I’ve noticed that rural areas are kid areas. I think it has something to do with a lack of vehicular traffic and the atmosphere in a small community. Hampi was the first small place where we saw a ton of kids everywhere. Joylani theorized that since cars weren’t allowed in town, parents let their kids roam freely. This was also the case in the villages we trekked through in Nepal. There was no danger from vehicles, plus there’s a lot more trust in a small community. So toddlers would be walking around alone or in pairs, or sometimes, you’d see a whole pack of little ones. Nong Khiaw is also a kids village.

This morning after breakfast, Joylani and I took a walk to some nearby caves. It was about a 20 minute walk east of town, along the main highway (in Lao, that can be read as: a paved road with a motorcycle or bicycle every few minutes). It was a nice walk; scenic and quiet. As we walked, we overtook two little girls walking by themselves. The bigger one had her arm around the other and they sang a popular Thai pop song over and over, as well as giggled as they walked. As we turned off the road towards the caves, they turned too. Then a little boy started walking with us too, saying “Saaba di!” We climbed a few stories of stairs to get to the cave which was pretty high in the cliff side. Inside, there were a ton of kids, all around 10 or younger. The funny thing was that there weren’t any adults, just dozens of kids. We explored the massive cavern a little bit, but not too much as we didn’t have a light. It was actually a hiding place for the Pathot Lao (Lao Communists), before they came to power in 1975. Then we came down from the cave and walked with the horde to another nearby cave. This one was a super narrow tunnel winding deep into the cliff. Joylani started to go in and then turned around, which left me at the mercy of these little kids and their lights. They screamed and laughed all the way down until the end of the tunnel cave. It was really fun, but kind of scary because it was pitch black around every turn. A couple of them asked for money afterwards, but most of them just kept running through the jungle after we turned to go back to town.

girls on the highway

cave

This afternoon, I went fishing with the son of our guesthouse owners. Last night, he had us sign in, asked our names, said nice to meet you, and then, “Hey you want to come fishing with me tomorrow?” So today, he and I walked a few minutes down the road, then through some fields to a tributary of the Nam Ou river. We were fishing with throw nets, just circular ones with chain links attached all around the border. He gave me a quick tutorial on how to hold it and throw it, before we waded in the cold water and started throwing. We would throw, then walk over to it, pull it in, then walk upriver and repeat. We were fishing for little fish, just 3-5cm, as that’s all that was in these waters. We fished for about an hour and a half. He caught about 10 or 12 and I caught zilch. This and my Maldivian fishing trip has really discouraged me from fishing- I’m no good. This time, I blame it on my casting. Even with his perfect casting, he only caught a fish every 3-4 throws. Needless to say, my net did not hit the water in a perfect circle everytime; more like once every 5 times. Eventually we went back to the village and he cooked up the dozen small fish, which we ate whole with rice and papaya salad. It was a fun day with the kids.

this is a really rustic massage place (see sign)