[viagraman]

I would have guessed that those rollerblades would be in your bag!

Is a PS2 really that handy? That always seems to be a hot item on these fourms. I have never played much, but if I have a LOT of free time in my apartment, waiting for school to start, maybe I'll start!

Someone sent me a PM describing how much they loved burritos. The person said that if they could pack them inside their bag, they would even leave some clothes to make space!

[Cerilopasei]

Congratulations DanD, I hope you will have a great time over here!

It seems that you are pretty much set. As far as items for everyday life are concerned, Thailand is well-resourced. They have pretty much everything, though Farang stuff cost much more.


Perhaps you have hobbies and may practice sports that are fairly strange to this country. If that's the case, you should bring spare parts of everything. I'm a street-skater, and I was disappointed to see the poor quality selection of skates and accessories over here. I regret not bringing over an extra set of trusted US-quality wheels, bearings etc. The best ones I could find here wear out very quickly.

Other such items are game consoles and videogames. The only one known here is the PS2. It's a difficult treasure hunt trying to find an Xbox; the GameCube (a Japanese import) is virtually unheard of. So, another regrets of mine is leaving all that stuff back in the US. The cheapo PC-games are just not on par quality-wise.

So... hobbies and sports. Extra set of spare stuff.

Also, your Thai friends will be very delighted if you give them gifts that represents the country you came from. Even little things will be very appreciated, as long as it's clearly of foreign origin.

Good luck DanD; enjoy your stay. I hope you share your experiences with us.

[viagraman]

I'll be flying Monday and need to finish packing.

I think I pretty much have everything I will need for the next couple years in school, but it took a while to fit it all in a small suitcase! This all made me wonder what others really like to have with them.

Besides obvious things, what can everyone suggest as something they could not live (in a part of Thailand) without? What would you miss most?

[exschke]

I'm wondering if anyone has some further ideas on this old topic? DanD, after all these months, maybe you have some insights :-)
I remember from previous visits that big-size clothes are sometimes a problem.
and it really makes me sad that obviously I can't take as much teaching material as I'd like. I've got lots of children's books and phonics tapes and all sorts of useful stuff I carried home from Taiwan. and now I still cannot figure out how to do the logistics (once again ), what to cut down on. that's the worst part of moving continents for me. - are teaching resources easy to find and not very expensive back in Thailand?

[cokLoolioli]

This is a great question, though I believe DanD is visiting family back home for a few days yet. I am curious too Dan, what do you regret not bringing? Answer while this stuff is fresh in your head please.

His answer will be 'Nothing I brought it all back with me when I took a vacation to see parents'. 5555 He has everything now.

So Dan what did you bring from the States after you knew you missed it?

[Cerilopasei]

Oh, one more thing: if you want to read true Thai history, make sure you do it while still outside Thailand. Check your university library; order books via the statewide library network, if necessary.

If you try to do that here, too late. Books of the 'real deal' are often banned or difficult to find. I had two years in the US to read such books, yet I keep finding out about more and more interesting works that I want to read but can't access from here. I wish I'd read them while I still had the chance...