Laos House

Russell and I took a trip to Pakse this weekend to look for housing. We knew of only one option before we got there, but were hoping to ask around, as best as we could, to see if there was anything else available. Housing and rental property is strictly by word of mouth, so it was a long shot. We asked around, but nothing else was available.

The one house we looked at was very clean and in a great location. It’s within walking distance to a night market, a bus station that takes you to Thailand, and a main, paved road. We got to meet with the landlords on Sunday afternoon. They don’t speak any English but were excited that we were in town and eager to meet us. They agreed to purchase a mattress for us, paint the entire inside of the house, and put up new light fixtures. Funny, when we were discussing paint options, the landlord went and got paint samples out of his truck. We picked it out right on the spot! Then about five minutes later, the painter showed up! It was hilarious.

The house has two bedrooms, one bath, a good size kitchen, and a common area, for a living room and dining room. It’s probably a little less than 1000 square feet, but it’s definitely big enough for the two of us. I can’t wait to get there to make it homey and cute.

It doesn’t have a yard--only a concrete courtyard. Russell is sad that he can’t grow a vegetable garden. Luckily, there happens to be a night market where you can get all the vegetables you can think of, well, almost.

The house isn’t completely furnished. It is only furnished with the beds and mattress, refrigerator and television, and wooden furniture for the living room. We’ll have to look for storage of some sorts. There are no closets in Southeast Asia, only wardrobes and the house has absolutely no storage. There is no storage in the kitchen, either, or plates or cups for storing. There will be a lot that we’ll have to purchase when we get there to make it livable.

We hope to move in in about 4-5 weeks. We will be in Vientiane for language study until then. We are so ready to be in one place and not living out of a suitcase! These are some before pictures of the house. After it is painted and homey, I’ll post some more.

Until then....

Bethany