When it was over one of them noticed my cut knee and asked about it whereupon he gave me some herbal remedy for it. I don’t know what was in it but after using it there really was a marked improvement.
The one thing we did miss on this trip was the early morning almsgiving procession of the Buddhist monks whereby abut 1,000 of them process through the town and receive alms, mostly in the form of rice cakes. We had been told that it was about 6:30am but when we arrived there it was obvious it was over and it was on at about 5:30am. What we hadn’t realised was that there was a temple next door to the hotel as the night market stalls had obscured it. I had been awake and had heard a drum about that time but never thought that it was signalling the beginning of the procession. Ah well, I’ll just have to go back!
Luang Prabang was our last port of call in SE Asia before returning to Singapore via Bangkok. Our flight to Bangkok was leaving at 7:30 which meant an early morning taxi at 5:15am! On our way to the airport we met groups of monks beginning to gather for the procession which was a small compensation for missing the full procession. On arrival in the airport
we once more had our bags screened before approaching check-in which at that stage was well under way. Incidentally I should mention that each time our bags were screened a yellow sticker was placed across the zip of the bag. Presumably it should still be intact when we arrived at our destination but by this time there were so many that I wondered if they would check the correct one.
At check-in a couple joined the queue behind us who immediately got up my nose. They were probably the nicest couple in Christendom but I took an instant, irrational dislike to them!! They were an elderly couple whom I could best describe as Middle England. She could easily have passed for a vicar’s wife and maybe she was. He could have been a vicar or an army officer or a minor aristocrat or a parliamentarian or..... whatever. They clearly saw themselves above everyone else in the area, the demographic of which was largely young and male. We were debating as to whether or not to go through security when their driver came up to them toting a plastic carrier bag with some polystyrene boxes obviously containing breakfast which they had arranged through whatever source. (I knew it was an option but equally I knew that Lao Airlines offered a snackbox which was substantial enough) They then started talking ostensibly to the driver in rather patronising tones but I think was meant for our benefit. In loud tones he proclaimed, “The drive from the Plain of Jars was amazing. 8 hours through the jungle” I threw him a withering glance which was completely lost on him! I wasn’t prepared to trade experiences. We decided to go through security bit not before we heard yer man say to the driver “Would you like to join us for a drink?” Well from where I come from that suggests something wet and alcoholic! It was 6:30am!! Even I don’t start drinking then - mainly because the Clubhouse isn’t open then The alternative would have been “Will you join us for a coffee” or some other beverage. The driver, sensible man that he was, declined. He was probably anxious to get back home for a couple of hours’ sleep before hitting the tourist trail once more.
Once through security to the gate area Chris went into raptures of delight. Awaiting us was the MA60 plane which we should have had on our VTE-HOE trip.
We had wondered if we would get an A320 which Lao Airlines had taken possession of a week or so previously but this was even better as far as Chris was concerned.
Once on board we settled into our seats which were just fine although the seat belt was slightly different to what we were used to.
In the row opposite us were... yes, you’ve guessed it ...Mr and Mrs Middle England!! While boarding was taking place I did what I had always done and that was to take out my iPad, disable Wi-Fi and then use it to read until the doors closed whereupon I would close it down until the seat belt sign was off. Mr and Mrs Middle England took out their iPad (him) and Kindle (her) and proceeded to read them throughout the safety demo and take-off and as later shown, through landing in spite of orders to switch off electronic equipment.
As expected we received a snack box
containing a couple of rolls, apple slices and some cake and coffee was served from the trolley.
It was good and tasty but Chris noticed that Mr Middle England hadn’t even been bothered to open it but had been tasty and satisfying enough.
An hour and a half hour later we arrived in Bangkok. The lines for Immigration were slow but the best part was being told by the guys patrolling the lines how to fill the forms in which was useful for those who were transitting. We did a bit of queue-hopping but eventually the Fast Track line was empty and we headed over there. Between that and the Diplomatic line we were through in two shakes of a lamb’s tail and off for our flight to Singapore on Thai Air Asia
