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Last week, I went to Singapore but never left the airport. A few hours later I was on my way back to Bangkok. The reason for this strange journey was to extend my Thai visa by 30 days. Following the recent hike in Thai visa fees, the free visa-on-arrival looks like a bargain. You don't have to endure embassy visits either - just walk straight through.

It was a pleasant day out. Changi Airport is Singapore's show-piece. With its gardens, restaurants, TV lounges, fitness centre, internet access and duty-free shopping, it's the next best thing to a holiday resort. There's even a swimming pool. If I'd had five hours to spare, I could have taken a 2-hour sightseeing tour of Singapore - absolutely free. There are five tours a day - 10am, 1pm, 3pm 4pm and 5pm. The booking counter opens at 8.30am.

The facilities at Changi Airport are first-rate and you don't have to fly business class to use them. Four hours in the Rainforest Lounge costs SGD 25 (£9/$13) and includes a shower, free finger food and soft drinks. Optional extras include taking a workout or getting a massage - but you can't combine the two, Bangkok-style.

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I didn't bother with the pay-facilities because there's so much else to do. After a drink at the poolside bar, I went to admire the immaculate gardens. Later, I checked out the various TV lounges. Huge plasma screens were showing Star Movies, Discovery, CNN and Super Sports etc. However, the shops were more interesting.

I picked out a couple of good books - The best of Roald Dahl (A cracking read) and Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (If I had bought this a few years ago, it might have saved my marriage - but fortunately I didn't). The booksellers at Changi don't hike the price by 50% like they do at Bangkok Don Muang (Yes, Asia Books, I'm talking about you). Finally, I picked up some duty-free Baileys for the little woman.

Singapore is the visa run destination of choice because it offers the cheapest flights from Bangkok. They don't impose extra arrival and departure taxes either. Countries like Laos and Cambodia are piss-takers in this respect. The 500 baht departure tax at Don Muang is unavoidable.

I normally travel with Swiss Air and pay less than 5,000 baht return (£80/$120) but, stupidly, I booked late this time and ended up donating 8,985 baht (£150/$225) to the bureaucrats at Thai Airways.

The lower fare is included in the cost summary below:

What it costs

Expense	Baht	Convert ($)	Convert (£)
Airfare	5,000	120	80
Departure tax	500	12	8
Bangkok taxi (return)	390	10	6
Total	5,890	142	94

Conclusion

Based on 12 Singapore daytrips a year, the annual cost of keeping your visa up to date is about £1,100/$1,700. Applying for 10 day extensions (1,900 baht) reduces the number of trips from 12 to 9 each year but the overall cost is still the same.

[Posted to Visa Run by David]

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