I want to post my cold clothes back to Australia, after I have finished in Europe/ America, because I finish with some Rand R in Asia. I hear London is hell expensive to post back from, and Bangkok is as dodgy as. So do people have any general tips on where to post back items from, in Europe and Asia, and also what methods do people go to to stop people from "taking" your valuables? Does postal insurance cover this? How long does it take by ship from different places? I would be interested to know.

thanks

Quite a few people on my tour posted things home from Venice, havnt heard anything about stuff not arriving. I think you are looking at 7-10 days from most places. Everything in London is expensive, including postage.

I've read some travelogs that they've posted their stuff, when they have arrived in amsterdam.
But, I'm not sure if thats the cheapest, and safe way.

I'd also like to know wheres the best place to send your stuff back to Australia.

Amsterdam is awesome postage.

i am doing an asia tour thru malaysia after the winter wanderer tour through europe. So i guess I need to know where in asia is the best spot to post from. Maybe not appropriate for this forum, but just interested to see... what will the temps be in london end of jan?

Acermanau, with regards to posting stuff back from S.E. Asia, totally aviod posting from Thailand unless you want the package to be a feature on Boarder security. I've lived in S.E. Asia for many years.
The moment Australian customs sees Thailand as a place of origin it automatically becomes suspicious.

In Malaysia, the possibility of theft from the Malaysian side is quite high Malaysian postal workers are constantly screening packages for anything of value and will blatantly help themselves to it.

The best place would be to post from Singapore where its reliable and safe.

thanks for the advice, my problem is i am touring from bangkok to singapore and as it is the last leg I want to get touristey stuff and send my warm clothing home.
Singapore is my last stopover before returning to perth. Thus for 14 days I want to go lightweight and pickup souvenirs.

How do you overcome that one? Any ideas??

thanks

As a suggestion, consider travelling with older winter style clothes that you are willing to throw away after your travels in North America, Europe. Travelling as a tourist on a conducted tour is not like a fashion parade and most people are not really bothered.

With regards to souvenirs in S.E. Asia, I would avoid buying the items in Thailand as the quality is really poor. Malaysia will offer you a better deal , but you must know how to bargain.For genuine designer goods Singapore is the place for that.

I'm surprised by the number of people that want to visit Thailand.For a S.E. Asian destination its really overrated and can shock inexperienced travellers.The first thing that people will definitely notice is the heat, humidity and then the harrassment from the vendors.
Its essentially a 3rd world country. Lots of poverty , scams , uncivilised drivers, shocking traffic.
Singapore is the most civilised in S.E. Asia

Just post from the 'Dammage or Paris.

International post in both is done by weight and (don't quote me on the actual price) but you can go up to 10 kilograms for less than 100 euros - it's cheaper than shipping from the UK and Dutch post is super reliable, as are the French for that matter (baring the occasional strike).

Both are closed on Sundays however....

Hi everyone, I posted from Turkey to NZ, it cost an absolute fortune and was really hard to do so dont post from there! However my stuff did arrive

Ive heard posting from greece is fine but when we went there the shop was closed, and it was like 1ish so yea.

I sent my worldy goods from amsterdam and they didnt arrive. I contacted them and i cant claim, apparently you can make claims.
Lost items can really wreck your holiday but i got over it......it just took ages!

i think i might just get an extra collapsable bag and carry it with me. Will Contiki get grumpy?

I actually took an extra collapsible bag, and didn't end up using it.

If you have a full tour the bus will be packed to capacity, with some bags having to go on board in the toilet (not actually in the bowl!). So you may have to keep the extra bag under your feet, but as far as weight goes, once your bag has been cleared in London, you can go and fill it with lead, it doesn't matter.

cheers mc