Many of you have been to Thailand more times than you can count. I am sure you could talk about luggage disasters and lessons learned when selecting proper luggage. I will share with you some of my issues and what I have done to avoid luggage disasters.

On one trip I had some luggage I purchased from QVC. It was a multi-part bag that came with one large main bag with wheels and a handle. And you could attach 2 smaller bags to it by way of a zipper. It worked well for my first trip but on my 2nd trip, the bags arrived with the zippers partially split and the bags were coming apart and clothes were almost spilling out.

I replaced that bag with a hard-body suitcase purchased in BKK. It seemed nice at the time but after using it on 2 trips found it didn't hold up. The clasp soon broke and it arrived in the US Airport with only one clasp of the 2 holding it shut and I could not get the 2nd clasp to work again.

On my next trip I didn't check a bag and only did a carry on. Big Mistake! I was put through the mill with added security screenings at every airport along the way and on my return. I am sure it had everything to do with me flying so far with no checked baggage. Anyway... On that trip, I purchased a large rolling backpack with side compartments, large main bag and strong zippers. This back seem to be the best bag choice and served me well for many trips to come, but on my last trip, I received the bag with one of the wheels broken off (Torn away) from the bag. Ugh.....

So I had to buy a new bag for this trip. I purchased a Samsonite spinner bag that seemed nice enough in the store. I got it at Burlington Coat Factory for $99. Saw it in other stores for well over $200.00. I liked it in the store... Once I got it home I began to truly check it out and think the wells on this bag are more of a target than the wheels on the bag that got damaged. The bag is 1/2 hard and 1/2 soft. The soft side and hard side come together by a large zipper and I am starting to have some concern over the zipper failing and everything spilling out of the bag.

If I had a choice right now, I would buy another backpack type bag like the one I got in Chiang Mai, but I can't find one here in my area and I plan to buy one when I return to Thailand.

But one thing I have learned is to keep the bag as simple as possible with as few straps as possible.

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