Leaving Vang Vieng.
Novices riding their bikes.
A streak of bright orange, contrasted against the green fields and mountains.
Two young girls.
They could be sisters, or friends.
Walking along the road sharing a moment.
Their arms wrapped around each other.
Cows aimlessly plodding.
The bells around their necks make a melody,
of sorts.
Women and children walk in pairs, carrying baskets to and from home.
The baskets are handwoven and sit on their backs, dangling from straps that run across their foreheads,
like headbands.
They make it look effortless.
A young woman washing her clothes.
Outside.
Next to a mountain.
From a bucket,
and under a tap.
Men squat on the ground making cement.
One man holding each side of a giant sieve, sifting the sand, as houses are slowly erected and buildings repaired.
Everything done carefully, meticulously. By hand.
Workers in their cotton shirts, and their floppy hats drive by on mopeds.
Turn the corner and a man stands alone in the rain.
Watching out over the fields from the road, under a blue umbrella.
Smiling.
Beautifully constructed houses, precariously perched on mountain sides.
Straw, bamboo, wood and cement.
With chickens, goats, cows and pigs all roaming free.
A child walks along the dirt road.
She has a bottle in each hand.
Water for her family, collected from the nearest waterfall.
Mountains line the roads,
disappearing into the clouds.
Meanwhile,
the Mekong casually floats alongside their lives.
A quiet observer, often going unnoticed.
Wow Tess. Wonderful observations and pics. Blizzard on the way here. Bizarre cos it feels like spring today, mild, and there's blossom too, but apparently we're in for snow down to sea level, and sleet and wind in the next few days, and it's 6 o'clock and still light. Good times.
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