Alright, so now we have to work with teams in the middle of a Phuket leg afternoon 15 Nov; running a Bangkok leg 16 Nov, and checking into the Guilin Pit Stop late night 17 Nov...
We know that the teams flew into Phuket from Bangkok (Dhall's blog), and with "less airports", could teams have taken a bus back into Bangkok? (It's a bloody 12-hour ride, but the buses are pretty comfortable...)
15 Nov, afternoon: Run Phuket leg
15 Nov, early evening: Check in at Phuket Pit Stop
16 Nov, morning: Check out at Phuket Pit Stop
16 Nov, daytime: Travel by bus/plane to Bangkok
16 Nov, afternoon or early evening: Run Bangkok leg, check in at Bangkok Pit Stop
17 Nov, morning: Check out at Bangkok Pit Stop
17 Nov, most of the day: Travel by plane to Guilin
17 Nov, night: Run Guilin leg
17 Nov, late late night: Check in at Guilin Pit Stop
Same thing can pretty much be accomplished with a flight from Phuket to Bangkok, which gives teams more time to spend in Bangkok for the leg.
For flights from Bangkok to Guilin:
If leaving in the early morning, teams can connect through Guangzhou via TG668 (0950-1330) / CZ3236 (1540-1640).
Next best option, connecting through Hong Kong, TG628 (1030-1420) / UO121 (1645-1810).
Also through Hong Kong, CX750 (1155-1535) / KA700 (1725-1850).
If leaving in the afternoon, the best bet is a direct PG821 to Guilin (1605-1950).
In any case, teams will only be arriving in Guilin at around dusk, giving the late night Guilin check-ins some credibility. But what of our guys in Guangzhou airport?
Close shave with the Bangkok airport! It closed on Nov 25, just
one week after our teams left! Or... is it the TAR curse?
ETA: The Phuket-Bangkok bus schedule, correct as of Nov 25.