When a small village in rural Laos, reachable only by boat, becomes a backpacker destination the influx of tourists profoundly alters the village. The emerging market challenges the population and divides two childhood friends who compete for business.

Banana Pancakes and the Children of Sticky Rice is a complex East-meets-West story that is as rich as it is confrontational. While the backpackers visit the remote village in search of an authentic traditional experience, the inhabitants of the village seek the income and other amenities the west has to offer. The two worlds meet at the crossroads of their opposite desires; the one longing for authenticity, the other for modernity