Some stereotypes are actually true: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, lol. Long reflections about whether to go back to Vietnam (Dong Hoi, Kon Tum, Hanoi?) or keep staying in rural corners of Laos ended when I went in a small family restaurant and found the perfect stir-fried pork with holy basil there. Having finished the dish, I realized that staying in Xepon and generally Laos is a better choice after all. 😀
Fresh and full of vitamins! I asked spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️ and also took this sauce dish with chili in fish sauce too. Firstly, chili makes me high 😀, secondly, chili is one of the top sources of vitamin C and not only. 🤓 After 3 months in Vietnam, I really wanted good Thai-Lao food, and I got it. 😊
With this mood, I decided to walk to the neighboring roadside village where I had never been. It's 1.5 km away from the town center, I mean, this center:
😄 That's how the main intersection looks. However! They are constructing paved streets, at least, three. Xepon is growing to become a larger and wealthier town in 10-20 years. So, I don't want to be critical about the place, a good future is coming (if no wars in the region, of course).
So, that adds to my photography an extra emphasis: to document Xepon before this expected transformation. I mean, the tallest building in the town is the 3-floor hotel I am staying in... It won't be this forever.
These unpaved (and charming) roads won't stay forever either. I will create a photo archive, I just need to publish it somewhere so it doesn’t disappear.
...These were my thoughts on August 23, 2024, when I headed along the highway to the nearby village
The tiny adventure started with witnessing goats crossing the highway A bold undertaking that ended in success! 😀
The further you are from Xepon center, the more people pay attention to you, the more motorbike drivers and their passengers turn their heads to look at an unexpected falang.
But that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable - people are so nice here.
The most sociable part of society are kids. In villages, smaller ones often start shouting "hello! sabadee!" when they see a foreigner (that was the same in 2012 when I visited Laos for the first time). They sometimes want to be photographed.
While teenagers on motorbikes can stop by you to ask you to take images of them.
It's always pleasure to meet Lao kids since all of them have excellent manners.
I kept walking but slowly. When you are in a hurry, you exhaust your mind; meanwhile, a slow pace cures your mind.
Love how houses look in this part of Laos, no matter if these are a mat house or a mansion:
Isn't it fantastic?
Stilt wooden houses, love them:
Another one:
She was surprised (and happy) that I wanted to photograph her, and also showed me with a gesture that I have a big nose:
No offense, she just wanted to express how she was impressed with this feature of my face 😀 unusual for Laos.
More houses: a mat building on stilts, old and tilted:
I was spotted by a group of kids, a photo session was coming 😀
The happiest kids in the world live in Laos, no idea why. 🙂
Let's keep walking!
Another mat house with a veranda:
A repair shop:
On my way back, I was approached by the same children, but, this time, they posed in the gangsta style:
Just a silly gesture they recently learned from, probably, a movie or TikTok. A year ago everyone used to show a thumb-up only.
From the very beginning, I decided that I would keep walking until I encounter unpleasant dogs. I could go quite far but, eventually, I saw two gloomy Gollums watching me. It was not dangerous but disturbing - they could start double barking, more dogs could be present potentially to join that concert... And I decided it was a sign... I still had the energy to return without feeling exhausted, with pleasure. And I chose this scenario.
It was an adorable late-afternoon stroll! Going to keep exploring Xepon and its surroundings this way.
More stories from Southeast Asia are ahead! Check out my previous posts on my personal Travelfeed or Worldmappin map.
I took these images with a Nikkor 50mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 on August 23, 2024, in Xepon, Laos.