Arriving at the domestic terminal at Wattay airport at 6.00 am on Sunday morning for our flight to Pakse we were surprised by a heavy shower of rain but it had passed by before we had to walk to the aircraft. It did make for a bumpy flight - on a Chinese MA-60 which was clearly designed for short people. It was impossible for me to stand in the aisle without bumping my head and the doors on the overhead lockers were lethal. Lao Airlines inflight service - hot drink and snack box - was a bit limited but having been too early for breakfast we both managed to finish the sausage roll with chilli sauce and the iced cake that went with it! A flight time of one hour 15 mins was definitely more preferable than a 10 hr bus journey - think we are way past that sort of travelling now.
Our booking at the Pakse hotel had included transfer from the airport and when we arrived to find no-one waiting for us, we spurned the advances of the many taxi drivers and called the hotel to be told that the driver was on his way. After 25 minutes - all the taxis having now departed - we called again and were assured by the French manager that his driver would be with us in 5 minutes. After a further 20 mins - still trying to maintain the lao attitude on 'boh peng nyang' (loosely translates as no problem / never mind) - I called again and after a lengthy discussion finally spoke to the manager again to learn that he had misread our booking message and had arranged a car to pick us up at the airport at Ubon Ratchatani - 3 hours away in Thailand. This time the Driver did arrive in the promised 5 minutes and we reached the hotel 2 hours after landing.
Having got off to a bad start, his offhand apology and the shabby state of the rooms did little to improve the situation - Linda took advantage of the free wifi to post a frank review on Trip advisor!
Coffee and pastries at the Sinouk Cafe around the corner put us in a better mood - owned by one of the largest Lao coffer producers and a great place to stop.
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