I am sure Thai merchants know how to sell their gem stones on Ebay too:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodger
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cornflower-Blue-Cey ... dZViewItem
Cornflower Blue Ceylon Sapphire VVS , 2.31ct 12558....final bid is $255.
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I am sure Thai merchants know how to sell their gem stones on Ebay too:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodger
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cornflower-Blue-Cey ... dZViewItem
Cornflower Blue Ceylon Sapphire VVS , 2.31ct 12558....final bid is $255.
Last time I came to BKK for 21 days my suitcase weighed 8 KG on check in. When I left BKK my bags weighed 55 KG. That was not including my wheelie bag which I took as cabin Baggage 10KG.
I come with 2 changes of cloths. and nothing else. I go straight to central Silom and buy clothes cloths cloths. Always 2 pairs of Taywin shoes and at least 20 KG of foodstuffs.Dried black mushrooms, spices, lime powder tempura batter sesame oil and dried chilies etc. Enough for dozens of Thai dinner parties. Thai ground coffee from Robinson's about 10 packs. I once took 10 frozen packs of shrimp and the airline put them in the cooler for me. Made deep fried shrimp for my group of friends the day after I got back.
I always travel Qatar Airways who give 35 KG in economy class on the Jeddah BKK run as standard and as a member of FF club get an extra 15 KGs so 50 in all . I once got away with 64kg checked and 18 hand no extra charge.
Scott...
The ad you linked to showed Ceylon (Sri Lanka) stones - not Thai (or Burmese). They are also less than 3 carats in size (a dime a dozen), and were not rings - just stones.
The last ring I sold was a blue 4.5ct Thai (actually Burmese) sapphire - set in 18ct Thai gold - w/.6ct cluster Aussie diamonds. It sold in less than 3 days.
BTW...those colorful and highly polished Karen necklaces you walk past all the time in PTY can be purchased for about 200 baht...Those sell in the U.S. $35-$55 range on EBay. The ones crafted with sterling silver, which is actually the Karen trademark, maintain much larger profit margins. You won't see these in PTY - only at the Kau San Road market - BKK.
Another smart buy for someone with an eye for art are those small (12 inche square) Thai paintings on Thai silk. You see an elderly lady drifting aroun Jomtien Beach all the time selling these. They are not silk-screened, they are individually hand painted by an artists using water colors and gold leafing on Thai silk. I've never purchased these to sell, as they find their way to my gallary at home. I usually pay between 180-260bt per painting. I've been told by people who really know art (which isn't me) that a painting like this would cost $50-$75 in the U.S. I have these custom framed at a small shop across from the Friendship market for less than $2 bucks each.
In Saudi Arabia the customs let you bring anthing in you like execpt alcohol pork or pornQuote:
Originally Posted by wx40afp
You can't bring back any food into New Zealand, (apart from highly processed food like chocolate and lollies - otherwise if it grew that way, forget it) and I think Australia is probably pretty much the same. We have to keep all those bugs, germs and diseases out somehow. I think if you take back prawns, crab meat, lemon grass, anything like that it's likely to be taken off you. I'm not so sure about ground spices and curry powder though. That might be ok. Declare it anyway, otherwise the fuckers will fine you $250!Quote:
Originally Posted by wx40afp
wx40afp has recently been exposed as one of Aunty's fellow cuntrymen now living in Sydney - a closet Kiwi - so the above exchange is clearly some secret maori coded ritual
Exactly Aunty. When I entered Australia, the immigration officers stopped me. I noticed they also stopped any 'older' Asian or Indian men and women and insisted on rifling through their bags. Not a racist thing (perhaps) and they weren't looking for drugs, they were looking for food, fruits and seeds and in the three or four cases I saw they found exactly what they were looking for (plus some dried fish). I had been stopped because I was carrying a tent of all things - they made me completely unpack and unfold the tent and then took it away to have it cleaned to get any seeds or grasses out of it's nooks and crannies. I was then left in arrivals with the said tent sprawled over the floor to try and pack away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aunty
I think the likes of Australia and New Zealand are very careful about the introduction of foodstuffs and plants into their country incase they somehow get into the ecosystem and start sprouting crops which are not native to the country. Is it New Zealand that has a problem with non native pine trees eating into the forrested lands and pushing out native plants? I think California has problems in some areas with the Eucalyptus tree, which has no natural enemy in the states and is also responsible for many forrest fires. I noticed in Australia that you can be fined for taking fruits and seeds accross state borders let alone between countries. Not so many countries seem as diligent as NZ or Oz though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodger