I had the LASEK (also called PRK) and the recovery isn't as bad as it sounds. The next day was painful and I had patchy vision for a few days afterwards but within a week there was no discomfort at all and my vision was fine. (It does take a month or 2 to settle down but your vision is competely fine during this period).

It does have the advantage of less risk due to no cutting and allowing natural regrowth of the removed upper layer of cornea.

The procedure itself lasts about 10 mintues for both eyes. You lie down and they put numbing drops in your eyes and wait a minute. Then the alcohol paste (for removing the top layer of the cornea) is rubbed on to your eye with what looked like an eyeliner brush. This was the only uncomfortable bit of the procedure - even then it wasn't physical as you cannot feel it, it was more just the idea of it.

A few minutes later they apply the laser; this is over in a matter of seconds for each eye. Now with the expensive procedure I opted for (called wavefront) they do a 3D mapping of your eye and program that into the laser so it's not a random shot. Also the laser tracks any eye movement at 200 times per second.

The LASEK carries less chance and severity of halos (according to studies I believe are referenced in wikipedia). I have them but they are hardly noticable.