Yum, Yum… Mossies, Moths and Darkness… Trust me Ce, NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

We have started our journey to Phnom Penh from Vientiane we have stopover’s in Tha Khaek, Savannakhet, Champasak and Krajie, we are currently staying in Savannakhet. We are so happy that we stayed over for two nights here as there are hardly any tourists and you can get a real experience of local life. People have been extremely friendly; most of them have not encountered many foreigners especially outside the centre.

While in Tha Khaek we encountered the worst mosquitoes on our trip, as we were staying by the river,  I think they were in the mood for some western blood. In general the mosquitoes are bad in the evening when it gets dark (7 p.m.),  so thanks to the makers of Malarone for protecting us from that little Malaria bug.

The heat hasn’t let up here in Savannakhet, you cannot be outside after 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. or you will go mad, or in my case deteriorate further into madness.

The only time I have seen Ce scared on this trip was in Tha Khaek there were hardly any lights and even the food scared her… pig tongue with pig skin and pig liver was the local fare, included free were the thousands of moths flying around the food. In Ce’s words, “Derm I’m not going down there with you and there is no way I’m eating that”. Even though there were a few noodle restaurants on the street, this time Ce won and we ate in the restaurant at the hotel.

Last night we went against all of our instincts here in Savannakhet and ate in a restaurant that was empty, but given the street food options we decided to take a chance… Should anyone be in Savannakehet you have to go there…. the bonus is that the owner is Canadian, name of restaurant, the food was absolutely fabulous, just like you would make at home

Tomorrow we continue our journey with a 6 hr. bus trip to Champasak where we will spend the night and then move on to Krajie.

Signing off,

Derm and Ce.

P.s. Juan you were right when you told us about the 40+ degree temperature and the fact that all you can drink and eat are salads, water and beer with filtered ice.

Perky Perky Perky first thing in the a.m.

"It's beatiful" , in Ce's words

What a peaceful sight

We survived the trip here, Salud!

6:30 a.m. on the river

6:50 a.m. on the river

7:00 a.m. on the hunt 

Stolen bicycles

Setting up the stall for the day

Garbage recycling/burning time

Monks surprised to see us at this time of day

I dare you to take my breakfast!!!

Residence of the senior Monks

Under repair

Tired of reincarnation... time to sleep

Balcony view

Ce so happy to be back on VIP transport

The Rona or Home Depot of S.E. Asia

A slightly modified form of transportation

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Selling the birds for a good scrap (or fight in Canadianse)

Always an opportunity to sell

Maximizing profits

We ended up with 19 people on the van not counting us...
with no A.C.

Multi-function transport

La Rosa Nautica of S.E. Asia (the Peruvian's will understand)

Ce and I making out

I couldn't resist kids throwing stones

A very old school/temple

They seen me coming and they locked me out

Artist at work... We want to hire him!

Ce's picking up decorating ideas... missing the renovation channels

Offloading the products for the market... it's amazing how this
works...  mayhem but very functional

Bringing home the daily groceries

The unfinished business

Me in the unfinished business

A child truly scared of foreigners, or maybe it's when I said,
"hello my name is E. T".

Under construction

The Birdcage... with the Bird

Ce loved the sleeping Buddha...
should I worry???

Do I look like a Buddha?

I might have a few small jobs for
this dragon

I look so attractive at a distance

The best restaurant in Svannakhet

David, Joy and I in the restaurant.... Joy, you truly are a chef!