Sunday 4 th of January 2015 they called to wake me up at 6 o'clock. I was soon asleep again and I woke up 20 minutes past 8. I went to have an excellent breakfast. I booked a car to pick me up at 12 o'clock for the airport. Lao Airlines flight QC 205 to Pakse will depart at 14:40.
I have no cash and I went to look for an ATM, I tried 2 and I could not get money at any of the two.
- What the
I bought two cans of diet drinks and I went back to my hotel to check my bank. I was worried that someone had skimmed my account or whatever they call it. No there was money and I checked the
exchange rate. Maybe 1 Swedish Scooby Doo Dollar had turned in to nothing. But everything
is normal. I will try again, or I have 14,000 Baht in my valet.I went to check out and none of my vards were working. The wrote down the number and they told me that they would deduct the mony later on, so they are obviously used the the problems.
My car came and it took us about 10 minutes to get to the Domestic Terminal. Looked a wee bit runned down, but I will survive the 2 and a half hours of waiting,
hopefully.
I went to Lao Airlines check-in and I was told to come back in 15 minutes. I asked how long the flight was.
- 1 Hour?
- No, 2 hours
- 2 Hours??!!- Yes, this flight will stop in Savannakhet
This was foocking good news, Lao Airlines flight QV 205 are flying via Savannakhet to Pakse. And I
will have to spend a lot of extra time in the what I suppose is a very small chair.I walked around while waiting for the check-in to open. I had covered the whole domestic terminal in less than 2 minutes and from there on it went boring.
I went in to the check-in and as soon as the guy was back behind his desk I went to check-in. Aisle seat, 52 passengers on 70 seats available. I asked if he could please block the seat next to me and this was no problem. Always very good service at Lao Airlines and if I ever come back to Laos I will fly with
them again.By now I had about 2 hours to wait before the deaprture of flight QV 205 and I went to the second floor as I heard they had restaurants and WIFI.
The restaurants was something you would expect to find at the night market. But they had tables and I
bought a Minute Maid.And as I don't want to be like the people hanging around at the Scandinavian Bakery. Sitting with a cup of coffee and a glass of water for hours to use the free WIFI. Yes, this is not me and I asked for a second bottle of Minute Maid.
I updated my web page, and time turned pretty quick and it was soon time to proceed to the gate. They ask us to be at the gate 60 minutes before departure. Well, I prefere to sit down instead of
standing at the gate to wait. And it is always waiting at the gate, except in Tokyo when flying with ANA. Boarding time on the ticket is the boarding time. Boarding time for flight QV205 to Pakse is set to 14:10.And I'm sure that we will have to walk to the flight, well, will give me the opportunity to take some pictures while walking across the turmac. And we can't get enough of exciting pictures on www.aladdin.st But I hope
that I will take less pictures in Pakse and the Vat Phou Cruise than I have been doing so far on this trip.
Plane arriving to Vientiane domestic airport
Boarding fligt QV107 to Luang Prabang
We arrive to the plane with the bus
Boarding flight QV205
Boarding flight QV205
Boarding flight QV205
Boarding flight QV205
Boarding flight QV205
Boarding flight QV205
I left the “restaurant area” around 2 o'clock just as one flight arrived so I had to stop to take a picture. I passed the security check and I was in the departure hall. They were soon starting to board flight QV107 to Luang Prabang. I was in the coffee shop talking with a guy from Austria
when we heard them call. It was boarding time for flight QV 205 to Pakse.But when we came out from the coffee shop we discovered that it was the call for QV107. As soon as they completed the boarding for QV107 we started to board. And I was surprised to see that they brought a bus for us as I had expected to walk to the plane.
We boarded and I was very happy that the guy in the check-in had blocked the seat next to me. I
was sitting quite comfortably and surprisingly enough there was no need to ask for an extension.They brought a wet towel and I said no thanks. They brought a paper box with food and I said no thanks. I can survive a few minutes in a plane without the snack.
I never understood why they have to bring out the food cart for a flight lasting less than an hour, or even two or three hours. It is like people have to eat just because
they are sitting on a plane. And the flight Attendants always look at me strangely when I say no thanks.They are not used to people saying no thanks to free stuff.
I had a pleasant flight and we were soon descending to Savannakhet. They had told me that we would stop for 20 minutes before we would continue to Pakse. I was very surprised to discover that we had to get off the plane in Savannakhet
I was not so happy to get out of the plane, but I guess that the stop would take longer than 20 minutes. I asked the flight Attendant why we had to leave the plane and she told me that they were going to clean the plane. So it will most likely be more than 20 minutes.
Stop at Savannakhet Airport
Stop at Savannakhet Airport
Stop at Savannakhet Airport
Departure hall at Savannakhet Airport
Boarding flight QV205 again at Savannakhet Airport
Boarding flight QV205 again at Savannakhet Airport
Boarding flight QV205 again at Savannakhet Airport
Boarding flight QV205 again at Savannakhet Airport
Safety instruction
We boarded flight QV205 again and it was the normal rumpus boarding the plane. People didn't found their seats and I also experienced something new. I don't know how many flight I have been on, but today as the first time I had a passenger asking me if the seat was free next to me.
A guy pointed at the seat next to me and asked if someone was sitting there
- I don't know, what’s your seat number?
- ??????
He was soon back and he took the seat next to me. He was living in Savannakhet and was going to
Pakse. We talked about Laos and I told him that I have had the time of my life.Not as good as in Africa, but it had been very nice. OK, the hangover in the terrible bungalow in Vang Vieng was nothing I care to experience again.
We were soon taking off even though they have had passengers
wanting to change seats etc. It is a foocking 30 minutes flight, do you really need to sit next to your wife/ husband you have been married to for hundred years? Should be glad to be separated for 30 minutes form your wife/ husband that grows
uglier by the day.
Where is my wife/ husband? We need to sit together on this short flight. Never mind if we spend more time moving people around the plane before take-off than the duration of the flight.I understand if you fly with children under the age of 12. But a couple that have been married for 40 years, no, they can be separated by 3 seats for a few minutes.
I spent the flight chatting with my new friend and it was soon time to land in Pakse. I was soon out of the plane and we walked to the luggage claim area where we had to wait for quite a while for the luggage to arrive. I went straight to the taxi desk when I had got my luggage. 80000 KIP or 300 Baht to take a taxi to Champasak Grand Hotel. We were soon on our way to the hotel.
Arrival to Pakse
Arrival to Pakse
Arrival to Pakse
Luggage claim area at Pakse Airport
Luggage claim area at Pakse Airport
I was hungry and my driver told me that the Champasak Grand Hotel was the best hotel in Pakse. Well, we passed through Pakse and to be the best hotel in this area didn't required much. But when we arrived to the hotel I was impressed, it was a big building and it looked very nice.
The reception was huge but I had to wait for a while to check in as there were only one form the hotel staff attending the reception. Maybe they should take some of the guys at the entrance, rolling around our luggage on big luggage carts.
Well, anyway, I was happy about the hotel, so far. I went to the restaurant before I went to my
room. It was a big restaurant that looked nice. I asked if they had bread.- Yes
- Fresh bread?
- Yes, it is fresh bread
- Do you have baguettes?
He pointed at a Christmas tree and he told me they had that kind of bread. I looked at the Christmas tree. It was full, no, the tree was made of bread.
Baguettes and all kind of nice breads and I
started to drool. I asked for bread and a pot of tea.I was delirious with anticipation when I looked
in the menu. Fresh bread and a pot of tea was on the way and I was going to order something really good from the menu. Instant disappointment, almost the whole menu was drinks. No food that I would like to eat and I asked if they had the chicken in green curry.The waiter went to the kitchen to ask if they had the green curry. He was soon back and he told me they had the green curry. So I asked for a plate of green curry.
One waitress passed us with a tray full of pastries. I sprung out of my chair and ran after the Waitress and I asked what it was.
It was Apple Strudels and I asked if they had custard with the Apple Strudels.
- Yes, we have
- Can I please have an Apple strudel with the biggest bowl of custard available?
I got my Apple Strudels, before I got my tea or curry. I asked if it was normal to eat the dessert before the main course at the hotel. The Waiter looked puzzled and after a while he said no. He took out the Apple Strudels again
My tea came and I really liked the pot. A huge pot so this looked promising. No milk, and I had to wait for 15 minutes before they brought the milk for my tea. And the bread, I got 3 rolls on a plate and I asked what this was.
- It is bread
- But this is something you buy at 7 Eleven! Nothing reminds me about the bread in the tree!!
- This is the only bread we have
My green curry wasn't any good and the Apple Strudel! I never ate it, I ate the wrapping and the custard. The Apple Strudel was 90% raisins and I don’t understand why they called them Apple Strudels. I paid my bill and I left for my room, and I was happy with the room. But I'm sitting in the middle of nowhere with no restaurant close by.Hmm, maybe good for my diet.
Hotel lobby and reception
LOBBY LOUNGE
A big and nice restaurant - All for nothing
My room
My room
My room
I left my hotel to go explore Pakse. I discovered that we were in the middle of nowhere and no sign of any “DOWN TOWN” But there was a supermarket and I bought a few diet drinks. I asked for a barber shop but they told me they were all closed. I walked back to my hotel, just around the corner when I ran in to a motor cycle taxi.
I asked him to take me to the city and back and he wanted 40,000 KIP. I got on the vehicle and we took off. We found a barber shop and I got a haircut. This was the second barber shop we
stopped at, but the first one was for
girls only and they didn't had any trimmer.We stopped at a tour shop and I booked a full day in a private car for tomorrow. The most interesting with be a visit to a visit to a tea plantation. We will also go to:
• Wat Phou• Tad Fan
• Tad Yeung
So I will be able to kill my day tomorrow and on Tuesday I'm off to cruise on Mekong.
We drove back to Champasak Grand Hotel along the Mekong River and there were several restaurants. I gave my driver 50,000 KIP and I returned to my room. We had several shorts blackouts during the evening, the power disappeared for a few seconds every 10 minutes. And after midnight it sounded like they were drilling in concrete!
Well, a lot of excitements to look forward to, and as we have grown used to by now, just click HERE to find youself in the middle of that adventure.
OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizen visiting my web page. How hard can it
be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page. Jiffy (also jiff)
noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.
So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.
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