Ban Na
From Muang Ngoi we spent a day trekking out to some very remote villages, through rice paddies set amidst jungle-clad mountain valleys, stopping at several caves and waterfalls en route - it was great. We stopped at several villages, two of which are called Ban Na - where we were generally met by crowds of curious children. Apparently the adults are out working in the rice fields during the day, so our presence was a great source of entertainment.
In the background you can see me playing soccer with the kids - they set up a couple of sticks and made it clear that this was the goal I was supposed to defend. Only after I let a few balls past me did I realize they were all keeping score -- "saam!", "sii!" ("three!", "four!") -- though it was unclear how my "team" was supposed to score at all since they didn't let me get more than about five feet from the goal. Needless to say the kids won.