From the various threads I've read, it seems many of you do LOTS of shopping and bring home LOTS of goodies! I'm hoping to do that myself. But if you buy things like carved souvenirs or other crafts, in addition to clothing, pillow covers, and what-not, it seems you could quickly fill more than one empty suitcase! I'm actually planning on just taking one carry-on rolling suitcase (I'm flying from the east coast to San Francisco to meet my daughter for a different flight and don't want to risk losing my luggage), and inside it, I'm going to pack a fold-up duffle like this:

http://www.ebags.com/baggallini/zip_...?modelid=18648

But it doesn't seem that could possibly hold enough. My daughter is probably taking a rolling duffle, which is roomier. And maybe I should get her a fold-up tote like mine. What do YOU all do?

Thanks,
Karen

If you buy too much, you can always buy a big suitcase there. They are really cheap. Our biggest problem was finding one that wasn't a blatant knockoff of a popular brand - we just didn't want to go through customs with a big burberry or coach suitcase when coming in from asia...but I digress.

The other thing we do is pack those travel space bag things. We use them for dirty clothes, and when they are compressed, they take up about 1/3 of the space the clothes did. They just really wrinkle everything. Of course, this does not help with weight issues.

I also suppose with smaller things, such as carvings, especially nicer higher priced ones, you could always spend some cash and send them UPS.

I always bring 2 suitcases to Asia, one has clothes and other neseccities the other is empty except for bubblewrap. Anthing very expensive or delicate I always put in my carry on. Since I usually start and end from the same gateway city, I often leave one suitcase at my hotel and pick it up again when I spend my last few days there. It's not very practical to take all that luggage to Siem Reap or Luang Prabang, for instance.

That's a great idea about leaving some stuff behind at the hotel until the end of the trip! We're staying at the same place both at the beginning and the end, so maybe we'll try that. Thanks! (Yes, I was reluctant to buy things at the start of the trip and then have to lug them to Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Luang Prabang, and Siem Reap! Plus I'm guessing I'll pick up stuff along the way, too!) I've never before spent more than the limit for not having to pay customs coming back into the U.S., but I might well do so on this trip (although splitting with my daughter will likely make it doable). If you do exceed the limit, do they check your bags and make you show all receipts?

I've never had to show all of my receipts, but sometimes they ask to see expensive items or receipts for particular things (especially antiques and jewelry). I'm meticulous about declaring everything. Remember that many things (antiques, books, atrs, some crafts, unset gems, etc) come into the duty-free. You declare everything, and they'll look up what is duty free. I bought lots of stuff this last trip, including a lot of jewelry and had to pay only a small amount of duty.

Most of the shopping markets have UPS & DHL shops. They will even do a good job of safely packing & boxing or crating your stuff.

I didn't realize so many things were duty-free - that's good to know. Thanks, Kathie!

I should probably warn you that what is duty free changes from time to time (yearly), so if you have a customs agent who wants to charge you for something you think should be duty free- ask about it. They are usually very nice about checking it for you.

karen---there is a gov't program called GPS (GSP???) or something similar which allows many goods from 3rd world countries to be brought into the us duty free...thailand and cambodia qualify for this....the items have to be made/grown/mined, etc and completely in the country of origin....

customs has a pamphlet on this...give them a call...its on line too...

we buy bags in thailand for stuff, including those large nylon bags called rice bags with a zipper at the top....karen stuffs our dirty and clean clothes around things we have purchased in the bag....we also buy tupperware type boxes for breakables and put them in the middle of the rice bags....real delicates we carry by hand...

shipping is quite expensive....we sent 10 kilos of stainless steel, ups air and it was $95...

Bob, Thai jewelry is not duty free right now. Unset stones are, but set jewelry, even if all of Thai origin is dutiable. This changes from time to time. The customs agent I had wasn't going to charge me duty, but the agent next to her pulled out the book and showed that Thailand is no longer included in that particular program....

I probably won't buy expensive jewelry - but will almost certainly buy craft-type silver jewelry - what I'm expecting to be able to get at the night markets or from hill tribes.

And it's pretty funny, Bob, about your mentioning the GSP. As part of my master's degree program last year, I did a presentation on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, based on GSP (Generalized System of Preferences). I'd forgotten all about it - just hadn't thought of it in the context of SE Asia!

Others will I am sure have horror stories, but in 25 years of traveling internationally I have never lost a bag, including about 20 trips to Asia from the east coast of the US via San Fran. I wouldn't bother with a carry on, especially as most airlines have increased their check-in baggage allowance in an effort to discourage people from bringing so much stuff on board. I believe most airlines now allow 2 bags to be checked for coach and 3 for business class. Bring an ipod, some good books, maybe a shawl rather than those awful airline blankets and check the rest. I would check in the largest hard-sided bag you can to pack more fragile stuff you may buy. Also check or pack a duffle bag to hold dirty laundry and clothes for the way back and/or to bring on shorter trips.

For info on what is free from US customs duty, take a look at the guide put together by the US Customs Services at customs.ustreas.gov/travel. Things like books are free from duty, some handicraft items are also free from duty. It depends on the item and sometimes on the country in which the item is made.

If you are only a bit above your individual or family limit, it is up to the discretion of the customs officer as to whether or not to charge you duty. For example, if you are US$200 over, you may not pay any duty at all if the officer decides not to charge you. In my experience, it is best to declare everything and let the officer decide whether to assess duty. Keep all your receipts with you. Some obliging shops may offer to give you dummy receipts for large ticket items showing that an item cost less than you actually paid for it.

Shipping from Asia is pretty expensive and you should figure about the same cost of the item to ship it, so this may reduce a bargain and should only be reserved for an item which you are certain you could not find in the US; given the prevalence of Asian items I see here every time I come back, I am not so sure there is any item you could find in Asia that you could not find here. You might find it cheaper in Bangkok but if you had to ship it, there would go your savings. Also, the US customs allowance does NOT apply to items which you ship in, it only applies to items which you carry in yourself, so you may end up paying duty on an item you ship in.

i am only being charged about 50% of the time for items that i ship both from asia and from europe....don't understand why...

kathie---i have just redone my research and i see no change in GSP...it was resigned by pres bush in 2002 and extends to 12/31/2006...jewelry is named in the document along with tons of other stuff and thailand is also named

take a look here:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/publications/travel/

its long but quite interesting...

let me know if you read something different....where did you get your info??

bob

Bob, I don't have time to look at the link right now. I got my info from the customs agents at Sea-Tac. They showed me the book that had the wording I explained above.

Bob, I took a few minutes and read the general pamphlet on the GSP. This is a very general document. What I looked at was the large book (inch and a half thick) that gives every specific about duties. The regulation is confusing enough that I expect many agents will make mistakes on this matter. While the GSP in general is passed for years at a time, the specific regulations are passed yearly, and there are often changes.