We will be staying with a Thai family in Bangkok as part of our tour of the country. What ideas do you have for gifts for us to take them? What American items are unavailable and desireable in Thailand?

Thais like whiskey. Get some good Scottish whiskey. Not exactly American but a good present for the man of the house.

Many Thais are Buddhist and don't drink.

Go with the Scotch whiskey for the man of the house! To say Thais don't drink! Wrong! For the lady of the house brand name perfume/eau de toilette will be very welcome. Don't bring them a model of the Staue of Liberty or such.

Thanks for the Scotch idea. I didn't realize that whiskey was not available there. I assume I won't have a problem bringing it into the country? <BR><BR>Is perfume difficult to buy or expensive in Thailand?

You might want to bring chocolates as the whole family can enjoy them. I agree with the perfume suggestion above, and have no feeling abut the whiskey, although I don't think it would be insulting to give this as a gift. I also agree that a Statue of Liberty would not be very imaginative, but if you come from a state with beautiful scenery or cities (CA or NY) they might enjoy a coffee table type picture book of your home state. Finally, offer to take them out for a very nice meal (they pick the restaurant).<BR><BR>Your hosts may not open their gifts in front of you, the practice is most of Asia is that gifts are not opened in front of the recipient. Do not be offended if they don't open it in front of you.<BR><BR>Two books which you might find very helpful for your trip are Culture Shock! Thailand ((Times Books) and Thai Ways by Denis Segaller (Asia Books). You can find both of them online, or your local bookstore could order them for you. I lived in Singapore and Hong Kong and found the Culture Shock! series for those cities very helpful and accurate. The Culture Shock! for Thailand may have a chapter on gifts to bring when visiting a Thai home; as the books for Singapore and Hong Kong contain this information for their respective cities.<BR><BR>Hope this is helpful Have a great trip!<BR>

My husband spent 6 weeks on a hospital rotation in Thailand - we were also advised to bring gifts. In fact, small gifts were advised for almost everyone he worked (clerks, secretarys, medical students, etc.) with as larger gifts for the people who helped host him, the program director, etc. Small gifts included souviner sorts of things from our home (Hawaii) - keychains, playing cards with photos of Hawaii, etc. Larger gifts were Bath and Body Works lotions, bath oils, etc. (specfically requested of us), Grey Goose vodka (again, a specific request made for this brand), and coffee table books (of Hawaii). Liquor can be bought in Thailand - but it is very expensive and some brands are not available at all. Duty limits are, I think, one bottle ('a fifth') of hard liquor. We also received gifts from many of the people we met - so don't be surprised if your hosts also give you something. (We received things like a pin/brooch for me, small ceramic boxes, etc.)<BR><BR>Consider small separate gifts for the children if you bring something specific for adults. <BR><BR>As for paying at a restaurant - Key words, we learned - are &quot;I INSIST&quot; - nothing else was ever successful in allowing us to pay (your hosts are likely to try to pay for everything). Only saying &quot;I insist&quot; would get our various hosts to relent and allow us to pick up the tab. (It took a few trials before we got this figured out and also got some advice from other visitors.)

Re Whiskey<BR><BR>Johnny Walker Black Label is available in Thailand and this is regarded as one of the best in Thailand. It is expensive for most Thais and so is a special treat for most.<BR><BR>If you are going to give Whiskey you should ideally get one a bit more exclusive than this. If you decide to gor a non alcoholic present, you could always buy a bottle of Johnny Walker duty free as an additional present on the plane and this should still go down a treat.

Whiskey is available in Thailand, the Thai one even being quite famous, although less better than Scottish one.<BR>I wouldn't bring perfumes. The taste of Asian might be quite different and they might not like it. Also, when you don't know the favorite brands, what would you choose?<BR><BR>My idea would be a nice calendar for 2003 with beautiful landscapes of your country, if you should travel in the beginning of next year. I often noticed calendars, mainly from Europe, in restaurants, not in private homes though, because never visited. I am sure this is a gift, they would like.

I would say scotch and perfume, it is the 'image'. Even if he does not drink ( unlikely ) it is a prestige gift that he can use to impress friends. If a drinker he will open it there and then. Perfume same applies, the gift of perfume is always welcome by women, even if not your chosen brand the throught means so much.

I think it depends on who's getting the gifts. JW Black Label might be considered special by some, but not all Thais. I'm a Thai student in the U.S., and I find it quite hard to find gifts for my own family. Generic American consumer products can be found in Bangkok, some as easily as in the U.S.<BR>For my latest trip home, I brought my dad dried Michigan cherries, which can't be found here as far as I know. My mom asked for French perfumes (to be used as gifts), which I got from TJ Maxx and such stores. I also brought two books about 9-11 for her among other things. <BR>Just a reflection. Sorry if not very helpful.

Thank you everyone for the ideas. <BR><BR>Dee ~ was there a particular French perfume your mother asked for? <BR><BR>No one mentioned wine..... we live in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY, so I had considered a bottle of local wine as a gift. What do you think?

Hi Kay,<BR><BR>I'm also a Thai and when some American friends drop by they bring me American wines which I really appreciate. I'm not too familiar with wines from N.Y. (only know about wines from Napa, C.A.)so I think it would make a great gift!