Steve & Leslie's Wedding

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November 25, 2003 - Thailand

TRAVEL STUFF: Whats New Basics Getting There Destinations Itinerary Travel Tips

WEDDING STUFF: Details Invitation Photos

Air - In Bangkok - To the Island

We will hopefully be able to meet most of you at the airport (if everyone gets in around the same time) and stay with you all the way to the island. If not, here's some info to get you started, and the information desks at the airport seem quite helpful and speak English.

AIR
A bunch of us are flying China Airlines. They have continued their special for $540 weekday flight, $628 for Friday evening flight, then add about $60 in taxes & fees. Call them direct to make a reservation (800-227-5118), then call ticketing to pay for it (310-641-8888). They are in partnership with Delta, so you can use/get miles!

There is now an airport in Trat so you can fly to Trat instead of taking the bus on Sunday. See below.

Our flights are booked (see below).

Flight time is about 18:25 going there, and about 14:45 returning to the states. It goes by surprisingly well and you'll get to watch 4 movies! For the group itinerary, we suggest flying out on Friday afternoon for arrival at Bangkok at around 1am on Sunday morning.

There is a 500 baht departure fee at the airport when taking your flight home.

Airline	Depart	Layover	Arrive	Cost*
Most people are departing on this flight and are either retuning on the Sun flight or with us on Mon.
China	Los Angeles Fri, Nov 21, 2:00pm	Taipei 1hr 40min	Bangkok Sun, Nov 23, 1:05am	currently $630

	Bangkok Sun, Nov 30, 9:00am	Taipei, Taiwan 3hr10min	Los Angeles Sun, Nov 30, 12:00noon

FYI, these are the flights we're booked on:
China	Los Angeles Tue, Nov 11, 2:00pm Mon, Nov 17, 2:00pm	Taipei 1hr 40min	Bangkok Thurs, Nov 13, 1:05am Wed, Nov 19, 1:05am	$600

	Bangkok Mon, Dec 1, 9:00am	Taipei, Taiwan 3hr10min	Los Angeles Mon, Dec 1, 12:00noon
*includes all taxes and fees

IN BANGKOK
There are a lot of different methods of public transportation in Bangkok. The most straight forward transport from the airport is to take a metered taxi from outside of the airport. If you are spending the night near Khao San Road, the ride should cost around $5. There is also a public bus that costs 10¢ and an airport bus that costs around $2. See Travel Tips for more details.

TO THE ISLAND
Pier at Koh Chang Take a taxi to the Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai) in Bangkok and take a roomy, air-conditioned bus for $3.50 - $4.50 to Trat. It takes from 5 - 6 hours depending on if it stops for breaks or not.

Then from where the van drops you off, you will hop on a songthaew (a pickup truck with rows of seats in the back) for a quick ride to the Laem Ngop pier (around 50¢). From there, the ferry leaves for Koh Wai at 3pm ($5 for 2 1/2 hours). Make sure to get on an early bus out of Bangkok in order to make the ferry.

We might charter a boat to leave Laem Ngop at around 11:30am on Tuesday. So if you want to get on that, you should arrive in Trat the previous night. I think the earliest bus out of Bangkok is at 6am, so it's probabaly not early enough.

Other Options The simplest way to get to the islands is to take a van ($5) to Trat. They leave from various locations around Khao San Road near the Vieng Tai Hotel and the Wild Orchid, departing at 8:00 a.m. daily. We have been told however, that they are a bit cramped (9 people in a regular sized van) and don't have air conditioning. So although the van may save a few steps, we recommend the bus as described above.

Looks like the airport is open in Trat now. Bangkok Airways can get you there in 45 minutes for around $100 US round trip. They fly Sun,Mon,Wed,Fri in the morning and afternoon.

A good description of the options to get from Bangkok to Koh Chang (including driving directions and air conditioned bus schedules) can be found here.