Mar 15, 2025
So it was goodbye to Laos. We enjoyed our time and we’re glad we came, but I’m not sure I’ll fly around the world to come again. Vientiane was lovely, cosmopolitan and enjoyable. Luang Prabang had lots of lovely things to see, was full of culture and certainly worth a look if you’re in the country. Vang Vieng is the backpacker party capital of the country. Not quite our cup of tea. Put it this way, if you’re at the stage of life where your kids are into adventure backpacking, then you’re probably not going to want to go there. At the end of the day it’s the kind of country that’s well worth a visit if you happen to be in Thailand or Vietnam but probably not worth flying all the way from Australia just to see.
We were shuttled to the airport very early in the morning and were all the way through the formalities in less than half an hour. The beauty of a small airport. We flew Air Asia back to Manila with a stop over in Bangkok which seems to be the hub for all these regional country services. Air Asia is a low cost airline, and has lots of its own quirks. For example, amongst the safety briefing was the earnest entreaty to not remove the seatbelt from the aircraft as it is an offence under the Thai Air Act. During the flight they proudly announced a special on happy fried panda shopping bags, but only for this month.
Arrived ahead of schedule at the old Bangkok International Airport which seems to be basically kept alive by Air Asia. Noticed as we taxied towards the terminal that there is a golf course between the two runways with lots of golfers playing on blissfully. We just hoped that they were using plastic putters. Our plane was decked out in the livery of the Leicester City football club, and after us it was on its way to Phuket so presumably the football team gets around a bit.
At the airport, as a Hong Kong flight was boarding, they announced that if you were taking the whole fried chicken or the whole fried duck on board, you would need special customs documentation. Mind you they were full birds, cooked, complete with necks, and we had already wondered how you were going to get them anywhere.
The flight to Manila was uneventful, at least until we arrived. Having circled for 15 minutes over the bay, we taxied to the gate then idled for 20 minutes with people standing in the aisles. Eventually the pilot admitted that they were trying to find the power truck that belonged to the gate, and until that happened he couldn’t turn the engines off and they couldn’t connect the aerobridge to let us off.
It really must be a cut price airline. Whilst standing in the aisle waiting for the power to be connected we were treated to the dulcet tones of a Tammy Wynette impersonator singing ‘Stand By Your Man”. Yes, we are in Manila. Eventually power appeared and we got off the plane some 30 minutes late. Went to claim our baggage but it was delivered one truck at a time and took forever. Finally getting through customs and immigration we emerged at the rideshare exit and started looking for our prepaid pick up driver. Turned out that he was standing inside amongst the banks where you’d never look for him, and we hadn’t been told where he was, so a running exchange of texts occurred with the booking office before he finally appeared and claimed us.
We then walked back into the building, up the lift and along to a parking station, where he thought he left the car but obviously hadn’t. Leaving us on the side of the road with our luggage, he went off to try and find the car. Wrong level. Sometime later a smiling driver emerged, we piled in and headed to the exit only to be stopped by security who told him that he was going out an illegal exit without paying. Again we got left inside the car while he went to find a ticket machine and then the person to give the ticket to. Finally got underway and he announced that he would pay the toll and I could reimburse him later, until I reminded him that it was prepaid and I had no Filipino money. So it turned out to be a rather slow trip, but our driver wasn’t phased – singing along to hits of the 70s as he drove.
A no-frills basic but very modern hotel close to the bus station we need tomorrow. Wandered down to the local mall for a bite to eat.
Red Planet Cubao
Red Planet Cubao Aurora Boulevard