Help? Shipping a care package from America to Indonesia

[angelamontijo]

Has anyone here ever shipped a care package from America (I'm in California) to in Indonesia (he's in Jakarta)? I'm quite worried about sending anything because there are so many stories about items being stolen, the packages not arriving at all, insane taxes and customs fees. I'd hate to put in the work to send my SO a bunch of goodies and then only to be disappointed.

I wanna send him Oreos and chocolates and Cheetos. I'd love to be able to send him cheese cause apparently the best cheese they have in Indonesia is Kraft singles... but I can't, so I want to at least send him chocolate, since the don't have that either. Anyway, I'd really like to guidance on what I can do to make this work.

Thanks!

[mllebamako]

The best thing to do is to ask your SO how the mail is where he lives. He'll know best for his particular situation.

I live in Mali and the postal system here is so unreliable that I never have anyone send me anything (unless it's DHL- but that's for only important paperwork since it's so expensive). For me, getting a package is just too much of a hassle- it takes months to arrive, I have to chase it down at various post offices, I have to pay the taxes/customs fees on it, etc.

But I also know that when I first lived here, I was so homesick that getting a care package from my family meant the world to me and it was worth all of the hassle. So, ask him if it's worth it- even if it's a hassle or even if it gets stolen, it might be a gesture that he really needs right now.