My Trip Through Wattay Airport
Alright, so I ended up flying out of Wattay Airport in Vientiane, Laos not too long ago. Just wanted to share how it went down, from my perspective.
Getting there was easy enough, grabbed a ride, and got dropped off right at the departures area. Didn’t look massive from the outside, more like a manageable size, which I actually prefer. Less chance of getting lost, you know?
Stepping Inside
Walked in, and it felt pretty calm, not the crazy rush you get in some bigger airports. Found my airline’s check-in counter without much trouble. The signs were decent enough, mostly in Lao and English.
The check-in process itself was straightforward. Queued up for a bit, maybe 10 minutes. The staff were polite, did the usual passport and ticket check, weighed my bag. No dramas there, got my boarding pass and dropped off my luggage.
Security and Immigration Shuffle
Next up was security. Had to take out my laptop, belt off, the usual routine. It went pretty quick, the line wasn’t long at all. The officers seemed efficient, just doing their job, moved people through steadily.
Then came immigration for the exit stamp. Again, not much of a wait. Handed over my passport and boarding pass, got the stamp, and that was it. Pretty smooth sailing so far.
Waiting Around
Once I was through all that, I ended up in the departure lounge. It’s not huge, but it was clean and had enough seating. I looked around for a bit.
- Found a spot to sit down near my gate.
- Checked the departure screens, my flight was on time.
- Grabbed a coffee and a snack from one of the little shops there. Prices were okay, airport prices, but not outrageous.
- Did some people-watching, saw folks heading to different places.
Boarding Time
They announced boarding pretty much on schedule. Lined up at the gate, got my pass scanned, and walked down the air bridge onto the plane. The ground crew seemed organized, guiding people properly.
Overall, my experience at Wattay Airport was pretty painless. It’s a smaller airport, yeah, but everything worked. Got in, checked in, went through security and immigration, and got on my flight without any real hassle. Did the job just fine. Nothing fancy, but functional and relatively stress-free, which is all you can ask for sometimes when travelling.
