April 22, 2010 - Sannavankhet, Laos

April 22, 2010 - Savannakhet - I finally learned how to spell it - maybe.

This morning I was walking around town, and this woman with a bicycle came up to and started talking and pointing at the sidewalk.

I was walking in the street when she was pointing at my feet, and the sidewalk all I could think of "oh no, not a sidewalk policeman - this
early!"

I moved to the sidewalk - smiling and being obedient - saw no sense in arguing - since I was in the street!

But once I was on the sidewalk - she became more persistent about pointing at my feet.

By now there are 4 or 5 of these women on bikes hovering around me.

Then she reaches down and
touches my TOE, and points to her basket.

She is a TOENAIL person - a pedicurist I guess!! Realizing this I said, "NO - NO!", and waved
her off, and smiling - started my walk again.

The whole crowd of them followed! And as you
can see - barely - by the picture, I got a pedicure there on the street!

The picture doesn't get everyone in, but it was taken by one of the girls (the one trying to give me a
back massage), and I don't think she had ever held a camera before.

It was fun, cost $1.20, and my ole toenails are sure cleaner and neater looking.

I hope I can find one before I get on the plane to the US. Wearing sandals and flip flops here does
wonders to the destruction of foot skin and toenails.

I rented a TUT TUT this morning and went for drive out to some "jungly" areas.

I met some leaf pickers, and tasted there pickings. Then I spit for the next 30 minutes when no one was looking!

Came across some really really big trees. Some of them had holes cut in them and then a fire had been build in the cavity for little while . Now the trees produce a fluid that burns -
like lighter fluid. Used in the old days for torches.

Went through a little country town, not much of anything there. I got a picture of the street and the local grocery store.

Then of course, any time in this country you go touring, you're gonna visit a Buddhist Temple. This one is over 500 years old - but not much more older.

Yet the story for this place is it has some of Budda's actual bones buried here! ... yea ... sure.

At the big "Stupa" - the main place, there was a short fence with a gate - and, yes, Ladies you are NOT ALLOWED to enter past this little 2 foot fence, into this area about 10 feet by 10 feet. Sorry.

Not much else on the trip of eventful remembering.

I got back to town early afternoon, and immediately set out to find lunch.

I tried to talk myself into some noodle soup, it was all I could find, but I kept going and found a little
restaurant that had a name. -- "a good sign for something besides noodles."

They did have a menu. The second place in town that I've found that has one.

I ordered a tuna sandwich and french fries. I didn't say it was a broad menu, or a varied menu.
They also had a decent ketchup!

I'm going back there for dinner tonite!!

The sun remains to be terribly hot. No clouds. But in the shade the temperature is okay -

HOT - but okay.

All for today.