Ok, ok, Lao aviation isn't scary, just slightly disorganized. Just try to get an ATR72 and not an Antonov or YNx, though for destinations other than VTE and LPQ, you don't really get a choice.

And, yes, occasionally, the air con doesn't work, so the cabin temperature is about 40. And, occasionally, the flights are mixed up for reasons having nothing to do with irregular ops, since *everything* in Lao is irregular ops. And, occasionally, the airplane circles looking for a break in the clouds. And, occasionally, the smoke is so thick from slash and burn agriculture at the end of the dry season that the airport isn't really in sight, though the navaids may be working. Airplane is clean, as mentioned, though, and cabin crew is attentive.

I disagree about the comment about driving in Lao, though, except for whizzing through unpacified Hmong villages avoiding the possiblity of random gunshots (RIP Swiss velo tourists, unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time), I find riding through Lao, especially rural Lao, to be quite pleasant. Allow extra time in case the Beerlao truck in front of you goes off the road.

(Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Lao. It makes rural Cambodia seem like Times Square. I'd rather be in Vang Vieng, drinking a beer on a bamboo platform on the river, than just about any other place. Where's my passport, anyway.)
Rich