash tubs on the floor that were full of slithering, slimy eels, hoppy, worty frogs or toads, all kinds of little and big fish- some alive, some trying to jump out of the pot, others dead.  There were live ducks in plastic bags- just their heads sticking out.  There was some kind of dried meat that looked like jerky, but one side was covered in coarse hair.

The eels were what got to me the most.  I know people eat these kinds of things, and I don't have anything against that, but the whole tub was full of them and they were just slithering around all over each other.  It was a writhing mess of little heads and tails.  Shudder- I just got goose bumps thinking about it again!  I don't know why the frogs didn't try to jump out of their bowls, because they were certainly shallow enough that I would have thought they could have, but they didn't.

We had to walk through this one section twice, as we went in one direction and then backtracked.  Needless to say I was very glad to leave it behind us! And, because I had Beni on my back, I don't think she got touched as much as my nephew, as she wasn't as obvious as he was, being worn on my SIL's front side, his smiling head facing out.  Because the people the handle the frogs and the eels and the ducks...they are the same ones that want to rub your kids face and hands.  Barf.

One of these days, maybe on a weekend, when things settle down, when we have our own transportation, when we're not running around trying to buy up stuff we still need for the house, we'll go to the market and try to take some pictures.  I would certainly like to share the sights with you- be glad I can't share the smells. :)  Or, go pee in your full garbage can, then close it up and let it sit in the sun for a week, and then open it- that's kind of like what that one market smelled like.   

A walk in the rain

Last Sunday we had been invited to our neighbor's house- the neighbor who also happens to be a part-time estate agent who found us our house.  We were pretty excited go to as she promised lunch and use of the pool.  Also, of course, she seems like a very nice lady, and we looked forward to getting to know her better.  

Sunday morning however, it was raining.  It is of course, still the rainy season (until October).  We didn't get too disheartened however, because the last week before that it had often been rainy in the morning and then clearing up into a beautiful, sunny afternoon.   By 11, when we put Beni down for her nap, it was blue skies, a few fluffy white clouds and brilliant shining sun.  We thought we were made! 

By the time Beni woke up from her nap, I made a dish to take along (very not necessary here, apparently- where an American host might appreciate the gesture and contribution to the meal, a host here takes pride in being able to provide everything, so next time, we'll go empty handed!), and we gathered all our swimming necessities, it was 1:30pm, and it had gone cloudy.  We figured we'd be ok though- it was only cloudy, didn't necessarily look like rain.  

So we loaded up the stroller (yeah, we don't have a car yet!) and took off.  I had the umbrella that I bought in Latvia in my purse- while in Latvia and here in Laos, I have gotten into the habit of carrying an umbrella because it just seems like a good idea! Mind you, I knew that this umbrella was broken- it was broken the very first time I opened it.  VERY disappointed, Rimi! Anyway...we got about half way down the already and still muddy, puddled street when it started to sprinkle.  We got to the first bend in the road, thankfully very near an empty building with a large overhang from the roof, before it started pouring.  The skies opened up and it was simply gushing water out of the skies.  We turned and looked over the river and Thailand had disappeared.  Remember, it's close enough that you can see details on some of the houses- we know one of the buildings across from our house is a temple, you can see cars driving etc.  It's not that far away.  But the rain and clouds and completely obscured it.  

Then the wind picked up and the rain started coming down sideways.  Thankfully it was blowing off the river, so the building itself blocked the rain from coming directly at us.  We stood there for about 10 minutes thinking it might let up.  Nope.  We realized that we needed to start thinking of how we could get out of this situation somewhat dry.  We texted our friend and she said she'd come pick us up, but she didn't have her car at home! D'oh!  

Joel decided that he would take the crappy umbrella and try to find a tuk-tuk big enough to fit us and the stroller.  By this time, the puddles had mostly overtaken the road, and by the time Joel got anywhere, he was soaked, never mind having the crappy umbrella.  

Beni and I stood our ground, actually slowly moving to one side as the road started to flood to the spot where we were standing.   We watched the rain, the drops hitting the flooded street.  It was like that scene in Forrest Gump...the rain was going every direction- even up.  Pretty impressive really.  

Right at the time when Joel showed up on the motorbike with a tuk-tuk following him, our neighbor showed up in her sister's car, which was at her house! So we paid the tuk-tuk a little money for coming, Beni and I got into the car, and let the tuk-tuk go.  Of course, by the time we got to her house, the rain had substantially let up.  But it's a good thing we hadn't tried to wait it out and walk the rest of the way- we would have been up to our knees in mud.  

Once we arrived and cleaned of our feet, and Joel changed into dry clothes, we sat down to a beautiful lunch.  She had been warned that I was a vegetarian, so, in addition to meat and veggie skewers she also made lovely ramen type noodles with a mix of veggies, green papaya salad and some veggie skewers.  It was all very delicious.  

I love the papaya salad- all it is is green papaya, (sometimes) carrot, green bean, tomatoes, garlic and chili, plus some salt and sugar, and I'm pretty sure a good dose of MSG.  It is very simple, but, the locals make it with like 9 or 10 chilies.  Let's just say, she made it with only 2 chilies and my eyes were watering.  Fascinating how people who grow up in hot climates eat spicy food like it's nothing.  I just read about that somewhere, how it really is a thing how the hotter your climate, the more spicy food you eat.  Anyway... even the noodles had a little bit of some spicy seasoning on it.  I really liked the flavor.  Beni has been really into noodles lately, so we gave her some (along with the bean and rice salad I had made, which I knew she would eat).  Poor girl didn't know how to handle food spicier than she'd ever had.  I don't think she was really bad off, but, after eating a few noodles she stuck her tongue out and tried to scrape the heat off. Oops.  It was pretty cute though. 

Once we finished lunch, the rain had let up enough that Joel and Beni got in their suits and went for a dip.  Here are some pictures for you! 

One end of the pool and the Mekong in the background....

Happy swimmers

What's that, you can barely see Beni and Joel....
well there is a shot of the gorgeous house as well.

Her teeth were chattering, but when we tried to get her out, she just wanted back in!

Baby's first surf lesson

Joel was happy because apparently she quite instinctively tried to stand ion the board

After their swim, we packed up and headed home.  Thankfully my BIL had offered to pick us up as we were going to borrow the car to go shopping anyway, so we didn't have to brave the muddy roads on foot.      

What do YOU think it's for?

This bad boy was by our front gate this morning.  We didn't ask for it.  We didn't order it.  It was just there.  A million points to you if you can tell me what it's for (actually I already know, but I want to see if you can guess!).

Go on! Guess!

Not as black and white, or pink, as it seems!

I've been thinking the last few days about things that I take so very much for granted, because of my upbringing, because of being born and raised in the US, for a multitude of reasons that are all pretty valid- but things which are not necessarily as clear cut as they seem!

One such thing is about color.  We have all kinds of rules about color in the US.  For instance- blue is a boy color and pink is a girl color.  That said, a girl can wear blue, but, must have the right other colors on, or the right shade of blue, to not "look like a boy".  Men have only recently started wearing pink because it became fashionable, but you would never dress a little boy, much less a baby boy in pink.  Right?  And yellow and green are "neutral" colors- although I think as soon as you actually have the baby, the greens and yellows take on a decidedly more gender specific tone.  But see, that again, is me seeing things through my own filters again.

My point... the other day I saw a monk carrying a beautiful pastel pink bag- his school bag undoubtedly- and at first it seemed so odd to me!  A young boy (probably a pre-teen, maybe young teen) proudly carrying a pink bag!  My own husband won't touch pink clothing with a 10 foot pole.  He once got a pair of sweats that had a touch of pink in the name brand on the pocket- he colored it in with a black marker!  Obviously, such cultural conversations... and are different wherever you go!  Also, the other day when a team of four local men showed up to install our internet connection, one of them actually asked if Beni was a boy or a girl- and she was wearing a pink onesie with pink piping at the edges.  But it obviously didn't occur to him that this would be indicative of anything!

Moving into the house also has me questioning certain things.  Like, why don't people like closets?  I mean, really??? Closets are great.  Is there a geographic reason that one might not want a closet? Why is a wardrobe better (I honestly can't think of a single reason)?  Also, when building a kitchen, why put in cupboards that no normal height person would be able to reach the second shelf of?  I mean, I KNOW I am short, but when I have to stand on my tip toes to reach the bottom shelf, that is a way up high cabinet!  (Mental note...add step-stool to shopping list...)  Also, when installing cabinets under the counter top which are at least 3 feet high, why not put a shelf in there?  Why leave it one giant open space?  And then, this leaves me asking questions like, where does a Lao person store their food?  Do they bring in lots of extra shelving units?

The thing I am glad about, is that I am NOT spewing out things like, "this is so stupid- why doesn't everyone do things like we do?"  I like that I'm finding my own attitude to be fairly accepting that people just do things differently in different parts of the world... and they DO have their reasons.  I think I'm making a point of saying that because I'm quite sure that other places I've lived I haven't been as tolerant or willing to understand.  Maybe the things that are different here are easier for me to accept.  Maybe it goes a long way when people smile at you everywhere you go.

Another example.  Today I met with a man to interview him for a guard position for our house.  I think I might have mentioned before that it is generally a good idea to have someone at the house at all times.  It doesn't have to be a big burly person, but, just a presence- a deterrent for any burglars, etc.  So we're looking for someone to work more daytime hours than night hours, seeing as that is when we're all most likely to be out of the house... having a sleep-sensitive toddler at home means we'll pretty much be home every night by her bedtime!  So I interviewed this guy (through a translator- my BIL/SIL's housekeeper).  He was very polite and grateful- he seemed quite keen on the job, saying he really needed the money.  So we struck a deal and I said he could start tomorrow!  He said yes, figured out where our house was, etc...everything seemed good to go.  Then tonight, BIL and SIL happened to have stopped by while out on their evening walk, and while they were here, BIL got a phone call. It was his housekeeper on the line saying that she had heard from the guy, saying that something had come up and he wouldn't be able to take the job after all.

When BIL hung up, he explained that this is actually quite common.  He thinks it's about saving face- so in front of you, whether or not you really think you want, or can do the job, they'll say yes.  Then, if they call later, they can just say something like that- that something came up, something changed, they can't do the job anymore- but they don't have to say no to your face.  So, all in one day, I hired and lost a guard!  We'll keep looking!  And keep dealing with the way things get done here...different from the way they do things back home...but good in its own way!        

We still haven't found a car, and the search is not picking up.  It's a bummer.  Send us good car finding energy!!!  We need it!

So we've moved in and...

Here is what I have to say about it!
-You know what is fun?  Going to the local version of a "superstore" and getting to pick out just about everything you need for the house from dishes to floor mats, towels to mops and brooms and cleaning supplies, kettles and toasters, pots and beer mugs, tupperware and clothes pins.  Only thing, we forgot to get a can opener!  D'oh!  Also, it is kind of a different feeling seeing your total add up to more than 8,000,000 kip!   That is a lot any way you look at it- but in USD it's about $1,000.  Getting everything you need for the house for $1,000 isn't bad either. :)   
-Ants and cockroaches consider this your warning.  You are not welcome in my kitchen (or the rest of my house for that matter).  Please vacate, or prepare to die.  I will do what I have to do.
-Turns out, our tubs in the upstairs bathrooms have not been properly installed. In fact, they've hardly been installed at all!  They've just been shoved into the corner.  Last night, as the water drained from Beni's bath, the floor began to flood.  Unhappy surprise. We're going to have to see what we can do about this!
-So far in the moving in process, I've focused on getting the kitchen set up.  It proves to be true again and again, that I feel at home, when I have my kitchen stocked, and I can fully use it. 
-Speaking of kitchen stuff- WHY OH WHY do manufacturers insist on sticking labels on things with impossible to remove adhesive in totally horrible spots.  For instance- the new wok I bought yesterday- 2 square inch spot of adhesive smack dab in the middle of inside of the dang pan.  I don't know why I haven't learned to check these kinds of things before I buy, because I am almost convinced I am going to simply have to buy a new wok.  Grrr.  (Anyone have any advice?  I tried using nail polish remover, and it didn't do much.)
-On another kitchen note- guess who doesn't have hot water in the kitchen???  Yep, us.  My BIL/SIL don't have hot water in the kitchen either- apparently it's not really standard here because to have hot water you need one of those individual electric water heaters.  Sometimes one might boil hot water for dish washing, but, we're also just going to get used to washing with cold water and plenty of soap.
-I love the feeling of new possibility when moving into a new house.  Getting to choose where to put stuff, buying new stuff, etc. It's fun.
-There are things about this house that I would change, for sure.  But, that said, I love this house.  It feels like home.  It's comfortable.  It doesn't actually feel THAT different from a house that we might have chosen to buy elsewhere in the world...except of course, we'd choose hard wood floors (not just floors that LOOK like wood) and closets! But, I love this house.  I love that it's ours now.  I love the potential it has.  And I'm so very happy we live in it alone! :)
-The last 4 and a half months have really brought to light how lucky we are as a family to have so many people around the world that love us enough to host us for a few days, weeks, or even months.  It is a good feeling to know that you are welcome, and invited, and wanted.  That said, it is SO NICE to have our own space again!  To be in charge of where things go in the kitchen, to be able to leave anything we want in a spot that we deem appropriate, to be able to walk through the whole house naked- if I so wanted... it's just good to have your own space!
-I should go now, because, even though the kitchen is fully unpacked and in place (yes, that includes washing all dishes before putting away, cleaning out cupboards, etc), I haven't unpacked, or hung up ANY of my clothes.  Priorities, I tell ya. :)    

And we thought it was hard last time...

Since we arrived in Laos, we've had two main projects to handle... 1) finding a house, and 2) finding a car.  We're got #1 handled now, of course, but we are still working on #2.  And goodness gracious, is it NOT a fun process.  I mean, back when we bought a car in the States we thought that was stressful and difficult because you never know who you can trust- are the used car salesmen trying to rip you off?  Is a private seller trying to hide something? You just don't know.  And everybody has an opinion as well- you're paying too much, you're buying too quickly- but, at least we found, most people were all talk, and no one was willing to come to bat for us!  So we ended up doing what we were comfortable with, and I drove that Impala with a smile on my face for a full 7 mos and we never had any problems with it, and we sold it for just a little less than we paid for it.

Now, we have this whole buying a used car thing under our belts, but, it's way different here in Lao.  Two issues complicate the whole deal.

The first is that there are a lot of cars in Lao that are brought in by non-profit organizations.  When they bring in these cars, they don't have to pay tax on importing them.  They are hence referred to as "tax-not-paid."  These cars can be sold, BUT, you cannot transfer the title of the car until the taxes are paid- so in essence, if you bought one of these cars you'd have it, but, technically, according to the paperwork, it wouldn't be yours.  Unless of course you wanted to pay the taxes...but, from what I have been told, the taxes amount to quite a large sum of money, and the whole process is quite tedious as well.  And you can imagine, selling a car later on that technically isn't yours isn't all that easy either- which is why most people shy away from tax-not-paid cars.   This then, brings down the number of cars available to buy drastically.

The second issue is converted cars.  Apparently there is big business in bringing in cars from Japan, Thailand or somewhere else where they right hand drive (driver is on the right in the car), and then convert these cars to left hand drive.  I have no idea what this process involves (more than just moving the steering wheel apparently), but have been told that if it's done poorly, the car will be completely worthless.  If it's done well and correctly, apparently it can work just fine.  But, there is no way to know if you're getting a good one or a bad one until it's too late.   This is a major bummer because this takes another HUGE chunk of available cars off the market.  Also, it stinks because my favorite pictures of any car that Joel has showed me were of a lovely Honda, that was clean and new and spacious and just lovely, and then he said, "Oh oops...this is a converted one."  :(    

The third thing that is an issue just for us/me is that I have never driven a stick before.  Well, I did once, but only for one evening, and I was only mildly good at it.  So we'd like to get an automatic, because it would be easier for me, but, there are 9 manuals to every automatic- and it seems that a lot of the autos are the converted ones. Sigh.

So, our search continues.  And searching, by the way, means driving around town, searching for cars that have for sale signs in the back window.  When you find one, you take pictures, get the number, and then try to call about it.  We've actually met with people to check out two cars, and taken one to the mechanic.  The mechanic told us that one needed a lot of work.  So we're still searching.  And we're considering trying to negotiate the price down on the one that needs work.

For now, Joel is riding around on my SIL's motorbike, and Beni and I are getting around only courtesy of my BIL/SIL and their car.  While Joel could continue in this manner for some time, Beni and I need our own transport sooner rather than later.  So now that we're just about moved into our house, we're definitely going to focus full steam on finding a car.  Wish us luck!

Picture tour of our new house before we move in

The lease was signed today and we've agreed to meet again at the house on Saturday to get the keys!  This gives them time to finish cleaning up, and for us to just wait til Saturday to move!  Woohoo!!!  So here are the pictures I took today of our empty house!
(And yes, I am doing these pictures straight down the middle, all the same size so I don't have to deal with formatting!)

You remember...this is the house! 

When you come through the front doors, you find this open foyer area, and directly ahead the living room. 

To the right of the door (when you're standing in the doorway) is the stairway 

This is what the front door looks like from the living room

The kitchen (off the dining area, which is next to the living room)
We will put some kind of a work space island in the middle.

Right now this is the stove.  We will be pricing an oven/stove unit, and it will  come as part of the rental contract.

This is the other side of the kitchen... yes, the fridge is small.  It's a shame.
We will also need more shelves and stuff.  

The backyard, which you can access through a back door off the living/dining rooms

The house comes with this cute little kid. 

Beni liked shaking her hand. 

The downstairs bedroom- the room we will turn into a playroom.
The landlord is taking the bed away, and we're moving the wardrobe upstairs.

Downstairs bathroom- next to the kitchen, but actually tucked nicely away into a corner.
(Yay for a private main floor bathroom!!!!)

The dining room- you can see the kitchen door on the right, the living room on the left. 

Coming up the stairs

The view at the top of the stairs- directly ahead is where Joel might put a desk,
because that window looks directly out onto the Mekong.

Upstairs sitting room- we plan on changing things up here to make it much more comfortable.

Guest room- the door on the left is the balcony on the front of the house. 

Second bedroom- none of the beds are pushed against the walls, so the rooms look smaller than they are.

Master bedroom- door is the door to the bathroom

Wardrobe in the master

Master bath- not up to "western standards" for a master bath, but, it'll do...

Second bathroom upstairs

View out the window where the desk will be.

View out the windows in the sitting area.

The full sitting area

The stairwell from the sitting area

Looking down the stairs

Sitting on the front steps- you can see that lovely  floral tile there....

The driveway on the side of the house leading to the backyard

Carport in front of the house

I was kidding about her coming with the house.  She is the daughter of the landlord's granddaughter-
we had a few visitors stop by while we were handling things tonight!

The backyard from ground level

The sala

Back of the house- the back door which leads into the living/dining room

That's it!  I'll try to post photos of the finished rooms as we get to them!  I assume it will take a while! :)