A Quiet Month

Sunday 7th June

We're well into low season now. Many of our usual cafes and bars have closed down - some permanently, others to allow owners some holiday, some because they've changed hands. Still, there are enough places to keep us entertained, fed and watered and the town is peaceful with far fewer tourists.

Damian and Da have gone to Europe for 3 months, Josephine and Simon leave for Switzerland next week for a month and Simon and Nar are off to Canada soon. Brent disappeared to California, Denis returned to Canada, Phi went back to France and Tall Paul headed south. Faces change. Some will return.

It's been very hot recently so when the sudden rainstorms arrive - which they do every few days - they are very welcome.

From our viewpoint we can see the rain moving along the Mekong Valley. There's no transitional phase between bright sunshine and downpour so we have to keep an eye on our washing

I allowed a caterpillar to stay on my small citrus plant and was lucky enough to see the butterfly when it had just emerged. Common Mormon Swallowtail

Trevann's birthday happily coincided with the annual Crossroads music festival. Great gig with stunning visuals created by Simon and FFGS. His (AI-aided) video of Laos in a snowstorm with snow-covered buffalo was inspired

A new Bailey bridge is being built in the village to replace a ford across the stream

Some of the buildings in town are showing their age. I guess that wooden buildings built in the first half of the 20th century are reaching their end of life. Sadly, this one will soon be gone too