This week I had to do a visa run, which from Mahasarakham means heading to Laos and takes a total of 4 days. However, Claire had her Chinese New Year's break and was in Malaysia, so I decided to take 5 days and go to Malaysia instead. It meant a total of 4 nights on transport (a sleeper bus and sleeper train each way), but with only 2 days notice during the busiest time of year, a flight was prohibitive. At £60 all-in, it was a great way to travel if you don't...

I remember after bagging a ten pound flight from Bradford to Alicante thinking how far I would be willing to travel on a budget airline. If Ryanair did London to Bangkok (or Oxford to Pattaya, more likely) for a hundred quid, would you? Two weeks ago we sort of answered that question, flying to Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia. At 200 GBP each for a flight with just one week's notice, it was almost half the price of any competitors. Bags and food were extras, as wa...