Traveling to and from the gathering
| Travel to Thailand: |
Plan your inbound flights all the way to Phuket. Most inbound flights go to Bangkok and you will have to transfer there after clearing immigration and customs. Most North American flights land late at night, so plan on staying over in Bangkok one night before. Take Thai TG 209 to Phuket from Bangkok. It leaves at 9:10am (check schedules in advance). It's only an hour flight to Phuket from Bangkok. There are earlier and later flights on Thai and other airlines, but the 9:10am works best. There are many new budget airlines now with fares as low as US$50 for a round trip Bangkok-Phuket. Check airasia.com, Thai Airways, Nok Air, Bangkok Airways and others for best fares. Thai Airways is about US$60 each way. The important thing is to arrive in Phuket on the 17th no later than 12 noon if you want to travel with the group to the island. You can also get to Phuket by overnight train and/or bus. It's cheaper and will take 8-12 hours. The express bus is 800 baht each way (about US$20). The train is slightly more and involves a 3 hour minibus ride at 5am from the train station to Phuket - not the most pleasant trip. |
| From Phuket to Koh Yao Yai: |
Koh Yao Yai is an island in the Andaman sea directly East of Phuket Island, about 1 hour by ferry. There are two ferries each day, except on Fridays when there is only one at 10am. The vast majority of us will take the 2:00pm boat. Last year a dozen of us pooled our money and hired a private speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Yai. On January 17th, we'll travel by bus from the Phuket airport at 12:00 noon to the port. If you are traveling by rail or bus, please plan to arrive at the Tien Sin port in Phuket Town before 2:00 pm. If you are not traveling with the group from the airport on January 17th: the ferry leaves from Tien Sin Pier at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Click here to download a map to find the pier. Tell your driver / motorbike boy you are going to Tien Sin Pier for the Koh Yao Yai boat to ‘LOH JAAK PIER'. It takes about 1 hour and the fare is 60 baht (US$1.50) per person (one way). |
| From the pier to the gathering site: | Walk to the end of the pier and turn left. Walk down the beach or the driveway through a gate. Check in at the first set of bungalows. You can ask for Khun Ae or Khun Muneeb. |
| Leaving Koh Yao Yai: | There is a morning boat at 8:00 am and an afternoon boat at 15:00. Plan on 3 hours to get from Koh Yao Yai to the Phuket airport. Don't book a morning flight out of Phuket unless you are prepared to spend the night before in Phuket away from Koh Yao Yai. |
| Travel tip: | Combined ticket to Phuket: If you are planning on staying in Bangkok, try to book a ticket from your origin to Phuket with a stopover in Bangkok with Thai airways. A combined ticket like this will save you about $50 US. |
| Ferry Boat Service: |
The regular ferry service to and from the island runs twice per day and costs about 60 baht. Travel time is about 75 minutes. There are other boats from other piers on Phuket to other piers on the island. |
Gathering E-mail:
asian.faeries@gmail.com
Home - Call - FAQ - Registration - Directions - Photos
