Once the rainy season is over, weekly walks with other expats can start again. The route can vary, but recently we had two weeks in a row where we trekked the same route: more than 6 miles through villages, farms, and marshes. Every walk is slightly different with inevitable unexpected detours and various interactions with locals. For instance, at one point we were trying to find a way around a muddy area when we noticed a man driving a cow-pulled cart coming our way. We asked if we could get a ride and he seemed happy to accommodate (although the woman in the cart was not as happy about it). However, as soon as we got to the muddy area that we were trying to avoid, he turned his cart a different direction to a neighboring field and then stopped. Our cart ride was maybe five minutes long before he had reached his destination; we had to back-track to where we had started, suck it up, and walk through the mud. Sometimes people working outside will ask us to come inside for tea--we always politely decline. We passed several chicken farms, and once explored a pig farm. There were people outside, so we asked if we could look around and, while watching where we stepped, they gave us a short tour of their pigs. Mostly, we enjoy just being away from the bustle outside of the city.
