After a sleepless night in the hotel from hell complete with constant airplane noise and a never ending supply of mosquitoes, I went back to the airport to wait for my flight to Laos. ROUND TWO!
The first thing I did was get some more cash and then some food. After last nights uneatable meal, I was famished and luckily the food at the airport cafe was fast and delicious. I woofed down a salad sandwich and slurped down two coffees in record time and skipped off to find somewhere with internet.
I checked in at 2:30pm and after getting come U.S. dollars I went through immigration and found my boarding gate.
Noibai airport as I've said before, is tiny and there are only a hand full of airlines that work from there. Vietnam Airlines is the biggest, then China Southern, then Jetstar Pacific and then Laos Airlines. (If you book with a bigger airline they will out source to one of these smaller carriers.) I went with Laos Airlines.
I'm not entirely sure what I expected when I booked my ticket through the cheapest airline I could find, but I was at least expecting an airplane that didn't look like it was part of a plastic Macarno kit. There's something unnerving about being on an airplane that's so old it still has ashtrays in the arm rests!
I must have looked nervous as we began out accent because the middle aged American woman next to me asked if I was alright. "I like my airplanes to be younger than I am." I said, pointing to the arm rest ashtray. She laughed and patted my hand reassuringly. "Don't worry. These planes might make a lot of noise, but they're perfectly safe."
As it turned out, she was right. The plane journey was one of the smoothest I've had since beginning my trip. We were confronted with very little turbulence and the plane took off and landed so quickly it was as if we had never left the ground. I was quite pleased that my concerns were unnecessary and as we made our quick decent to Vientiane Airport, I looked out the window in awe at the amazing countryside. We glided over mountains ranges, rivers and lush jungle. I don't think I'd seen so many trees on flat ground since leaving Australia. In China and Vietnam every available part of non-mountainous terrain is used for farming. Here they seem to have a healthy mixture of both.
An hour and a half a go I had left a smoggy, rainy day in Hanoi and now I was in Vientiane on a sunny, clear afternoon. As I stepped off the trusty little plane that I now looked upon favorablly if only because it had stayed in the air, I took a deep breath and looked around. The air was sweet and I could see for over a kilometer in every direction. I was amazed - NO POLLUTION! Well everywhere has SOME pollution but this seems to be a city with the least amount of pollution I've seen in Asia so far. I'm happy to get out of the unbreathable, eye stinging air of Hanoi.
I breezed through visa application and immigration and then strolled right through the airports non-existent customs. After buying a taxi ticket (USD6 for the 10min drive into town), I was greeted by the jolliest taxi driver in the world. He immediately grabbed by bag and said happily, "Hello!! Welcome! Follow me madam! I will bring the taxi to the front." My experience with taxi drivers in both China and Vietnam are poor to say the least so I was pleased to have such a seemingly genuine one. We chatted for a while and he gave me some pointers on clean hostels and places to buy bus tickets.
After the shortest ride from airport to town center I think I've ever experienced, I stepped straight out of the taxi and into my hostel. After checking price and room conditions my bag was snatched up yet again, this time by the smiley reception man. "I take your bag for you miss! Follow me please." I couldn't believe the difference here to Hanoi. It's not that the people in Hanoi aren't friendly, it's just that they don't seem HAPPY. (But to be fair I'm never happy at work either, so who can blame them!) Mr. Smiley carried my bag up three flights of stairs and then bounded off happily as I shouted out a very sincere thank you after him.
In keeping with the 70's style airplane I arrived in, everything in my room seems to be made out of the popular 70's furniture material, wicker. Wicker bed, wicker chairs, wicker cupboard, wicker writing desk, wicker T.V stand, wicker coffee table....I've never seen so much wicker in all my life. Thankfully enough though, the doors seem to be made out of a more solid material.
My first impressions of Vientiane are very good. The streets are quiet and clean, the people are friendly and everything is within walking distance.
Sadly, I've already booked my trip to Vang Vieng, leaving tomorrow morning by bus. (It's about three hours.) I wish I was staying here longer, but being that New Years in only three days away I think it's best to meet up with Lyb and Graeme again so we can be together to celebrate the beginning of what is sure to be a wonderful year. :)
