Cancelled flight/Another boat trip

Trip Start Sep 05, 2006

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep Luang Prebang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Saturday, March 17, 2007

I arrived early one morning at Vientiane Airport to catch the weekly flight to Houei Xai but the flight wasn't on the departure board. After inquiring, I was informed that it had been canceled because only one person had booked a seat. That would be me. Getting angry and shouting at people in Southeast Asia gets you nowhere; my twenty minute rant demanding to speak to managers who could explain why I wasn't contacted before my arrival at the airport was finally greeted with with an embarrassed smile and a helpful reply: "Flight canceled".
The other route to Houei Xai is longer, with a flight to Luang Prebang preceding a two day boat ride.

Luang Prebang is a beautiful town with an almost European feel. I couldn't see much of the surrounding scenery because farmers in the region burn fields at this time of year and the air is filled with smoke

Boy fishing

. The air is bad enough for authorities to declare neighbouring Thai city, Chiang Mai, a disaster area. Insurance companies have even sent messages advising people not to travel in Northern Thailand.

The boat trip heading towards Houei Xai started well enough; hills on either side of the Mekong river provide stunning scenery. It became apparent in the early afternoon that the boat would not be stopping until it reached the half-way point, Pak Beng, that evening, where we would spend the night. No food was available to buy and I hadn't eaten before boarding. To my horror, one well prepared - fed - passenger handed an unwanted, filled baguette to a Lao child on the river bank. The boy looked unsure what to make of it and probably used it as a lightsaber. All passengers aimed for restaurants in the small village where we arrived in the dark and all stocked up with plenty of food for the remainder of the journey the following day.

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