With domestic flights grounded and Phuket island sealed off until at least mid-August, the authorities have come up with a marvelous idea: packing travelers aboard a bus to breathe the same air all 16 hours to Bangkok.
After Phuket authorities announced Monday that they’d dreamed up a “Sandbox Express Bus” to Suvarnabhumi Airport, it was quickly taken apart for being expensive, slow and impractical.
For over twice what such a trip would normally cost, passengers can pay THB1,500 (US$45) for a journey that sets out before dawn and arrives when curfew begins, effectively stranding those who aren’t flying out of the country at the airport.
Starting tomorrow, the “sandbox express bus” leaves at 5am from the Central Phuket Festival shopping mall or 5:30am from the PTT gas station in Thalang. Passengers are promised a 9pm arrival at Suvarnabhumi…
