The island

The festival takes place on Koh Chang island in Ranong Province, on the western, Andaman coast of Thailand. Please note: this is a different, smaller island — not the famous big Koh Chang near the Cambodian border.

It is an amazingly quiet place — no big hotels, no cars, no traffic, no shopping centres. Instead: authentic nature, a sea full of luminescent plankton, toucans and other birds, black and white sand, and plantations of rubber and cashew trees. You can walk around the whole island in a few hours.

Everyday life

• Electricity runs in the evenings, roughly 18:00–23:00 — no air conditioning or fridges.
• Cafés in the guesthouses serve nice, affordable food (meals from about 1.5 USD).
• Internet is limited — enough to check email.
• Only a few small shops. Bring anything special from the mainland (Tesco Lotus in Ranong).

The festival itself is held at Cashew Resort on the western beach, Ao Yai — all accommodation options are nearby.