8.2.14

Laos Journal - The Most Efficient Airport in the World

We recently spent two weeks travelling in Laos. One of the most amazing features of the trip was our arrival at the Wattay International Airport (shown below) in Vientiane which, on first appearances, appeared to be the most efficient airport in the world.


Wattay International Airport


To get to Laos from Taipei we had to fly via Bangkok. We were flying Thai airways so everything was smooth. Because of the tight turnaround time in Bangkok we had two ladies escort us to the boarding gate for the Vientiane flight: one lady walked behind and the other in front of us to make sure we stayed on track and didn't get distracted by duty free shopping. We arrived at the gate for our flight to Vientiane and once again had a smooth one hour flight to Vientiane.


Our Transfer in BKK Airport

Once in the Wattay International Airport we had to apply for our visa, pay for our visa, collect our visa, go through immigration, collect our bags, find a taxi, get to the hotel, check in and finally settle down for the day. Well, to cut the long story short our flight landed at 12:50 pm and we were checked into our hotel (Sentgawan Riverside Hotel) and in our room in the middle of Vientiane by 1:20 pm. Only an incredibly efficient airport can manage that. Granted, the airport is small and not busy, but still to be able to do all that in half-an-hour blew us away.


Queenie Outside the Airport

Based on our solitary experience in this airport, we were impressed (the domestic side is another story). We really do think the SOP in this airport is quite remarkable.

We do hope to share more of our stories from Laos here from time to time because, apart from the airport, we had an AMAZING time. Laos is a truly amazing country to visit. Despite the many challenges we faced with health and electronic equipment failure, we had a brilliant time and met many amazing new friends.

And as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.





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