Yin and Yang in Luang Prabang

Francis and I appear to be alternating sick days. He's laid up today with the stomach bug that seems to plague Westerners in SE Asia. So, it was my turn to troll the streets with the camera. I'm adjusting to the heat - with the aid of my brelly and an ice coffee from time to time. I also found my first aircon internet cafe, so I expect to be parked here for a bit.

Today I strolled along the Mekong. Too shy to take any photos of the curiosities - several games of boccie ball, vegetable vendors dressed in traditional garb, and children playing games with tin cans and old shoes. It seems to be rude to take photos of the locals. However, Francis and I have found ourselves to be the subjects of many a photo op for the locals. (They try to be sneaky, but there's no question about what they're doing with their camera phones pointed directly at us and the giggling) The Thai tourists seem especially fond of having their picture taken with pasty Westerners. They always ask first. However, we've decided to start charging 10,000 kip per shot (about a dollar). Hey, it's what the lady-boys do in Thailand. I learned that the hard way.

It's so different here and yet so much the same. The Laos love TV, and it's incessantly on in every restaurant and hotel lobby. Their favorite shows appear to be Thai soap operas or morality plays based on traditional tales. The morality plays are my favorite. The actors are dressed in 15th Century garb, but you can always see their jeans and faux rolex watches peeking out from under their costumes.

Luang Prabang is an early to be early to rise town, so we've had to roll with that. The bandsaws kick in about 8 am with a lunch break around noon, so we're learning to plan sleep times around the construction schedules. Although we've bee told repeatedly that the Laos find it foolish to work too hard, those construction guys sure put in a good long day.

The kids continue to come out at night - all with the same tchotchkes and the same lines. "Madame, you are so beautiful. I love your hair." After about the third rejection they'll lean in and whisper "Coca cola." My response is that it is far too late at night for that much sugar and caffeine. However, I'd be happy to buy them a container of milk. For some reason they never want it. I am hoping to run into a little lad named "I" again. He had the best game. Fake tears and all. He'll certainly break me down before the week is out.