Having saved up for the holiday of a lifetime and aimed to stay in Thailand as long as financially possible, let’s say you’re budgeting about £2,000 all-in, and sensibly keep checking the Internet and Teletext for bargain flights. Making the right savings on your airfare can mean the difference between a 2-week and a 4-week holiday, in my case it freed up an extra month’s expatriate living costs.

During the UK summer (Thai rainy season and therefore not tourist high-season), flight-only, return-ticket deals to Thailand, can still be bought for as low as £285 + airport taxes. These cheaper flights do not include accommodation or transfers, and normally require at least one change of aircraft.

A little out of sequence for this series, and because it was introduced yesterday, today I’m returning to the question of duty-free products.

For the irregular overseas British traveller, commercial shocks begin at the airport of departure. Long haul flights generally require that you register a few hours before take off and this places you, especially at Heathrow, at the mercy of the ‘duty-free’ vendors and concessions in the departure area.

In this series, originally written nearly a decade ago and now updated, I’m going to present both my experiences, and some thoughts about money saving tips, as well as some sound advice for first time (or even second time) arrivals in Thailand. These are likely to save you money, and overall, facilitate an easier and less stressful holiday, and that I am sure is a priceless bonus …