What do you stock up on?

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Originally Posted by wx40afp

I must use the dentist again however,im certainly not paying a $85 consultation fee plus $99 per filling,so the dentist is on my list .

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Try the dentist virtually directly opposite Royal Garden Plaza on 2nd Road. Have been there three times. They are very good for fillings, crowns etc and have never had a problem with their work.
Last filling cost me 780 Baht. (18 months ago)
Previously crown cost me 1700 Baht (including preliminary treatment). (3 years ago)
Place is very popular with Farangs and you may need to book appointment which you usually get within 2-3 days, (although they will treat emergencies).

As for stocking up -- Thai sauces, curry mixes, marinades, noodles and the like (all about a tenth of the price they are back home). "Designer" label T shirts and other clothing (appreciate they are copies !!!).

This time I'm coming for 3 months therefore I am bringing some extras. I'm hope to be staying in the same apartment I had the last time. It's 9000 bhat/month for a very large, furnished room, kitchen, air and cross ventilation near Sunni.

Extras I will be bringing:
2 quality towels (they don't come with the room)
2 extra sheets ( the bed is kingsize with sheets but, after canoodling, I like to sleep wraped in my own sheet.)
Toothbrushes - my dentist kindly give me a bundle of complimentary toothbrushes to give out.
Several locks
Several computer disks with all my files on them to use in the internet shops.
A set of written prescriptions for my medications in case I run out or they get lost.
A touristy picture book of my home city ... a great conversation starter with visitors.
Gifts of real Levis, chocolate, cologne, several cheap souvineer T-shirt from my city, a stock of maple leaf pens and pins.

Budgets & Thailand dont work for me. More i take more i spend.

Those smiles just fish it out of my wallet lol

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Originally Posted by Doug

This time I'm coming for 3 months therefore I am bringing some extras.

A set of written prescriptions for my medications in case I run out or they get lost.
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Often on these forums posters mention their ' prescribed medications'.

Is it just me that is surprised that such a large percentage of visitors to Thailand appear to be on prescribed medications of one sort or another?

For myself the only thing I ever need is the occasional paracetamol for a headache, so maybe I am one of the lucky ones.

I would be interesting, if it was not getting to personal, to know the range of ailments that some of you guys suffer and whether you put this down to your pace of life back in your own countries.

May I ask wx40afp what on earth do you need padlocks and glue for? As I am leaving for Bangkok tomorrow, is there something important I am missing? I never take glue and padlocks! You have me worried.

Doug: Where are you finding long-term rentals in this kind of price range? I'll be coming over for long-term stay soon.

wx40afp: There's a really good shoe store on the basement level of TukCom (Pattaya). I like to buy a few pairs there to take back. Nice designs, mai pang. I used to bring a bottle or two of Maggi seasoning back but I'm found a local source for that now.

Dboy

take back an arm full of genuine Rolex watches that you can get at any street stall..they always impress friends as gifts. Likewise a Louis Vuitton bag is a good look even in cattle class if you can look snooty enough which you will be after snorting a can of fly spray especially if you are going to fill it full of padlocks and deodorant..I would deliberately let that fall to the floor and all the contents roll out...that should get tongues wagging.

Yes, wag wag wag, Glue and padlocks???? It almost makes sense in a beautifully abstract way, but the shear weight. It would break any delicate Louis's arm off trying to do the glue and padlock run! Please my curiosity, the glue as Pearl has suggested has it's values, but on a need to know basis, what the fcuk are the padlocks for? What size are they? Is their a padlock shortage somewhere? Is it the beginning of the end.
Should I be stocking up on shower nozzles and bars of glycerine? Is this the new black?

Going:

I've always put them in checked luggage, in zip-lock bags, but still don't like carrying any more liquids then necessary, especially with new BS going on.
I take a (Butterfly-size) bag of toothbrushes--Then I wind up spending most of the time with one num and have to tote them back home--But two...or five...if I'm lucky--But I put together most of the excess stuff and tell the (Last) num to take what he wants. Some num take it all, some, nitnoy (No double entendre-intended...much.)

Shoes that need repair. Take to the shack on Road Two, 1st Soi south of South Road near Pattaya Shoe--About a tenth of cost at home. (Heels, no problem but may have trouble finding large-size half-soles.)


Bring home:

Sports shorts (To wear around the house.): There's a couple places on Road Two that usually have a bin-full on the sidewalk @ 40 baht-or-less. I get as many as I can pack: my friends like them too. One year I found Bananas-in-Pajamas shorts. I gave a pair to one (Straight) friend as a Christmas-party-white-elephant\Joke-grab-bag gift and the others said, "Hey! Where's mine?" and they were serious!

Kid's stuff: like the tee-shirts with trapunto dinosaurs. Found them half-the-price, at a street-stall on Silom Road, as at the Made-in-Thailand store in R.G. mall (Thai knock off their own stuff, too.) but they needed ironing: like Pearl! Just the same, I didn't haggle, like Pearl.

Socks and cotton briefs, solid colors without designs: harder to find. There's a lady spreads a blanket in front of Lumpinni, near Pinnacle, I look for; so old she looks like--Think, a younger Pearl--about ready to bPAI Boon (I hope she doesn't before I get back.) The stuff wears like iron.

Tu-Nize (Brand) Bergamot Hair Lotion w\Balsam. Have to scrounge the Mini-Marts for it--And buy out the stock when I find it: made the mistake of giving it to friends, they like it too.

Thai bar-soaps. Especially, the one with parrots on the wrapper; if I can find it.

Little (About pint-size) aluminum ice buckets in Thai designs. You can get them at the house wear store on Road Two, near Boat Restaurant. They have several sizes but, for some reason, my friends love the little ones. The people who work\own the store have always been very nice, and always manage to find the right box. The ice-buckets take practically no room in your luggage if you fill them with socks & underwear. They have other Thai things, you might not think of, that make nice gifts.
If a wet horng nam floor bothers you--And if staying an extended time, go there when you first arrive and get a squeegee for the bathroom. Use it yourself, leave it where num can see it and, I find, they will use it.

Shoes--And the colored (Where can you find red, turkeykoi, orange & lime-green at home?), & black, moccasins they have at the (Same) shack near Pattaya Shoe.

I always want to bring back a bag of barbecued Beatles- :twisted: -So I can put them out with the party peanuts--but haven't the nerve. :angel7:

I prefer to use my own lock on the rented motorcycle rather than the one provided by the vendor. Also many apartment have provision for a lock to be used on the door. At the beach, I often lock my knapsack to the chair to, at least, slow down any would be kamoy.

Never had anyone try to steal my bag at the beach.
Maybe the word's out: He who steals my purse steals sh.. trash.
Maybe my lean, mean, muscle queen...countenance...is enough to slow down any would-be kamoy?...Maybe it's the beach-bag brimming with baked, brown buffalo-bricks.

Not to worry about finding green soap with parrots on wrapper. As of two weeks ago the cost was 8 Baht at the 7/11 or most corner markets. It is a nice soap. Certainly not too costly, and does have a rather nice after smell.

wx40apf...Mr. Sydney...BBB...or whoever you are today,

If you smoke (cigarettes) you can obviously get these much cheaper in LOS. I routinely stuff 12 cartons of Marlboros in my backpack before boarding the plane. They cost U.S. $11.00/carton in LOS and about $40 at home.

Sapphire rings rank at the #1 position for making a little profit. You can purchase a 2.5-4.0 carat blue sapphire set in 18K Thai gold with 1/2K or so of diamonds (usually Australian) in the U.S. $600-$800 range. These sell in the range of $1,800 - $2,600 back in the U.S. I have it sized for my finger so I can wear it on the plane - no tax...no fuss...no questions ever asked.

Pueter ranks #2 on the list as far as value is concerned. The quality of Thai pueter is considered among the best in the world and highly collectable. Pueter, for those who aern't aware, is made of pure tin. Tin, which most perceive as being a cheap metal, actually ranks as the fifth most precious metal in its pure state. European Pueter, which is also considered among the best, usually has a 94% tin content. Thai pueter always has 97% tin. Always look for the "makers mark" on the bottom of the item. The majority of Thai tin is mined on Phuket and trucked up to Chaing Mai or Chiang Rai where the craftsmen use century old technics in the forming and shaping process. I purchased a set of four pueter beer mugs complete with elephant head handles for 850/bt. The set is valued at U.S. $200 (8,000/Bt)

Karen Indian necklaces and bracelets always find their way into my hold baggage. The kids in the family love them, and they are very unique gift items.

I also stock up on my supply of incense when in LOS. You can pick up a package at any Buddhist supply shop holding 200 sticks for about 180/bt, where the same amount would cost me U.S. $50.

I don't bother myself with things like toothpaste and soap when I'm on hoiday, although like Edith, I have snuck a few bags of beetles and fried grasshoppers on the plane just as a conversation piece back home

mai pen rai

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Originally Posted by Dodger

I don't bother myself with things like toothpaste and soap when I'm on hoiday.........mai pen rai

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Euughhh! :geek:

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Originally Posted by Dodger

If you smoke (cigarettes) you can obviously get these much cheaper in LOS. I routinely stuff 12 cartons of Marlboros in my backpack before boarding the plane...I don't bother myself with things like toothpaste and soap when I'm on hoiday

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All the more cancer for you, m'dear. With that stinking breath and body, no wonder you always have to pay for sex.

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Originally Posted by Miss Sybil Thrope

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Originally Posted by Dodger

If you smoke (cigarettes) you can obviously get these much cheaper in LOS. I routinely stuff 12 cartons of Marlboros in my backpack before boarding the plane...I don't bother myself with things like toothpaste and soap when I'm on hoiday

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All the more cancer for you, m'dear. With that stinking breath and body, no wonder you always have to pay for sex.

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Would you be Miss Anne Thrope's older and uglier sister? I thought that you were locked in the attic?

Perhaps The Actor let you out.

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Originally Posted by Doug

I prefer to use my own lock on the rented motorcycle rather than the one provided by the vendor. Also many apartment have provision for a lock to be used on the door. At the beach, I often lock my knapsack to the chair to, at least, slow down any would be kamoy.

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I see, so it is quite a practicle thing to do, as well as being avant-garde. And the glue? Can it be any kind?

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Originally Posted by Dodger

....Sapphire rings rank at the #1 position for making a little profit. You can purchase a 2.5-4.0 carat blue sapphire set in 18K Thai gold with 1/2K or so of diamonds (usually Australian) in the U.S. $600-$800 range. These sell in the range of $1,800 - $2,600 back in the U.S. I have it sized for my finger so I can wear it on the plane - no tax...no fuss...no questions ever asked.

Pueter ranks #2 on the list as far as value is concerned. The quality of Thai pueter is considered among the best in the world and highly collectable. Pueter, for those who aern't aware, is made of pure tin. Tin, which most perceive as being a cheap metal, actually ranks as the fifth most precious metal in its pure state. European Pueter, which is also considered among the best, usually has a 94% tin content. Thai pueter always has 97% tin. Always look for the "makers mark" on the bottom of the item. The majority of Thai tin is mined on Phuket and trucked up to Chaing Mai or Chiang Rai where the craftsmen use century old technics in the forming and shaping process. I purchased a set of four pueter beer mugs complete with elephant head handles for 850/bt. The set is valued at U.S. $200 (8,000/Bt)
.....

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These are good buys only if you can sell them in the U.S. , Where/who are you selling these to? EBay? I doubt anyone will buy a $1800 jewlry of no brand name or warranty on EBay.

^---I had always assumed this to be the #1 Bangkok scam, the 'gem scam'. So what's the real deal on this? I can't imagine *really* doubling your money on jewelry. I was talking to a diamond dealer here recently and she said there really isn't that much demand for sapphires.

Dboy

Scott...

With the exception of one sapphire ring I gave my daughter as a gift, all others have been sold on EBay within the profit range I stated earlier.

I always take the ring to a local U.S. jeweler to have it appraised professionally and certified (cost = $25). The appraisal and certificate are then included in the EBay ad to eliminate the risk factor for any potential buyers. I only purchase the light blue sapphires, as they carry a higher value on the U.S. market. If you're selling in Europe, the dark blue (almost black) colored sapphires are valued the highest. Don't ask me why, that's just the way the market is.

I always purchase my rings from a government registered jeweler, and wouldn't recommend buying anywhere else. You'll receive a certificate with the ring. If they don't offer a certificate - don't buy it. You'll find the higher quality stones and better prices in Bangkok. Knock off 40% from the price noted on the ring tag and start your negotiating there. Never pay more than 75-80% of the retail (tagged) value.

Use the jewelers eye loop to inspect the stone for large inclusions. All gem stones have inclusions, but the more noticable to the naked eye - the less value they carry. Don't buy any stone under 2 carats, as there are thousands of these available on EBay. What will set your ring apart from the others is the SIZE and the PRICE. I recommend a 3-5 carat stone...gets there attention every time.

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Originally Posted by Dodger

Scott...

With the exception of one sapphire ring I gave my daughter as a gift, all others have been sold on EBay within the profit range I stated earlier.....

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I am sure Thai merchants know how to sell their gem stones on Ebay too:
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.

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Originally Posted by wx40afp

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.


Sounds like a good airline,didnt know they did that,but how do customs react on arrival?

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In Saudi Arabia the customs let you bring anthing in you like execpt alcohol pork or porn

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Originally Posted by wx40afp

Actually i would like to bring back some Thai curry sauces and spices,anyone here know about Australian Quarantine regulatiuons,Im not so sure if they will,I will have to declare them I suppose.

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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!

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

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Originally Posted by Aunty

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Originally Posted by wx40afp

Actually i would like to bring back some Thai curry sauces and spices,anyone here know about Australian Quarantine regulatiuons,Im not so sure if they will,I will have to declare them I suppose.

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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!

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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.

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.

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Originally Posted by Dodger

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.

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