October Break, part 1

OK, I know this is long overdue, and the truth is, I just don't have that much energy to put into doing these posts any justice.  So they will be mostly pictures.  

I will tell you- driving a few hours north in Lao was interesting.  I guess I'm just too used to good roads.  The roads between here and there were basically like the roads all over Vientiane- at times drive-able, at times, you feel like you might as well be off-roading.  I had to drive the whole way because there is no other way to do this drive other than a very jerky, start stop, go, go, slow down, brake hard for hidden potholes, etc... I get car sick, and it's especially the stop-start thing that gets me.  There was no hope for me on this ride, unless I was behind the wheel.  On the way home, Joel and I decided that our car would be just fine for a road trip "back home", but it is not cut out to road trip in Lao.  I can't even tell you how many times we bottomed out the car, how many times the shocks, or suspension, or whatever it is that is supposed to keep your ride smooth slammed loudly against itself, and seriously left me wondering if, like in a cartoon, our tires weren't just going to go rolling off in every direction.  But we made it, in one piece, without any issues- well, except a leaking air conditioner and a wet purse, but we handled that! 

Our first stop was a resort on a lake.  It's a new place, only open about 6 months.  This was evident in how nice and new the little bungalows were.  It was also evident in a few things that seemed just a touch lacking.  But, overall, it was a wonderful, peaceful, quiet place to be.  We enjoyed three days and nights seriously just chilling out.  It was good.   

So here is the story in pictures.  Enjoy! 

The view from our balcony.  Can't complain.  The terrain around Vientiane is very flat,
but we were sort of in the mountains where we were.  It was beautiful! 

More beautiful landscape

One of the big draws of this place was that they offered water sports including
jet-skis, wake boarding behind the jet-ski, and kite surfing.  This is a view of the town
from the jet-ski.  Joel and I took a sunset cruise around the lake that was very nice!

It was like a tropical Venice... 

The Blue Lagoon resort (where we stayed)

On the right is the restaurant/bar, and eating areas, on the left the bungalows

View of our bungalow from eating area.  

Gorgeous girl had a lovely time.  

The only complaint- the resort sits between the village and a main port the locals use.
This means lots of local boats went by in front of the resort every day- and they have VERY loud motors.
So loud the bungalows would vibrate and the babies would cry.  The resort is planning on fixing this. 

The eating area and dock from our balcony. 

See those shades in the distance.  That was the resort's beach.  It was ok.  Only problem?
No access to the water!  The beach had a wall of rocks surrounding it, which pretty much
dropped off within a few feet.  Worst part for us?  No easy water access for water babies!

Joel was in heaven getting to go wake boarding a couple times a day! 

My BIL and SIL going for a cruise on the jet-ski

The water was ok... except as I said, no area with a clean/sandy bottom.  I went in
once, and then got attacked by a tree/roots, and because we watch too many
cop shows, I was sure the tree would also be a dead body, and it cut me, so that was enough
for me.  Beni went swimming a couple times though, which was ok, because Joel held her the whole time. :) 

So, that is it!  That was the best of our three days there!  

The worst was the breakfast.  The resort (owned and run by French guys) only had a local cook who knew how to cook eggs one way- overcooked, fried in deep oil, with lots of salt.  As someone who likes to eat a big breakfast (and likes my eggs slightly under-cooked), I struggled for three days.  They did have a few other good dishes for lunch and dinner, even veggie dishes which made me happy....but even so, after three days, I was feeling rough.  The worst part I guess was that the resort was on an island in the middle of the lake, so there was no other option other than to eat the food they served.  But, at least I could eat.  So really, it was ok.  Except I also spent a lot of time in the bathroom, so maybe it wasn't so ok.  Eh....next time we go, we'll bring more snacks. :)    

Why driving in Vientiane is EXCITING

Disclaimer: Understand that I may be using exciting as a substitute for scary, dangerous, and nerve-wracking...and sometimes I actually mean exciting! :)

 The Roads
The roads in Vientiane are unpredictable.  One minute they are smooth and drive-able, and the next they are full of potholes craters, some of which seem big enough to swallow my little car.  What's worse is, because of the ever present rain (in the rainy season) and the fairly poor manner in which the roads are constructed, potholes are formed literally over night.  One night of storms leaves 50 new holes in a what was a smooth road yesterday.  This includes both dirt roads and paved roads.  Sometimes, the ground beneath the concrete just gives out, and boom- pothole.

The Dogs
Stupid frickety-frakkin dogs.  This country (ok, this city, at least) is over-run with dogs.  I don't think they are all stray, in fact, I think most of them might have owners- BUT most of them are "free-range."  Dogs wander the streets like they own them.  They are cheeky and confident.  They stand in the middle of the road watching you approach, and you must swerve around them (never mind oncoming traffic!).  If you were to hit one, believe me, especially as a foreigner, you'd be expected to take care of it, pay the vet's bills, etc.  So it's not worth playing chicken with them- but let's just say, I've already wondered aloud what eats dogs, because this city could use a few dog-eaters on the streets.  There are cows too, but, so far I have never seen a cow IN THE ROAD, only grazing on the side of the road, so so far, I'm ok with the cows.

The Drivers
I don't know what it takes to get a Lao driver's license if you're Lao.  I'm assuming you might have to take classes or pass a test.  I'm not sure if most driver's have licenses or not.  But in any case, the basic rule of the road seems to be, "Do as you like, react to that which is in front of you, don't look back."  Drivers drive as fast or slow as they like, sometimes they drive on the wrong side of the road (often to avoid potholes), they stop to do road-side shopping by parking their car in the right lane of traffic *maybe* half pulled off the road.  The only thing you can count on from any driver here, is that you cannot count on anything.  

Stupid rules
There are a few roundabouts in town, which, most people will agree are useful traffic aids.  They help traffic move along at a generally faster clip than lights do.  BUT, the rule for roundabouts here is that you have the right of way to ENTER the roundabout, but once you are IN IT, you have to yield to those cars entering from the next entrance!  Yes, I know.  Really.  Yeah.  STUPID.  Basically, completely defeats the point of a roundabout.

Also, most main roads in Vientiane are 4 lanes- two headed in one direction, two going the other way.  All along these roads though, instead of having left turn lanes (except at a couple lights) they just have openings in the medians where you can either turn or do a u-turn- so you end up stopping or slowing down all traffic as you turn.  Also, because as far as I can tell, these spots are used to do u-turns more often than not, and the roads are not that wide, the car turning has to make a wide turn, thereby blocking their whole side of the road.

Because the general attitude on the road is a bit everyone for themselves, turning in general can be tricky.  To turn left across traffic, or to turn left onto a road from another road, you won't generally get any kind of assisted opening to do so.  What you have to do is slowly inch your way out, pushing the nose of your car further and further out, until the oncoming traffic has no choice but to stop and let you turn (as they react to what is in front of them, and don't look back).  But, if you perhaps are being slightly more cautious and looking for an actual break in the traffic (so sue me, I'm just not used to driving that aggressively, and I'm not opposed to sitting for 30 seconds waiting for a break in traffic!) people will just turn right behind you!  That is, they'll come up your left side, and just snake you- so of course, it always happens that you've just spotted that break in traffic, but the person behind you had to be impatient, so right as you are turning left, you almost turn into them!  Not cool!!!!

Lack of signage
They are quite a number of fairly busy intersections in Vientiane that simply don't have ANY traffic control on them! No stops signs, no yield signs, no lights, no NOTHING.  You just have to approach them slowly, evaluate, do the whole inch your nose out slowly, and then go and hope other cars yield to you.  I have to admit, my stomach always does a little clench when I get to these spots!

Parking and road-side shops
The curbs in Vientiane are painted all sorts of ways- red and black blocks, black and white blocks, solid yellow, solid red (I think).  I honestly don't know what they mean.  But mostly, it seems to me like people park wherever the heck they want.  On some roads people will just park on a busy road taking it from a two lane road, down to a one-laner.  But also what often happens is that shops either set up their merchandise all the way out on to the sidewalk, or sometimes they just set up right on the side of the road... so in spots where there used to be parking, there is now a store, so parking is pushed into traffic again, and roads are minimized down to one lane.  You get the picture.

Variety of vehicles/other things on the road
There are cars, trucks, semi-trucks, mopeds/motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, stupid freaking dogs, tuk-tuks, converted tractors and other farm equipment, and ice-cream carts as well as the local version of hot dog carts (I don't know what they sell exactly, but it's a moving food vendor) all on the road at the same time.  Add in the potholes, and OH BOY!  Add in again the amount of these drivers that choose to drive in the wrong direction and OH BOY OH BOY!  There is more to look out for than you can imagine.  

Lighting  
It gets dark in Vientiane between 6 and 7, so, inevitably, sometimes you have to drive in the dark.  I think most main roads have street lights, but, they vary in quality and brightness and being burnt out.  Smaller roads (like our road) have no street lights.  But that is what headlights are for right?  Well, yes, except add in all those various vehicles and pedestrians I mentioned before, many of whom don't have lights on their body/vehicle, and driving in the dark can often feel like.... well, driving in the dark, hoping you spot other road occupants before you hit them. Also, a lot of people here drive big trucks (whether pick up trucks or like heavy duty dump trucks and stuff) because of either the work they are doing or just because they handle the roads better, and because those cars sit higher, their headlights just shine RIGHT into my eyes while driving.  I am much like a deer in that I cannot look away and get blinded.  It is stupid.  The extra attention I have to pay to keeping my eyes on the road instead of staring into the light is stupid, and certainly makes for more dangerous driving!

Given all of these issues that make driving exciting, I'm nonetheless, glad to be doing it.  Driving yourself around has a sense of freedom that you can't get any other way in a city that doesn't have public transportation.  So I'm adjusting to driving a little crazier than I ever have- because believe it or not, this is the first foreign country I've ever driven in (well, except Canada, but that doesn't really count!).  I never had the opportunity to get behind the wheel in any of my other foreign posts- mostly because I never had a car available (especially because I don't know how to drive a stick).  So it's pretty cool for me to be a driver here.  I even have a Lao license.  All I had to do was turn in my American license for a day, and I got it plus the Lao one back the next day.  So I'm enjoying it, and every successful trip out boosts my confidence a bit more.  Finding my way around, not getting lost, and not getting in accidents are all highlights of most days. :)

What's the craziest place you've ever driven???

Trying our luck at growing our own

I've started a few seeds of each plant in pots.
They are lined up on the back porch in case of rain or wind. 

We know we grow beautiful babies- just look at Beni!  But neither Joel nor I have ever had much luck growing anything else.  Our indoor plants have mostly died fairly quick deaths, and the only time I tried to garden outdoors was in Angola in pots, and that failed too.  But, we're giving it another go here in Laos!  Wish us luck!   

I picked up some seeds at the market yesterday.  I got cherry tomatoes, bok choy, cilantro, sweet peas, lettuce (which I had to buy cause it's called Grand Rapids lettuce!), and basil. I really want to grow my own spinach, but, I couldn't find any spinach seeds. I may have to try to bring them in at some point.  

The two beds we dug up today. 

This whole digging up garden beds is HARD WORK.  I already can barely sit at the computer tonight- my fingers don't want to type anymore, because holy heck...my arms are like jello!  I dug the outer edges of both beds, and then Joel took up the top layer in the middles.  I broke one shovel along the way.  But, in my own defense, the shovels we bought today came with BAMBOO handles...no solid wood or metal, oh no.  Bamboo!  So as I was trying to push down on the handle to push dirt up, the handle just cracked down the middle.  Grr.  Funny how you find out some little things that are obviously hard to come by here by not being able to get them... like a solid wood handle for a shovel, a rake and a back hoe.

Little helper wanted to be in on all the action- here you can see she's using
the screwdriver to help drive the stake of the fence into the ground.  

We were happy to see such dark rich soil as we started digging though.  I suppose our spot right on the river makes a difference, but the soil is very moist too.  Also, absolutely EXPLODING with worms.  I didn't really like coming across them, but there were so many, I kind of got over it.  Plus, worms like to live in good soil right, so it's a good sign that they are here.  So I am going to learn to love worms.

They just look like graves right now, don't they?  But I hope not for long! 

So we waited until Joel knew for sure that Essendon was losing the AFL match today, and then headed out to the nursery, followed by several road-side tool/building/hardware stores to find everything else we needed.  By the time we got home, it was already 2:30.  I had to put Beni down, and so by the time we both got to work it was 3.  We busted our butts until 6, and then we were all getting hungry, we were all incredibly stinky and the mozzies were coming out.  So we packed it in.  But, we managed to get one bed seeded, and Joel built two sides of the chicken fence.  No, we don't have our own chickens (though it is also a thought we're considering...) but there are some chickens that come into our yard from the river's edge and spend most of their days here.  If I see them out pecking out my seeds or worms in the morning, I'll be screaming at them!  So yeah, that is why we're building a fence (just with chicken wire) around the garden.

Joel sawing the ends off the wood to make the stakes...Beni using
 the screwdriver to imitate the motion. 

Both Joel and I have done a little bit of research here and there about this whole gardening business.  I started collecting egg shells, coffee grounds and veggie peels for compost.  Joel researched raised beds, and then we decided we didn't need that.  Joel also talked to his brother, who said something along the lines of, "Just stick some seeds in the ground, anything grows here!"  So, let's hope he's kind of right.  Cause really, we don't know nothing about nothing...but I think we're doing fairly well so far. :)  I'll keep you updated!

I know gardening can be very different depending on where you are... but, anyone out there have advice for us???

Today's market haul

Starting from the front left... 2 zucchini, 1 bag of mushrooms, 1 capsicum/red pepper, 3 carrots, (2nd row) 3 heads of broccoli, 1 BIG bunch of asparagus, 1 very big bunch of bok choy, (3rd row) 2 pineapples, 1 watermelon, 3 mangoes and 1 bunch of tiny little bananas!

Total cost 135,000 kip. At first it seemed like I spent more today than I usually do- specifically on the vegetables.  My SIL wasn't with me today, but, it's not like she negotiates or anything either, so there is no reason for them to try to rip me off when I'm on my own versus her being with me.  I don't know.  In the end though, I calculated that 135,000 kip is still only about $16.50USD.  And really, that's still not a bad haul for only $16.50, right?

Oh, also, I washed the bok choy as soon as I got it home.  Gave it a good thorough rinse without tearing the leaves apart.  Because you know, just in case there were any uninvited guests still hanging around in there...I hope I got them out! :)

Road works

The road just up from our house.
You can see why road works are necessary.

This morning while Beni and I were eating breakfast I heard quite a lot of noise coming from out the front of the house, so I went half way up the stairs to look out the window that faces out the front to see what was going on. I'm pretty sure our landlord's family was out there filling in a big pothole right in front of our driveway!

Since we've been in Laos, we have seen what has seemed like almost constant road work on some of the smaller roads, like ours.  Our road is partially paved.  Maybe at one point it was fully paved.  Rain is a powerful thing though- and I'm fairly certain that over the years it's enough to simply wear away the pavement- especially when the earth around the pavement keeps moving too.  Also, when the roads do get paved, they aren't done as properly as they are back home- to hear Joel talk about it, the don't pack down the earth, they don't "box the road".  I don't know what these things mean... but I can get that it isn't done in a way that might last.  

So honestly, about once a week, we have seen huge trucks dumping loads of dirt and rocks in different places along the road.  Our road forks off of a larger road, and right at the fork, we've seen huge loads go down.  There are a few areas like this that were they at a steeper grade, are so full of deep potholes, that it could be a mogul run on a ski mountain! You can imagine, Little Blue doesn't have the easiest time of these potholes.  But, we make it.

The fixes in front of our house this morning... 

Another time we saw the men that live along our street, including the monks from the emerald Buddha temple, mixing cement in the street, and roughly patching up craters.  Some of the heartier women might have been involved there as well.

We've heard from BIL/SIL that their main road used to be in horrible shape, but that last year in November the whole road got paved.  It's a pretty good road now.  So, it will be interesting to see what happens when the rainy season ends.

The road in the other direction from
 our house... Not as bad, until just beyond
 the boy in orange where the groove across
 the road is deep enough to bottom out the car!

I've said this numerous times anyway... but, we arrived in the rainy season so for us, so far, this is what Laos is like.  Hot, frequent, hard rains, humid, and pretty rough road conditions with road repairs happening once a week. But, the rainy season is going to end in about a month... and then it won't be raining enough to wash away the road.  So maybe the road works will lessen?  Maybe they'll do a major repair (apparently the government isn't too bad about actually getting these things done....) and it'll last.  Who knows.  I guess we'll see.  It'll be interesting to see how our general impression of Laos changes as the rainy season comes to an end.

Highs and lows of the last two days...

What's say we start with the lows and just get them out of the way, and then end on the wonderful highs?

Last night I was making some bok choy for dinner.  I rinsed it quickly because Beni was already over-tired, wanting to take a bath and go to bed. I cut off the ends (where lots of dirt gets stuck sometimes).  Then I threw the bok choy in the pan to stir-fry, when all of a sudden I noticed THE WORM that fell out of my boy choy and was now sizzling in the wok.  I was using chopsticks to stir, so I just picked up the worm, threw him in the garbage, swallowed that little bit of vomit that was creeping up my throat, and finished cooking my bok choy.  Then I ate it.  Finding worms in my food = seriously lowest point of the whole day yesterday.

I can only hope that today's low point has already happened... here's how it went.  I have to start by saying that the whole garbage situation was never really explained to us- and maybe it's never really explained to anyone, but, the point is, we don't really know how to handle it.   Last Thursday, Joel had already left for work, when he remembered that it was garbage day.  So I got a text asking to put the garbage out, and I did it.  I took the fancy basket we received the other week, filled with our stuff, and put it at the end of our driveway, as it seemed other people on our street were doing.  Well, a few minutes later, I see the maid from across the street come over and drag our garbage on to her side of the street.  OK.  Maybe they only pick up from one side.  Fair enough.  Well, they didn't pick up until fairly late in the day, but then, at the end of the day, I realized that all the garbage receptacles, including our lovely basket, were cleared from the side of the road....except they were just gone.  As in, OUR BASKET was not in our driveway, yard or anywhere else.  So, now we don't have a basket.  Also, last week, when I was putting the garbage out, there were a couple boxes left over from our packing that had been left out in the driveway in the rain.  Needless to say they were a sopping mess, and I didn't feel like dealing with them, so I left them.  BIG MISTAKE.

So this morning, I get another text from Joel, "Just realized as I'm driving down the street- it's Thursday and garbage day!  Can you put the garbage out?"  Urgh! But of course, what am I going to do...have to put the garbage out!  We had more empty boxes to get rid of, so, I already planned that I would take one of the empty boxes outside, pick up the mess of leftover boxes from last week, throw them in there and then haul it all out.  Good plan.  And it worked.  But it almost made me skip eating today at all, and I have washed my hands like 10 times since, and I'm pretty sure I did puke.  Because, in the last week, there happened to have been a bag of kitchen furniture in those boxes as well.  So when I went to move them the ants swarm nearly ate me, and the inch long maggots started dropping out left and right.  Oh FFS I just threw up again.  And now I need another shower.  DISGUSTING.

I don't like bugs.  Ask my husband, he would lives with me in climates where bugs abound, and he has to kill every roach I come across.  He's well and truly fed up with my inability to deal with a bug like a roach when I come across it, but, I just can't.  I'd have to take another shower.  ICK.

So there you go, as I said, I can only hope that I don't have any moments that are lower than that today!

Now, the high points!  Yes!  The last two days have had some very, very high points!!!

Yesterday was a fun day because my SIL and I took the babies and went to Thailand!  Just for the day.  Just for some shopping and a stop in at Starbucks!  Oooh yeah! I just think it's cool that I can go to Thailand for a day trip. I mean, ok, I get it, going to Thailand conjures up images of laying on a beach, drinking cocktails and eating phad thai, and that is hardly what we were doing, but still... we went to Thailand for the day!  The amazing thing is how, for whatever reason, you can have shops and order and cleanliness and what not that you just don't have over here just over the border.

So SIL and I went to a big cash and carry (Americans, think Sams or Costco) and picked up random bits of things in bulk- things like chips and Coke for a certain someone, for the house things like dish soap, hangers, toilet paper and a few more kitchen gadgets (some serving bowls, serving spoons, a whisk, a small pan...).  Then we went to a grocery store that is a proper grocery store plus more- Meijer, Woolworths, Shoprite

After a long day shopping in those two stores- at one point even carrying a sleeping Beni in one arm while shopping/pushing the cart with the other arm- I was tired, and LORD did I need to use the bathroom.  We made our way to the Starbucks right there in the same shopping mall, and took a much needed break.  I got my favorite drink- a caramel macchiato made with soy milk...and savored it as much as you can when you have to keep track of a fussy, over-tired 1 year old! It was lovely.    

When we got home, only a short time later, Joel came home with the highest high of the day.  Our new car!!!   It is a 4 door VW Golf.  It has a hatchback- but a surprisingly large trunk space.  It's a late 90s model, but has less than 74,000kms on it- so less than 45,000 miles.  It has a few little things that need fixing, and it's not fancy, but, I tell ya what... it holds the lot of us- and will be big enough for two cars seats if there is the need ever.  It has room for our stuff in the back.  And it GOES!  And the air con works.  Thank goodness. :)  

So here she is... 

As I said, nothing fancy, but it is clean, doesn't look overly worn... 

(the floor is already dirty from me driving two trips...)

Plenty of room for Beni in the backseat...

From behind...

The only challenge Little Blue is going to have is dealing with the pot holes around here.  The only reason I really wanted an SUV type car is because it rides higher, and would deal with pot holes better.  I have to crawl down some streets as I navigate around the craters in the road...but, I've been up and down the road a couple times now, and made it just fine.  So it's all good.  And yes, I have driven into town twice- once last night with Joel and Beni, and once this morning just Beni and I.  I didn't hit anything, didn't break any major traffic rules, and didn't get lost.  Yay! (This is actually the first time I've driven in a foreign country, if you don't count Canada, which really, you can't. ;) I have been trying to pay attention when we drive around here knowing that I would eventually be driving myself, but of course, there is a certain amount of learning that can only be done once you're actually behind the wheel.  So far so good though!

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.      

We found a house! And a friend!

We started our house search last week, and spent two afternoons driving around Vientiane, looking at different houses.  The first day was a total bomb, the second showed a tiny bit of promise.  Unfortunately, we weren't too impressed with what the agent we were working with was showing us.  So, Joel talked to some people, and his teaching assistant told him that she had a friend who also did some work on the side as an agent, and she would hook us up.

So Saturday morning we got picked up by said friend/agent.  And we were off in hopes of seeing something different and better than what we had seen before.  And then the first house she drove us to was one the other agent had shown us! D'oh!

We found out later in the day from Joel's brother about the way these agents work/make their money.  A landlord doesn't have to pay to list a house with any agent.  Agents find rental properties on their own, take pictures of them and then list them on their websites, and in their books.  Then, clients like us, call up agents, tell them what we're looking for, and of course, our price cap.  Then they drive us around showing off different houses until, hopefully, we find one we like.  Only once the lease is signed, do the agents make money.  They get paid the same amount as one month's rent on the house that they helped to lease.  It is a one time deal, the landlord pays them, and it's done!  So unfortunately the agent that spent two afternoons driving us around will get nothing for her time spent.  However, the agent we worked with on Saturday will get paid a few hundred dollars for the work she did.  She's actually going to make about $100 an hour for what she did with us!  Good for her, for really listening and knowing what it was we wanted- she scored!

We saw a few houses on Saturday morning.  One of them seemed like a real contender- we were negotiating with the landlord right there and then about getting an oven, painting some walls, getting rid of the some of the furniture, etc.  We walked away without saying yes, and it's a good thing we did.

The last house our new agent showed made instant points because it is located just a short drive/walk down the street from my BIL/SIL, and is right on the Mekong River- a beautiful view.  The agent warned us that it was not a wooden house (which was one of the things for which we had been asking), but that it was new and in good condition.

When we walked in the high ceilings, white(ish- maybe cream?) walls, and open spaces were an instant hit.  The kitchen is huge- although lacking storage space, but we can add in some shelves, etc.  And I think we will bring in some sort of island as well.  The downstairs bedroom struck Joel right away as a perfect room for a play room.  There is also a living room with two decent couches and a bathroom tucked away in the back corner behind the dining room.

Upstairs we found three more bedrooms, one slightly larger than the others with an en suite.  There is also a separate bathroom for the other two bedrooms to share.  There is also a great window with a view on to the Mekong that would be a great spot for a desk, and there is an open sitting area where we're thinking we might put a big day bed/couch thing in front of more windows that look out onto the river.

The floors are tile, which we didn't really want, BUT, the tile has a "wood floor" pattern on it- so maybe from a distance it looks like wood.  At least it's not a really busy floral pattern, which is what a LOT of the houses we looked at had.

The backyard has a couple trees in it, and it also has a "sala" which is Lao word for a structure similar to a gazebo or pavilion.  It is square and probably 3x3 meters, a tiled floor, and a small bench around the edge- but I'm sure it's meant for sitting on the floor.  It'll be a great covered spot to hang out and enjoy the breeze off the river.

The landlords (or his representatives) were at the house, and we negotiated a few things- an oven, a water cooler/dispenser, and screen doors and happily told them we'd take it!

After the deal was done, our agent really wanted to take us to her house, because we will now be "neighbors".  She lives quite a ways down the road, but, none the less... we're in the same neighborhood.  We'd been talking and sharing with her the whole morning about all kinds of things- where we're from, where we've lived.  Every house I looked at I was super critical of the kitchen saying that it was very important to me- so we talked about how we both like to cook, etc.

So we get in the car and she drives through a pretty rough looking neighborhood, but ends up pulling up to a huge, ornate gate.  And as we drove in, we realized that our new friend has got it made.  Come to find out she designed and built the house herself- it is HUGE, (I think she said 5 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms), and the whole thing is beautiful dark wood floors and white walls.  She also has a beautiful swimming pool (a rarity in Laos) with another gorgeous view of the Mekong.  Honestly, we were all very impressed and fully felt like we were on the grounds of a resort.  She invited us to sit, and we talked and drank some water and ate chocolates and peanuts.

Beni and my SIL (my BIL had actually come to see our house while we were there, and then come along to her house as well).  She had kept saying that we would need to get together to cook sometime.  Well, when she was dropping us off she asked, "When will we get together?  How about next weekend!?"  We had no real reason to say no... so that is the plan for now!  It's pretty cool because she does honestly seem like a very nice person, and we had plenty to talk about.  And we can't really pass up the opportunity to take Beni swimming!

It was a good day to say the least.  It's not every day you find a house that you can happily picture yourself living in, AND make a new friend.

Oh, and by the way... this is the house from the road!