Even though we've only hit the second quarter of the year, we're already looking ahead to feed our wanderlust needs. It's always good to plan ahead to fit in both longer trips and short getaways. The news is out and it doesn't look pretty. Compared to past years, 2018 will only have four long weekends; a big difference to the seven we have this year, six last year and seven in 2015. The four long weekends for 2018 will fall on New Year's Day (Monday, Jan 1), Chinese New Year (Friday, Feb 16), Good Friday (Friday, Mar 30) and Hari Raya Puasa (Friday, Jun 15). The last time there were only four long weekends in a year was in 2014.

But with the use of an off-in-lieu and just four days of leave, you can stretch your holidays and get nine long weekends instead (no thanks to MOM). There will be one off-in-lieu gained from Chinese New Year’s first day celebrations falling on Saturday, Feb 17. According to the Employment Act, if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, an employee who is not required to work on a Saturday is entitled to another day off or an extra day’s salary in lieu of that public holiday (okay, fine, thanks MOM).

To add five more long weekends to the four above, use your off-in-lieu and some leave to lengthen the Labour Day (May 1), Vesak Day (May 29), National Day (Aug 9), Deepavali (Nov 6) and Christmas Day (Dec 25) public holidays, as these all either fall on a Tuesday or Thursday. Perfect for a well-deserved, short romp in Bangkok.