To Singapore and back the same day.

(From Bangkok Post)

Byline: Don Ross

Low-cost airlines may have a bigger impact on regional tourism than we all anticipated. Given the combination of the off-peak departure slots and down-to-earth airfares we could hop on a flight to Singapore for a day trip and be back in our favourite Bangkok pub an hour before closing time. That would turn the 24-hour tourists into day excursionists and according to parameters set by tourism statisticians, day trippers just don't count.

Always looking for a way to cut corners, low-cost carriers love departures at dawn or on the wrong side of midnight when the cleaners are shampooing the terminal carpets. It fits the philosophy that "costs are the enemy" not your competitor. Translated for the consumer that means we lose sleep but not money. Also in a roundabout fashion, these odd departure times could eventually fuel a new trend with tourists basing themselves in cheap hotels in Bangkok and making …