I'd like you to create an image in your mind. You're walking the streets of Savannakhet, Laos, in the early evening. It's a very peaceful, quiet town where not much happens. It's dark and it's warm, about 26C (80F). Not much traffic, just the occasional scooter. The sidewalk's not too bad, but you do have to keep your eye open for the occasional open sewage hole. Most of the buildings you pass are shophouses, places that by day sell a little something out front - often looking like a really tiny street-side rendition of 7 Eleven, with a few bags of chips, a few drinks, and some snacks you don't recognize. Now most of them have gone back to being just houses, but you can usually see in because most people leave the front garage-style roll-up door wide open for air. You can see in to the living room, which is often also the dining room, so you're looking at people sitting on the floor eating, or maybe you see what's on TV (usually something from Thailand). Occasionally there's a scooter parked in the living room. A familiar song hits your ears - it's Eminem! As you pass you see a couple middle-aged Lao women peering out at you and a couple young children playing by the stereo. There doesn't seem to be a teenager in charge of the music. And the lyrics flow: "Fuck that / Come on your lips and some on your tits, / And get ready 'cuz this shit's about to get heavy." Walk away suppressing hysterical laughter as you realize that not only is it the original, unsanitized version, they have no idea what it means ...

Number 753 in a series of incongruous moments in southeast Asia.