There is the only lively crossroads in Xepon Town, the one by the only town market. This is where I sometimes go in the late afternoon to hang out for a while with a photo camera.
The recently paved street crosses the highway, that's where the town's heart. The market is on the left
Every vendor and shop assistant knows me there because it looks like I am the first farang who has stayed in Xepon for so long, almost a month.
Standing at this crossroads, I feel watched although I am sure nobody thinks truly bad things about me (why?).
I would prefer being less conspicuous but the town has the only street photography spot where I also buy fruits and buns, so they see me a couple of times daily not counting late-afternoon photography sessions.
Fruit vendors are below the awnings. The yellow shop sign is a bakery that I visit every morning
Why don't I leave? I feel comfortable here. No awful Vietnamese traffic here. The hotel staff didn't bother me, nobody shows an interest in how long I am in the room and how often I go out, what my plans are, why I am in Xepon for so long.
Night section of the market with a tiny bus station behind
I eat well, sleep well, everything is well.
Stir-fried pork with holy basil, 1.4$
I needed this month of peace and Lao-Thai food. On September 10 or so, I will return to Vietnam, and more adventures will follow.
So let me share shots of life at the crossroads and adjacent market quarter.
Girls are selling lottery tickets to those who want to try their luck to become a billionaire. One billion Laotian kips are about 45.000 US dollars, not bad at all.
Asian street lottery sellers have always been a mystery to me. In Thailand, it's like a tiny official business for those who have not enough money to start anything else; in Vietnam, it seems to be a decent way to beg passersby for money... Why do these Laotian girls from not the poorest families do this? Maybe this is a way for young people to earn pocket money when there are no other jobs? I don't know. I doubt they sell more than one ticket per evening.
You can see in these eyes how cool I am π What do I mean? I am a classical farang. π I have a prominent nose, my face is thickly covered with stubble, and my skin looks like someone dumped a bag of flour on me. π Thus, I resemble Harry Potter, David Beckham, George Washington, Albert Einstein, and all the other funny farangs from TV and Youtube. π
Yes, the locals are not spoiled by the attention of foreigners yet; you are a star here just because you are from a faraway country.
(And sometimes you pay more just because you are from a faraway country π).
These girls were passing by me, and I noticed a sparkle of curiosity in their eyes... Someone could say it's easier to photograph with consent but that's not quite correct: they start posing in a random way while you have only several seconds to shoot the first fleeting excitement and embarrassment.
Passing trucks are a significant part of the crossroads' life:
They are the main reason for numerous restaurants and a dozen guesthouses in the town.
As well as the only reason for careful driving a motorbike in Xepon Town.
Besides men, women, and all sorts of kids, there is another type of townsfolk:
A certain number of freely walking dogs at the main crossroads. Good dogs, they behave not differently from people.
Whether this is a delivery dog π or just a happy four-legged mom who has found a plastic bag with meal leftovers, I don't know.
Less-lucky fellows. I found this cage at the crossroads by a repair shop. I guess that was a meeting point for someone who was going to take these dogs away. It's either a stray-animal-control guy or a person working for a Vietnamese restaurant...
At last, the main crossroads is a striking spot for sunset photography:
The highway in Xepon stretches right from east to west, what a photo opportunity!
More stories from Southeast Asia are ahead! Check out my previous posts on my personal Travelfeed or Worldmappin map.
I took these images with a Nikkor 50mm (the afternoon shots) / Nikkor 70-300mm (the sunset) on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 on August 28 (sunset) and September 4-5, 2024, in Xepon, Laos.
Didn't know that this KAMAZ trucks are imported even to this country too π€
They have some, I saw a couple of dead rusty ZILs as well. USSR had the largest influence here once. But this is the past nowadays. The present is China that is entering the country with its big money.
Although Laotians remember the good old days when thousands of them studied in the USSR and had scholarships from Soviet government as large as a salary of the Soviet worker.
Everything was going well until that ending with the caged dogs, it broke my heart :(
:( yes, it is a sad side of local life. They should sterile dogs instead. Too many dogs in a city is awful, people, travelers and truck drivers, won't stop in Xepon if the town doesn't control the dog population.
I don't know for sure but if they wanted to just kill these caged dogs, they would do it on the spot. So I guess these dogs are supposed for Vietnam - Laotians and Thais don't eat dogs, but there is demand for dog meat in Vietnam.
Yes π©, I have read that in several regions of Asia they eat or used to eat dogs, because in some countries they have banned it, but as it is something cultural it's not so easy to disappear.
I wish as you say, there was a policy to sterilize them, they are not to blame for anything.
Good morning. Good content.
Good morning! Thank you for this feedback. :-)
I loved how you captured the life in the community, but I feel sad about the dogs in the cage
Yes, sad, but they can't afford sterilization in such a poor country as Laos. :(
Thank you!
That's why, but I hope they find an alternative way to this one.
Congratulations @x-rain! You received the biggest smile and some love from TravelFeed! Keep up the amazing blog. π Your post was also chosen as top pick of the day and is now featured on the TravelFeed front page.
Thanks for using TravelFeed!
@for91days (TravelFeed team)
PS: Did you know that we have our own Hive frontend at TravelFeed.com? For your next travel post, log in to TravelFeed with Hive Keychain or Hivesigner and take advantage of our exclusive features for travel bloggers.
Thank you! :-)
Congratulations, your post has been added to the TravelFeed Map! ππ₯³π΄
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
- Go to TravelFeed Map
- Click the create pin button
- Drag the marker to where your post should be. Zoom in if needed or use the search bar (top right).
- Copy and paste the generated code in your post (any Hive frontend)
- Or login with Hive Keychain or Hivesigner and click "create post" to post to Hive directly from TravelFeed
- Congrats, your post is now on the map!
PS: You can import your previous Pinmapple posts to the TravelFeed map.Opt Out
Congratulations, your post has been added to WorldMapPin! π
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Congratulations @x-rain! Your post has been a top performer on the Hive blockchain and you have been rewarded with this rare badge
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out our last posts: