Ok Ladies, Its Packing And Present Time

[bina]

as u all know, here in the holy land we dont have rain in the hot season. and we have dry heat. so i still usually wear jeans and a tshirt.

so am now packing. have managed to locate a week's worth of less 'clingy' type shirts (everything in israel is lycra clingy, we have trashy style of dress what can i say, plus most things are dark colours, a lot of black )

so i have a week's worth of button up short sleeve cotton blouses and a few tshirts, and three 3/4 lenght not too tight jean pants. i dont own shorts!! one wrap around skirt for wearing on the plane as it is long, but cool (israeli religious woman style). i will buy thai banork women's shorts in korat at the market, as that is my preferred style also.

on the plane, and back here at home, it is cool in evenings, meaning need some kind of sweater/jacket. most of the time i will be in the village, but a/c full blast in stores and stuff, so what's a good 'cover up' ?

but shoes? one pair of flipflops (fashionable ones, not the village basic style);and for travel, slip on type? or is that not good in the rain. i see from the weather site that in bangkok it is raining. should i bring a pair of runners (sport shoes?) ? dont think we are hiking any, but u never know.

list: a few sets of hand cream dead sea stuff as presents. israeli munchies for the kids. olives for my husband as he is having withdrawal symptoms. pens and stuff. photo album with updated family and stuff. mosquito stuff although i hate it. floppy hat, i never leave home without it... cash. charger for cell phone. feminine pads. handiwipes. alcohol gel. basic meds. israeli shampoos dont work well in the country as the water is too soft and ours is rock hard, so will have to deal with 'black enhancing' shampoos while im there. same same for soap and stuff. flashlite (for outdoor bathroom), my nescafe. i may buy a cup since last time no one had a real cup to drink coffee in, nor a small spoon. airplane book. canned hummous for hubby (blech!!).

is advil type pain killers available up country? paracetamol doesnt affect me at all, and with pressure drops due to storm/rain, i get headaches so will bring with but clinic here wont give more then certain amount.

should i bring an umbrella? or buy one? seems like stupid questions but here we are desert dry (and suffering at this moment from all the dryness).

some farang style munchies that i will keep hidden for personal use including mochachino flavoured wafers for my coffee.

have i missed something? any of u could think of? prefer not to buy if i dont have to, and i also hate to carry excess stuff. sister in law has a washing machine but do things dry in this humidity? i could probably borrow t shirts from them but pants, well, they a re wider than me...

well off to do last minute stuff like cleaning the house so my kids at least start with clean. dont know how house will look when i return...

bina

israel

[mssabai]

Hi Bina...

Ooooh exciting - i do like preparing for a trip. I love packing ( I know weird eh?) amd I especially love it when you have to get up at some ridiculous time in the morning and you have butterflies in your tummy! I get that even going on a long weekend break.

I have just gotback to the LOS from the UK in time for rainy season. My pcking though was more a case of as much as I could carry. As I live most of the time here, I have most of my Thai basics here so the stuff I ended up bringing was all my fave lotions and potions, tons of books etc etc.

I don't know what Korat's rainy season is like? On the east cost where I was living before, we have 2 months of non stop rain. I lived in lightweight trousers that dry quickly and shorts. I never wear skirts here as they are not practical on bikes or sitting on the floor etc. If I do I have shorts under them! Denim is not fun in the rain - it takes for ever to dry and is very uncomfortable when wet. Lightweight cotton is best. Though it is cooler in rainy season it is still humid so lighweight is essential - especially for the day. The best buy I could suggest is a very decent lighweight waterproof cagoul. This can cost a bit but is a blessing as they just don't sell anything of great quality (accept inthe branded shops in BKK).

The rainy season on the west coast where I live now is different...very few days does it rain all day and the rain is tempered by SCHORCHING temperatures. I don't know if you have seen news reports but it has been very hot here, with central thailand getting temperatures iof 41 degrees.

If you are going to be experiencing the full on east coast style rain for days and days, prepare for the humidity. The most bizarre thigs get mouldy (fridge doors, undersides of tables, nylon). I would leave any nice leather at home as this can suffer. How long are you coming for? It may not be long enough to really suffer from the dreaded mould but it is a pain. You can get dehumidifying balls and things in Tesco...search on thai visa as there are loads of threads.

About shoes - I live in cheap plastic flip flops. I also have pumps for work and leather slip ons for fancier occcassions...but these die as soon as they hit puddles so I am quite careful with them (I have elephant feet and cannot buy replacements in Thailand). I never wear trainers and especially in rainy season they would be pretty useful and a lot of extra room.

Buy your umbrella here - lots available and you can get the proper big ones and the small ones are useless in wind. I always think wellies (gum boots) are a very sensible option. You can buy them in markets here but they haven't yet caught on to doing teh funky ones that they have in the UK which I always think is a shame.

Other things for rainy season - books books books, DVDs etc. Prepare for a lot of sleeping - it has a seriously soporiphic affect on pretty much everyone and it is so lovely to be able to sleep without the heat being an issue that everyone makes the most out of it! I like rainy season, but by the end of it it tends to get tedious. Keep a sense of humour and (I think most importantly) if funds can stretch (and it is not very expensive) and if you don't already have one, seriously consider buying a hot shower. THE WORST thing in rainy season is having to take cold bucket showers after being soaked to the bone...or getting up at 6am for work and having one when it has been raining all night - brrrr.

ps excuse typos - just seen the time and I have to run to a ngan sop so no time to spell check!

[sbk]

don't worry about shoes. flip flops are fine. advil is available but dont know how rural you are going to be so best bring some. Just in case

umbrella, well, if its raining really hard, an umbrella doesnt' do much good, most people just wait it out and then go once the rain has stopped.

dont' bring more than one pair of jeans/trousers. you won't need it. if you need a sweater to get to the aiport then that is enough but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. the aircon is not that intolerable and if you are taking an overnight bus they give you a blanket.

lotions and hand creams always go down a treat with my female inlaws. small bottles of nice perfume as well.

for the men, I usually bring a polo shirt, they like having something from the US but then none of my husbands immediate family drink so maybe a bottle of some wild israeli alcohol might be enjoyed if members of anon's family do drink alcohol.

have fun, don't stress too much, bring sunscreen, and drink plenty of water. You will sweat. and sweat.

[MiG16]

yes buy umbrella in bangkok. much cheaper

shoes - i know in the village they only wear flip flops/sandals. as need to remove shoes all the time.

but i hate getting my feet in muddy ground. so i take my runners when im roughing it.

personally i always need something warm. you could bring sweat shirt type jacket? you know ..the sorty kind? or just bring some neutral coloured cardigan that you can wear on any occasion/match all style.

I dont know if you really need to buy shorts? I would stick to the quarter/full pants, as long as they are light material. better protection from the sun. (plus I dont go out in shorts ...in fact...growing up I wasnt allowed to step outside the house in shorts! )

[aside: the acceptable dress sense/style for women/girls in bangkok has changed so much in the last 10 years!]

[bina]

thanx all;

so: no umbrella, just buy. one light weight sweater. i have no light weight pants (last american pair was used to death with the petting zoo as work pants, they are no longer) so will have to deal will keep only the one light weight loose jeans, the others go back in the closet.... i dont know-- flipflops for travelling? seems sort of slovenly, so it is slip on shoes for travelling and theone day in bangkok and then flip flops in village...

lightweight waterproof cagoul-- what is that? i may have a wind breaker somewhere in the house, but i doubt it as here, rain = winter jackets and stuff. summer = hat and summer clothes. there is no in between.

so no rain coats/jackets whatever. i guess ill bring my fave light weight 'work shirt' (the kind that folks wear in the countryside, like light weight denim, but not denim) as an other long sleeve option...

coming from such an arid country im not used to rain for more then a few hours if at all (had a dry winter as well this year, we are in a drought.)

got the hand creams, some doodads, etc. -- am also bringing the portable dvd we once bought. its small and we can watch movies, listen to music as they dont have any dvd or whatever there. had friends make up some discs for me to listen to when sick of luuk tung music.

hmmm. here we are having a sand storm and the wind sucks the moisture right out of your skin.

well, thanx all for the advice and such... will report back on life in lower issan when i get back to israel in three weeks or so...

bina

israel

only three weeks; only one book which i will finish on the plane... no decent english lang. books to borrow from any one and i cant read hebrew books when im tired out.

[Patsycat]

I would go mad without books!!

A Cagoul is a waterproof jacket which folds up really small. I used to have one that turned into a bumbag which is handy.

Have a great time!!!