Xircal

As others have mentioned, you're at the beginning of your life and although it may not appeal to you right now, skill sets are paramount in today's world and without them, you're just another drifter looking for short term work.

This article documents the current professional jobs for which there is a shortage in Thailand and the salaries they command: http://www.robertwalters.co.uk/wwwmedialibrary/WWW2/global/content/salary-survey/robert-walters-2014-salary-survey/thailand.pdf

we just sent a 1.78 kg package BKK to the UK last Thursday

980 baht and 55b registered mail , this was SAL , small packet

does anyone know about the special fixed price EMS boxes ? cost , sizes and how much weight you can put in them ?

EMS can be up to 30Kg: http://www.thailandpost.com/service-detail.php?sid=61&service=472

Link to rates on the same page.

Ship your stuff via Thailand Post Office.

Will have to be 2x 20kg though.

A good source of info on this site: http://www.distillingliquor.com/

I'd suggest trying that first before you start chucking your hard earned money down a bottomless pit.

When the USA dollar is paired with other dollars also ,with the Thai baht , I still don't understand why the exchange rate also to other dollar is lower? When the U.S. Dollar goes up the Thai Bhat also more strong! But the dollar loose against the Bhat is nothing like the euro loose 20 Procent last week , for next 3 year when draghi not change his master plan nothing will be change, my only hope is that the Thai Bhat goes down also when Thai exports slow down because of strong baht! Here the price go up around 10 Procent need now 12000 Bhat more each month because of bad 36 exchange rate!

Welcome in peng mag ma Thailand !

I sympathise with you since I live in the EU myself. I fear that come the end February with no deal being done to keep Greece in the eurozone, we could be looking at a Grexit before long.

If that happens, you can safely knock another couple of Baht off the current miserable FX rate.

Thailand might possibly decide to cut it's current 2% interest rate to counter the strong Baht in the not too distant future especially considering that Thailand no longer qualifies for subsidised imports (click the link to "countries which will cease to benefit") which make exports to the EU a lot more expensive.

Other than that though, I fear the worst is yet to come.

I need to try that coffee. Where do you buy it?

I just recently sent one package to Europe and it arrived after 4 days another was sent to Malaysia and arrived after 30 days. Both using regular air mail.

It's available in Big C, costs 77 Baht for a 500 gram packet of 25 individual packets.

There are other flavours, but the "Smooth & Creamy" is the original. Adding a little milk improves the flavour I find.

I've seen it listed at Amazon, but it's currently unavailable. No price mentioned there either.

Also available via Alibaba, but minimum order is a twenty foot container. I don't know where I could store one of those in my rabbit hut sized apartment.

How much did the packet you sent to Europe cost and what did it weigh if you don't mind me asking.

Prices on Amazon for items originating in Thailand can be outrageous. Recently I saw a bottle of tablets costing 100 baht at a local pharmacy listed at $11.99 and then there's this... over 1000% markup by some sellers over what it sells for at Jusco.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Kirei+Kirei+foam&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AKirei+Kirei+foam

Yes, that's very true. I suppose we can't very well continue to accuse thais of hiking up the price for foreigners when our fellow countrymen screw us like that.

It maybe opened because it's powder, also many countries do not allow dairy in if it contains powdered milk.

I had a load of 3 in1 taken at Perth.

Damn. I just checked the Dutch Customs site and it seems that you might have a point there. Here's a screenshot of the current regs.

I'll give them a ring tomorrow to clarify the position. Individual packets contain 0.98% skimmed milk in addition to other ingredients.

Odd though because when I got pulled over going through the green channel at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, they didn't say a dicky bird about the coffee even though I had 24 packets of the stuff in my suitcase at the time.

I think what I'll do here is to describe it as "Instant coffee with non-dairy creamer" on the Customs form. That at least is written on the packet so I'm not lying by describing it that way.

Also, it's listed for sale on Amazon UK and since that's an EU country which allows the product to be imported over there, it should be sufficient proof that it's OK.

You can send up to 20kg with Thai post EMS and cost depends on location.

http://www.thailandpost.com/rate.php

Should arrive in a week or so (if custums does not hold it to check for drugs)

When I used that link to price, just as an example, a 2 Kg. package to the U.S., here's the rate options it delivered:

PS0035.jpg

The lower priced options appear to be just for documents. By the time you get to the actual packages of contents, it appears to be in the 800 to 1000 baht range on the low end, up to more than 1900 baht for sending that weight via EMS... Not much in the way of bargains there.

EMS is a one priced box it seems. So whether you send 2kg or 20kg, the cost is the same at 1400 Baht (#7 in your image).

The figure of 1900 Baht which you mentioned applies to documents.

It maybe opened because it's powder, also many countries do not allow dairy in if it contains powdered milk.

I had a load of 3 in1 taken at Perth.

Damn. I just checked the Dutch Customs site and it seems that you might have a point there. Here's a screenshot of the current regs.

I'll give them a ring tomorrow to clarify the position. Individual packets contain 0.98% skimmed milk in addition to other ingredients.

Odd though because when I got pulled over going through the green channel at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, they didn't say a dicky bird about the coffee even though I had 24 packets of the stuff in my suitcase at the time.

EMS offer very good service from thai post office ,better than the UK

Thanks david, good to know.

You can send up to 20kg with Thai post EMS and cost depends on location.

http://www.thailandpost.com/rate.php

Should arrive in a week or so (if custums does not hold it to check for drugs)

Sent many packages over the years from Pattaya and always arrived.

Terrific! 20kg only costs 1400 Baht sent EMS while 5kg sent via Int'l Parcel SAL costs 1660 Baht for just 5kg!

So what I'll have to do I think is to buy the maximum size box which measures 30 x 45 x 20 (see screenshot) and then see how much coffee I can cram inside it.

Thanks for the tip.

Split your shipment into packages weighing less than 2 kilos and then send them via small packet registered airmail - on average 3 weeks to America.

Much more expensive that way. 2kg would cost 1100 Baht while 5kg only costs 1660 Baht.

Try it yourself here: http://www.thailandpost.com/rate-result.php

I've sent packages, no problem if it is registered. You can track it.

Do you happen to know how much it would cost to register 770 Baht which would be the cost of the goods.

According to the Thailand Post site, it depends on the value, but they don't mention how they calculate it. I suppose it'll go something like this:

1. Is the customer a Thai or a farang?
2. Customer is a farang, so multiply the cost of the insurance by 10.

_{Been sending X-mas presents by EMS back home for the past 20 years. Never had any go missing. I often send Thai soup packages and glass noodles. But never something like 10kg which would cost you a small fortune and may attract the eye of customs over seas.}

Well, I've got nothing to hide, so Customs is welcome to rummage around if they want.

But you're right about the cost which would be 1660 Baht for just a 5kg package (uninsured).

But I live in the Netherlands and have tried most brands of Dutch coffee, but just don't like any of it. So it's a case of either pay up or go without.

BKKdreaming suggested looking around for a local Thai grocery shop to see if they have it, or could order it for me, so I'll do that tomorrow.

I have sent hundreds of packages overseas over many years using Thailand Post, by normal unregistered air mail, economy air mail (SAL), and EMS, and it is VERY reliable. This is from Bangkok - I cannot vouch for other places in Thailand.

I have also received hundreds of packages and again Thailand post cannot be faulted. A couple of problems years ago were caused by USPS in the USA. But it's a very small percentage of all packages received.

I hear that Thailand Post is unreliable in other areas.

Everything I've sent to Patong has always arrived intact, so I guess that's a good sign.

I just checked the Thailand Post site and overseas charges are around 50% higher than what it costs me to send a package weighing the same amount to Thailand.

I chose Int'l Parcel SAL which works out at 1660 Baht plus insurance for a 5kg package. The latter depends on the value of the package apparently, but there's no indication anywhere as to how they calculate it. See screenshot.

BKKdreaming suggested checking to see whether a local Thai grocery shop could order it for me, so I'll do that tomorrow. Might save a lot of hassle if it isn't too expensive.

Thanks for the tips anyway.

make sure its registered so you can track it.......

where do you live ? are there any Thai grocery stores nearby ?

maybe they can order for you.......

Good idea! I'll check that out. I live in Amsterdam and there are a few shops listed on Google.

Never had an issues sending anything by Registered Post (lon tabien) from Thailand to anywhere, generally takes 14 days, but be warned sending Coffee as that is the standard item of choice for hiding drugs and your shipment may get delayed at Customs.

I got stopped once when I went through the green channel at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, but they didn't show much interest in my 24 x 500 gram packets of coffee after opening my suitcase.

But thanks for the warning.

I need to try that coffee. Where do you buy it?

I just recently sent one package to Europe and it arrived after 4 days another was sent to Malaysia and arrived after 30 days. Both using regular air mail.

It's available in Big C, costs 77 Baht for a 500 gram packet of 25 individual packets.

There are other flavours, but the "Smooth & Creamy" is the original. Adding a little milk improves the flavour I find.

I've seen it listed at Amazon, but it's currently unavailable. No price mentioned there either.

Also available via Alibaba, but minimum order is a twenty foot container. I don't know where I could store one of those in my rabbit hut sized apartment.

How much did the packet you sent to Europe cost and what did it weigh if you don't mind me asking.

Since Firefox 35, a warning message is displayed if the Flash player version installed is earlier than the latest version.

There's always been an option to check if plugins and extensions are up to date by hitting CTRL+SHIFT+A to take you to the Add-ons manager and then click the link to "Plugins". See screenshot.

But very few users were aware of it which is why Mozilla introduced the warning which appears if you try to run an older version of Flash now which might compromise your system.

The OP (WorriedNoodle) asked the question.

The post you quoted from (thedemon) answered the question from their experience. (WorriedNoodle) and (thedeomon) are two different members, and (thedemon) never posed a question in their post and isn't the OP.

Unless you know something I don't.

Duh....mental aberration on my part there. Mustn't do these things late at night when I'm tired.

Apologies to all for my faux pas.

While I cant link the articles as this forum has an issue with PW..

Last nights headline was "UPDATE BYO Beach Chairs Are OK, Phuket Police Will Be Told at Special Meeting"

Todays headline is "Phuket Navy, Police Ban All Beach Chairs from Holiday Island's Beaches"

The phrase "cant even run a deckchair concession" sounds like an insult along the lines of "cant run a pissup in a brewery" and yet its pretty much a factual assessment of the management capabilities of the combined resources of the local government.

They're really going to kill off tourism completely on the island. In January, I read on Phuketgazette that a trial period was being conducted whereby tourists would be permitted to bring their own sunloungers. Not that I would consider lugging one of those to the beach along Patong's narrow sidewalks every day.

But today, police were handing out flyers warning tourists that sunloungers and beach chairs were banned. Only beach mats and umbrellas are allowed.

Why is it so difficult to create an honest sunlounger hire facility on the beach? Surely thais aren't all crooks? Because that's the message that's going to come across to tourists.

A real cockup with the flyer translation though. Have to grin at that one.

I don't think it's mafia related. The news report I read on Bangkokpost.com was that a drunken Turkish tourist tried to get a bar to serve him after closing time. When they refused, he went somewhere to get a gun and then threatened the bar again. The security guard subsequently shot him in self-defence.

However, you have to wonder why a guard would be carrying a gun in the first place.

The way the article is written gives me the impression that guns are commonplace on the island which is a bit disturbing.

I can't link to Bangkokpost on this forum since it's forbidden, but here's the Google link to the story. You'll see the link to Bangkokpost on the opening page.

EDIT: Before you seriously consider opening a bar, read this article: http://www.retire-asia.com/thai-bar.shtml

I thought the minimum monthly money for retirement extension, age 50+, was about US$2000, or 65000 baht. Failing that, 800K baht in the bank.

True that USA Consulate does not vet USA citizens who claim enough income and do give affidavit to satisfy Thai govt but i have found that US$1500 is cutting life pretty thin here.

Good luck. I'm in a very decent, quiet, safe, clean room with all amenities needed for 4K baht/mo, + utilities at 500 b/month, in CM.

Yes, that's about right: http://www.thaiembassy.com/retire/retire.php

Slightly off-topic, but I'm amazed; flabbergasted even at how many contributors on this forum are living on a shoestring.

I like my creature comforts, so I'm happy with a few weeks vacation two or three times a year. I couldn't live hand to mouth like some of you seem to be doing.

There's a particular Thai coffee powder I like very much called "Khao Shong Coffee Mix Powder - Smooth & Creamy" which looks like you see it in the screenshot.

When I come to Thailand on vacation, I usually devote my entire baggage allowance of 30Kg solely to taking as many packets as possible with me when I leave, but even so, it still only lasts me about three months.

So I was thinking about sending myself about 5-10Kg by post. I'll send it registered to ensure they do actually dispatch it, but has anybody had any experience of shipping goods to themselves overseas, but which haven't arrived?

I've only ever sent postcards to friends at home, but none of them ever arrived unfortunately.

That's why it's great to be Australian. Everyone loves an Aussie!

Not the kind I've met in Thailand; loudmouth, arrogant gits.