yestravel

We would like to ship some of the gifts we have bought on this trip to our home in the US. Package will weigh about 3kilos-nothing breakable or terribly valuable. We r in no rush for it to arrive in the US. Is the Thai Post an economical way to ship or should we go with a DHL, UPS or FedEX? Thanks!

Kathie

The Thai post is the most economical way, and, in my experience, is reliable.

rhkkmk

i know of several cases of things being stolen out of boxes shipped from the thai post office...

we have however received several 18K gold items and jewels thru regular post, so go figure..

rhe PO on new road near to the sheraton and oriental hotels has a packing service....

i prefer UPS or fed-ex for sure...

many hotel business centers can assist with shipping too

qwovadis

DHL for me insure it well.

Kathie

By the time you pay DHL and insurance, you'd be better off buying a piece of luggage (or just a rice bag) and taking it home with you. There are also customs issues when you mail/ship something home.

yestravel

Thanks! Kathie, what are the customs issues? I read on the Thai post site that u tie the package with a string and not tape it shut so that it may be inspected? That sounds problematic.

Cicerone

I have said this before, but a brilliant suggestion from a poster here years ago was to keep gifts with you and ship your dirty clothes home. They are lighter, not breakable, you don't care when the arrive, probably won't cry too much if the package does not make it, and there are NO customs duties payable on used personal effects when they are shipped to the US. (Unlike unaccompanied gifts.) Theives won't care about them either. So tie them up with string, and send them surface mail (which is really cheap).

yestravel

Yes, we have done that on other trips, but in this case we have six more weeks of travel so we need all our clothes.

Kathie

Yes, are you wanting to ship these items from Bangkok? And are you going to be back in Bangkok at the end of you trip? Your hotel will be glad to hold a suitcase or package for you until you return. You could have them hold your purchases until your return, then package up your dirty clothes to mail home and carry your purchases in your suitcase.

yestravel

No, we're hoping to ship them from Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai. We are in BKK again in about 2 weeks or so, then we go on to Vietnam for the remainder of our trip and fly home from HCMC.

Kathie

There are lots of places that will pack things to ship in Chiang Mai, not so much in Chiang Rai.

yestravel

Decided to take a chance with Thai Post. went to the central post office in CR. Our package was a little over three kilos and we bought a medium sized box with the tape and string. Everyone was quite helpful, both customers and staff. We sent it surface/air and is supposed to arrive in two to four weeks...which would beat us home. we'll c! thanks for your ideas and suggestions