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.