The ferry at the Mekong crossing of Ban Muang in Laos operates in a pretty laissez-faire sort of way.

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He named Muang Sua as his capital, and so it remained until 1563, when the Laotian capital moved to Vientiane.

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Garcia, meanwhile, wasn't bothered either by the phones or the intermittent roar of 747s approaching nearby Don Muang International Airport.

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Back then Thai Airways, the country's flagship carrier, was in charge of the duty-free operations at Bangkok's old Don Muang International.

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Step onto a plane at Osaka's Kansai airport or Bangkok's Don Muang terminal and chances are you will be walking across an airbridge built by Bukaka.

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Fast-forward several centuries, and a city was founded, then called Muang Sua, the result of two sages seeing a flame tree rising from the point where the rivers meet.

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