I want to pack light, really I do. I swear, I’ve packed light in the past. When I traveled for business, I used to do an entire week from a 22″ roll-aboard. When I was growing up, since my father worked for an airline and we always traveled standby, checked luggage was a rarity. So I do know how to pack light.
But travel across the Pacific, from the home country to the old country, seems so much more complicated. We have to pack large not so much to carry a lot of things to the US, but so that we have adequate space on the return to bring things that are difficult to find or tremendously expensive here in Thailand. This means we have to pack with anticipation.
Here’s what is on our shopping list:
Dryer sheets, ravioli cutter, Williams Sonoma Mario Batali dutch oven, small ladles, replacement glass shade for Restoration Hardware sconce, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried cranberries, walnuts, pecans, dripless candles, picture rail.
Some of these will not come back. None are critical and only the replacement sconce has already been purchased. But if possible, most of these will return with us. So the roll-aboards are nested in the checked suitcases, giving us several more cubic feet of storage for the return flight.
Meanwhile, we’re bringing the usual assortment of snacks, khanom (sweets), hostess gifts, and even though we’re supposedly doing a gift-free Christmas, some Christmas gifts for the nieces. Oh, and two Williams Sonoma baking sheets that despite my measurements, are a hair too large to effectively use in my oven. So my sister will inherit those. Or my mom.
I will say that I’m doing better about the load of stuff I bring aboard the flight to entertain myself. As much as I love sudoku, the sudoku book is staying home. Several documents that I was certain I’d work on while flying are staying home as well, because I recognize that in reality, I’ll never get to them. The deck of Uno cards is also staying.
The laptop is coming along for the ride, though. No two ways about it.
We’ll be in San Francisco from the 18th until the 23rd, in Kansas City from the 23rd until the 31st, and in San Francisco again from the 31st until the 2nd. Lots of people have indicated they’d like to get together while we’re in SF.
This always creates the embarrassment of an abundance of riches. We’d like to see everyone and wish we had a lot more time to do it in. If we don’t have a chance to see you on this trip, our apologies and please do come visit us in Thailand!
christao408 
By the way, I am now addicted to the dried cranberries from Villa Market. I am not sure how much they cost in the US, but they are 80 baht a bag in the Villa at J Ave. 🙂
Have a safe trip and a wonderful holiday.
Flying in to SF and KC in December!? Good luck with that. They don’t have dryer sheets in Thailand?Merry CHristmas!
Thailand is not very far away. Given that few tourists will visit Thailand in the near future, airline tickets should be cheap.
Do you have Costco or any large MNC shopping store in Thailand? In Taipei they do and it’s decently priced. My suggestion…DUFFEL bags. LARGE duffel bags are great for bringing back items.
Have a great trip – give me a shout if you want to drop by DC for the Inauguration! Bangkok to SF to Kansas City – which one of these cities will present the greatest culture shock? I think I know….
The only problem about trying to pack light enough now is that a lot of times if you want to get away with just using a small roll-aboard you might as well leave all your toiletries behind. Boo on the TSA!
Hope you travel safely. See you soon. get ready to meet my student assistant, who is totally psyched to play Mah Jong.
xo
@albertmoore – See you Saturday. I need to go online and read up on the rules as it has been ages since I’ve played mj. I’m bringing a deck of Uno cards, too.
@CareyGLY – Dryer sheets are on the list of very expensive items. Small box of eighty sheets for ten dollars.
@sgtowns – How large a bag? I can get a huge bag for ten bucks at costco… Happy to split with you.
@ElusiveWords – Thanks Matt. You, too.
@choyshinglin – Tourist arrivals are down quite a bit, so you should definitely look for some good deals.
@LostSock21 – Thanks for the suggestions. We have big box stores like Testco-Lotus and Carrefour but the things they sell don’t correspond with the things I want. Large bags of walnuts for baking, for example. There, a small handfull is two or three bucks.
@RakkaRay – Thanks, Ray. Actually, not so much culture shock in KC in some ways as we’ll be staying with family. In SF we get the “weirdness” that the city is known for, things that we just don’t see in BKK.
@TheCheshireGrins – Agreed. TSA is one of the biggest boondoggles. Not making people any safer at all but spending tons of our money.
@christao408 – the Bay Area is my original home. Born in Alameda and grew up in Walnut Creek. Lived in the City after returning from Vietnam. Lived near 6th & Judah – sort of Sunset District but near to Haight-Ashbury. Had a great time there but went east to return to college before doing even a year there. Yes, SF does have some “weird” qualities and I’m not sure it even feels like home anymore, but it sure is a great place to visit. KC is a bit too straight-laced for me, even though my Mother grew up not too far away in Kansas.
Wow. You really are a pro-traveler. I learned from my other half how to pack more efficiently. I always feel like I did a decent job, but soon enough, he takes everything out of my bag and re-packs and shows me that indeed, I am not as efficient as I thought. I swear, it’s like a game of tetris with him…But Kansas City. Wow. I’m too afraid to go to places that are sort of in the middle of the country because I hear my friends telling me how they just look at you…well, for being asian…or the only asian around…I hope that’s not the case, but I would definitely feel very uncomfortable. You would think it’s flippin’ 2008 and people are still not used to diversity. I guess not…But I love how you two are Williams Sonoma shoppers. Is it weird that I have never purchased anything from there? I suppose it’s because I’m at home, but I suppose that will change once I move out/in with my man. :o) Anyway, hope you’re enjoying your time off. Oh, and the whole “…in reality, I’ll never get to them” ~ Hilarious! It’s so true. I brought work home to prep and review over the weekend and alas, it is still sitting on my desk in a bundle…but I couldn’t help it! It’s a disease…