What products do you bring from home?

[lanng khao]

Show off!

I think he means length...

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[Elkski]

 I had to Google vimto

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimto

 

[smutcakes]

7 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I go the UK once a year regardless. I have 50+kg baggage allowance. I have suitcases. I drive to/from the airport at both ends of the trip. The airports I use have trolleys. So I dont lug anything anywhere.

 

So with that in mind it would be very wasteful for me not to fill up my bags with as much as will fit into them, so that's what I do.

 

I estimate that I save around £100-200 per trip, which is not to be sniffed at. And some brands I buy there I have never seen here.

 

Also the act of shopping is many times easier in the UK as I know that all local branches of Sainsburys or Waitrose or Tesco will have absolutely everything I want to buy in terms of grocery items, and that a couple of other nearby chain stores will have everything I need in the way of linen and clothes etc.

To get similar (but worse) things here would require visiting many shops and probably driving to Bangkok.

As i said before each to their own. The hassle of it for saving a a couple of hundred quid if you buy as much as you. I dont miss anything that much, and living in BKK you can get 99% of the stuff here. Would prefer to pay a quid or so more for things here than lug things back from the UK.

[ramrod711]

I brought clothesline pulleys, winches and a spreader, the line you can buy here. I haven't seen another clothesline (on pulleys) in Thailand. I also top up on Dickies tee shirts.

[unblocktheplanet]

For Yanks & Hosers, I bring Costco items. Raw nuts, dates, almond butter, EVOO (Kirkland house brand rated in world's top ten), good cheeses (real cheddar, blue, Asiago), and supplements. Yep, TWO 23kg checked bags & heavy hand-carry. 

[Mattd]

9 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I estimate that I save around £100-200 per trip, which is not to be sniffed at. And some brands I buy there I have never seen here.

Totally agree regarding brands you cannot buy here, though personally I would not carry 50kg of groceries back that I could purchase here just to save a few thousand Baht, unless you were going often, because spread over the course of a year I just don't see the value.

Don't get me wrong, I do bring things back, just not stuff such as HP sauce, teabags, biscuits etc. as all are available here, I am lucky in that quite close to my house there are a couple of Expat shops that sell a whole range of products and some at reasonable prices, even compared with the UK.

That is one of the changes over the years, before if you saw something as simple as potatoes on sale you would snap them up, as they were a rare sight, nowadays there isn't that much you can't buy, albeit for a price.

[Nyezhov]

Maybe I should bring stuff over for a small fee.

 

I'll be there in a month...place your orders!

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, smutcakes said:

The hassle of it for saving a a couple of hundred quid if you buy as much as you. I dont miss anything that much, and living in BKK you can get 99% of the stuff here. Would prefer to pay a quid or so more for things here than lug things back from the UK.

I pointed out already that there is zero hassle. These are things that I would buy anyway, and I find shopping in the UK a lot less irritating than shopping here. They have exactly what I want in one place for a low price. Here I would need to visit many shops, in heavy traffic, and even then they would probably be out of stock or would not have the brand/type I want, and even if they did have stock I know that I would be paying three or four times as much for everything. I see no point in that.

 

As I said, those who want to give their money to Tops and Villa can do so with my blessing, but I wont be doing it as long as I can easily avoid it.

[smutcakes]

1 minute ago, KittenKong said:

I pointed out already that there is zero hassle. These are things that I would buy anyway, and I find shopping in the UK a lot less irritating than shopping here. They have exactly what I want in one place for a low price. Here I would need to visit many shops, in heavy traffic, and even then they would probably be out of stock or would not have the brand/type I want, and even if they did have stock I know that I would be paying three or four times as much for everything. I see no point in that.

 

As I said, those who want to give their money to Tops and Villa can do so with my blessing, but I wont be doing it as long as I can easily avoid it.

Yes better not give money to Tops and Villa, much better to give to Tesco, Sainsbury's etc....

[KittenKong]

30 minutes ago, Mattd said:

Don't get me wrong, I do bring things back, just not stuff such as HP sauce, teabags, biscuits etc. as all are available here, I am lucky in that quite close to my house there are a couple of Expat shops that sell a whole range of products and some at reasonable prices, even compared with the UK.

That is one of the changes over the years, before if you saw something as simple as potatoes on sale you would snap them up, as they were a rare sight, nowadays there isn't that much you can't buy, albeit for a price.

The teabags I buy are not available here, or at least I've never seen them. The same applies to several other items I bring back: the same brand is simply not sold here at all, at any price.

 

You mention potatoes. This year I did bring back a kilo of Jersey Royals. They cost me 50p (or around 22B) and they were lovely. Never seen them here.

[KittenKong]

1 minute ago, smutcakes said:

Yes better not give money to Tops and Villa, much better to give to Tesco, Sainsbury's etc.... 

Better to give £1 to Tesco in the UK than 100-150B to Tops here, certainly.

[Mattd]

13 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

The teabags I buy are not available here, or at least I've never seen them. The same applies to several other items I bring back: the same brand is simply not sold here at all, at any price.

 

You mention potatoes. This year I did bring back a kilo of Jersey Royals. They cost me 50p (or around 22B) and they were lovely. Never seen them here.

Yes, I have been known to bring Jersey Royals back myself and proper runner beans, like I said if not here then...............

[BritManToo]

XBOX 360 games, dead cheap in Cex London, between 1-2 quid a game.

[xylophone]

33 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

The teabags I buy are not available here

Tried a few different sorts of teabags here and settled for those sold in Tesco Lotus (own brand and varying strengths) whereas a friend buys Yorkshire tea here, and have seen Typhoo, Tetleys and a few others available.

 

PS. Aged cheddar...……..NZ Mainland Vintage is my go-to here, but also buy Italian Gorgonzola. Pricewise, I really don't have a problem paying for those imported goods as that's just what it is!

Edited July 24, 2018 by xylophone

[KittenKong]

48 minutes ago, Mattd said:

proper runner beans

Indeed. Can't beat 'em. I always eat lots when in the UK, and always bring some back with me.

[johng]

38 minutes ago, xylophone said:

settled for those sold in Tesco Lotus

Tesco Finest English Breakfast  are good price and make a decent cuppa. 

Available at some Tesco's in Thailand.

 

[smotherb]

11 hours ago, UKJASE said:

i always get stopped at airport check in and have to dump my excess weight ?

 

this time i had to wear three extra jackets, all with the pockets stuffed with gummies and chocolates etc, just to get my bag weight down while i checked in

 

still had to leave a fair bit of food by the bin in manchester airport, plus gave a fair bit of chocolate to the check in lady who was making me remove it ?

 

 

 

 

 

I learned long ago to travel light. Neither my wife nor I check-in baggage unless moving from one country to another. I find I can always get a reasonable substitute for whatever I like; if not I can do without. Any foods I miss, my wife can recreate and often improve upon with local ingredients. Besides, while you are still waiting for your baggage--baggage depleted, as you say, because of overweight--I am already in the taxi heading for a cold one or two to drink on the way to the hotel. My time and convenience is more important to me.

[Elkski]

Wouldn't runner beans and potatoes be considered seeds and not allowed?  That said can't potatoes grow in Thailand?  I'm thinking 22 kg of malted barley and some yeast would be a good thing to bring. 

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, johng said:

Tesco Finest English Breakfast  are good price and make a decent cuppa. 

Available at some Tesco's in Thailand.

 

Yep, I buy those at medium to strong strength...…...did buy some of the Assam strong ones, but a little too strong for my liking!

[kickstart]

52 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Yep, I buy those at medium to strong strength...…...did buy some of the Assam strong ones, but a little too strong for my liking!

You beat me to it, I like Yorkshire tea, but that Assam tea is not bad, I always buy 2-3 packs at a time, with the crap stock control here in Thailand they run out and you might have to wait months for new stock to arrive.

I will admit, I still use loose tea and a teapot, you can adjust the strength.

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, smotherb said:

Besides, while you are still waiting for your baggage--baggage depleted, as you say, because of overweight--I am already in the taxi heading for a cold one or two to drink on the way to the hotel. My time and convenience is more important to me.

I fly business class so I'm first out of the plane, first through immigration and my bags are first off the conveyor belt. And my 50+kg allowance is not overweight at all.

I dont have a hotel to go to: I live here. I dont work so I dont need to save time.

 

And, as previously mentioned, to buy the same things here would take days of wandering around to different stores, which I detest. In the UK I can get everything in one go in a proper supermarket. So all in all I save money and time, and, above all, I get what I want rather than having to put up with what is available. YMMV.

[KittenKong]

9 minutes ago, kickstart said:

I always buy 2-3 packs at a time, with the crap stock control here in Thailand they run out and you might have to wait months for new stock to arrive.

One more reason why I like to buy a year's supply in the UK and bring it back with me.

[Just Weird]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 7:51 PM, Saraphee said:

Cheese, Chocolate, Sandwich spreads, Corned Beef, Bovril and others...................

All available here possibly with the exception of Bovril.

[Just Weird]

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 9:21 PM, wgdanson said:

HP sauce, Sharwoods curry pastes, concentrated red grape juice (for what you ask), and the latest Man City shirt!

Why bring things that are available here?

[Nemises]

I fly business class so I'm first out of the plane, first through immigration and my bags are first off the conveyor belt. And my 50+kg allowance is not overweight at all.

I dont have a hotel to go to: I live here. I dont work so I dont need to save time.

 

I also fly business class, am a Qantas Club life member, have a 40kg baggage allowance and I’m always first or thereabouts through immigration.... but rarely...correction NEVER...have my bags been first off the conveyor belt - even though my bags have a “priority baggage” tag.

I’m curious to know what airline gets your bags first off the conveyor belt every single time. Please advise?

[Lokie]

13 hours ago, Elkski said:

 I had to Google vimto

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimto

 

Nothing else tastes the same... I was raised on it, in cordial form (mix with water around 8:1) makes great ice pops too, real thirst quencher 

[smotherb]

4 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I fly business class so I'm first out of the plane, first through immigration and my bags are first off the conveyor belt. And my 50+kg allowance is not overweight at all.

I dont have a hotel to go to: I live here. I dont work so I dont need to save time.

 

And, as previously mentioned, to buy the same things here would take days of wandering around to different stores, which I detest. In the UK I can get everything in one go in a proper supermarket. So all in all I save money and time, and, above all, I get what I want rather than having to put up with what is available. YMMV.

Ah, but you see Kitten, I also live here, but I have lived in the Middle East and Southeast Asia most of my life. I traveled light even when I worked and did take first-class. In fact, I traveled light when I moved from post to post when the company moved all my  HHG.

 

Now, I am retired, but my time is even more important to me now because it is all mine. I don't fly first-class anymore. I understand economy gets there the same time as first class. I don't want to be bothered by the logistics of any more than a carry-on. As I said, I can buy what I need as I go.

 

Perhaps more importantly, I have a lovely lady who takes care of me. She doesn't mind taking all day to find what I like, or to go to the trouble of making it for me.  She also travels light; she too sees the benefits.

 

 

 

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, Lokie said:

Nothing else tastes the same... I was raised on it, in cordial form (mix with water around 8:1) makes great ice pops too, real thirst quencher 

Loved it in its fizzy form when I was a kid and lost track of it when left the UK in 1984.

 

Very surprised to see what it was made from (the link) as it seems almost healthy!!!

[NanLaew]

19 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Also the act of shopping is many times easier in the UK as I know that all local branches of Sainsburys or Waitrose or Tesco will have absolutely everything I want to buy in terms of grocery items, and that a couple of other nearby chain stores will have everything I need in the way of linen and clothes etc.

And with Marks & Spencer's food outlets in a fair few motorway services these days, I can buy all that stuff at the last minute on my way to the airport.

[NanLaew]

3 hours ago, Gregster said:

I also fly business class, am a Qantas Club life member, have a 40kg baggage allowance and I’m always first or thereabouts through immigration.... but rarely...correction NEVER...have my bags been first off the conveyor belt - even though my bags have a “priority baggage” tag.

I’m curious to know what airline gets your bags first off the conveyor belt every single time. Please advise?

Can't speak of KK but for me, KLM, Qatar, SAS and a maybe couple of times with United/ANA.