Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Emma Clare]

I'll be finishing my contract at the end of February and I intend on going home after that. However, rather than going straight home I thought I ought to take in Thailand and Vietnam, whilst I'm 'in the area'.

Problem is, that I have around 35 kilos of luggage, and getting it to the airport will be hard enough, so there's no way I can lug it around Thailand! Does anyone know of a fairly cheap way to safely send my stuff back to England from here, before I leave? Has anyone had experience of doing this? (I can ditch some of my stuff here in Korea, but I need to send back things like my laptop, some books, and clothes that I would be loathe to get rid of)

Although I figure if it's going to cost more than the price of a return flight to Thailand (around 450,000WON) I might as well just leave it here for a month or so, and then come back for it before heading home.

Cheers!

[Mr. Pink]

Pack some stuff in boxes and MAIL IT.

I mailed two bigass boxes of books. Cost me about 70,000 won for both and surprisingly it took a month instead of the 3mths i thought it would to get to Canada.

Korean Post is really really cheap compared to western post offices, check them out.

You pay per KG too...so clothes shouldnt be so expensive.

[Emma Clare]

It's as simple as chucking it, sorry, carefully packing it into boxes, and sticking my home address on it??? Was your stuff insured? My laptop cost a bomb and if it got damaged. Eeek!!

[Homer]

ship....ship...cargo ship...

[Emma Clare]

Sure, but has anyone got any rough idea how much it costs (per kilo) to ship stuff back to the UK (insured), and how much it costs to have it delivered at the other end?

[Tiger Beer]

I've sent stuff back multiple times.. usually big boxes of stuff - mostly books and heavier items that I don't want in a backpack in southeast Asia or anywhere else.

I can't recall the exact prices, but it seemed like for a fairly large box of heavy junk I was often able to send for around 40,000 won or something like that. In short, it was extremely cheap and definetely worth it!

Ship it with insurance and all the rest.. its said to take 8-10 weeks.. but seems to arrive more around 6-8 weeks it seems.

Whatever it costs, its fairly cheap overall, its definetely worth it!! Great way to get rid of excessive baggage.

[adventureman]

[Emma Clare]

Actually, I think he was planning on flying back to England at the beginning of February, rather than being stuffed in a cardboard box and bound in packing tape. I'm not sure he'd get through customs that way anyhow.

He's meant to be posted to England just before I finish up...
He's part of the reason I won't be renewing my contract here and I'll be heading home to limeyland for 'whatever'

[Bulsajo]

[Emma Clare]

[Bulsajo]

Er, right- somehow I thought I read something in your second or third post and got the idea that you were going straight home- sorry (I guess I got the boyfriend joke mixed up with what you were actually planning).

Are you flying back to Korea to catch your return flight home? Then you could arrange to leave the laptop with a trusted friend.

I think (but not 100% sure) the Korean post office insurance limit might not go high enough to adequately cover your laptop- maybe check into the courier companies for just the laptop itself- more expensive but you'll get adequate insurance coverage.

[peppermint]

Just a thought- let boyfriend bring the laptop with him?

[Tiger Beer]

[matthews_world]

There's a company in Korea who deals with such dilemmas.

Give Asian Tiger Transpack a buzz.

I've never used them nor would I know how to get started with them. Just call them up and ask your questions.

If they are anything like FedEx, you can ship all your stuff overseas and just walk on the plane with a carry-on and your "unaccompanied baggage" as AFN likes to put it.

If you use them, tell us how it was.

[Blue Flower]