From Dani:
While I was living in Rome, a couple came to stay with me for a few days that we're doing a travel-around-Europe-trip for about 6 weeks. I met them at the train station, and to my absolute amazement, the only luggage they had with them was a briefcase-sized backpack. For BOTH of them. I had never known anyone to pack THAT light, and it has served as an inspiration ever since!
My sister, Heather, and her husband, Kyle, are coming to visit us in a few days, and I figured Heather might appreciate having a suggestion list for packing. Rather than sending it directly to her, I decided to share it with you, dear readers, so when you come visit this beautiful country, you have some ideas for how to pack light... Although I'll be honest, it won't be as light as that duo!
As a note, Gabe and I are customarily carry-on size packers. We generally aim to get by with whatever we can take onto the airplane with us, as this cuts down time waiting at baggage claim, requires us to limit what we pack to reasonable carrying-weight amounts, and greatly reduces the risk of lost luggage! Since Heather and Kyle will be traveling with us for about 2 weeks around SE Asia, and our primary mode of transportation will be motorcycles, it's going to be best for them if they can pack light.
Our itinerary is as follows:
5 days in Chiang Mai
2 nights in Cambodia at Angkor Wat
5 days down at the beaches in southern Thailand (Railay area)
2 nights in Bangkok
When I travel, I typically try to do my laundry from the day every evening, unless we're traveling early in the morning and things won't have time to dry.
Essentials:
Shoes:
- Chacos or other hiking/walking friendly sandals (we're going to be doing some hiking and walking and riding on motorcycles - it's best to have shoes that can firmly attach to your feet)
- Flip flops (easy to clean, great as an indoor shoe option if the need arises, easy to brush sand off of, and helpful if you start to get blisters from the hiking sandals and need a bit of a break from them for a day)
Clothes:
- swimsuit (I'd recommend 2 - although in this hot climate, the usual dread of putting on a wet suit probably won't be as disturbing as it usually is!)
- a pair of capri-length, light weight pants IF you already have one. I have two pair of nice quality hiking-type capris (think: pockets that close with zippers or buttons) that I wear a LOT! If not, you can buy some here for less than $10. I seriously regret not bringing my black gauchos.
- shorts - 2 pairs. One that is quick-dry, running-style or board style shorts, and one that is more jean short/khaki/something along those lines. My shorts have about a 3-5 inch inseam, and as a foreigner, I feel comfortable walking around in those most places. If you want to be conservative, bring the jean/khaki style as Bermuda length. Obviously, for when we go visit Angkor Wat, we won't be wearing our shorts :)
- 1 long sleeve shirt. I prefer my cotton, button up, collared shirt the most. It's still lightweight, but it provides excellent sun coverage if I get a little pink and need a day or two to keep my skin out of the sun. It's also a bit loose, which is nice for mosquito avoidance in the evening. If you don't have one, it's easy to buy long-sleeve, tunic-style shirts here for less than $10.
- 2-3 short sleeve shirts, ideally all or mostly all cotton. I have some that are 95% cotton, 5% spandex that are fitted T's with a v-neck. I wear them ALL THE TIME! A regular v-neck t-shirt can also be nice if you find yourself over indulging on ice cream and delicious Thai food so you don't have to feel self conscious about holding in your stomach! I prefer lightweight, loose, natural-fabric, that is comfortable, and dries easily.
- 2-3 tank tops. I have several of Target's "long and lean" tank tops that I wear a lot. I would also recommend a loose tank top - I don't know what they're called (yoga tank tops?), but the loose, breezy, comfy, athletic ones. I would stay away from spaghetti straps - in fact, if you can find relatively wide-strapped sleeveless tops, that's usually best. I've seen a lot of Thai women in shorts, but very few in tank tops - however, we are foreigners, and we'll be in some touristy places (including the beach!) so I think we'll be fine with wearing some of these.
- 6-8 pair of cotton or breathable underwear. You could do it with less than this if you're washing them by hand every night, but I HATE wearing sweaty undies, so when it's hot, I change 'em a lot!
- a sports bra
- a regular bra (that works with your tank tops)
- 1 pair of socks (to wear in case your feet get cold with fans blowing on them/you get TIRED of having dirty feet!)
- rash guard/sun protection shirt for swimming/kayaking/snorkeling
- a sweater/lightweight sweatshirt (I wear cardigans sometimes in the morning or evening when I'm on the scooter)
- something to sleep in - I usually sleep in cotton pajama shorts and either a loose cotton T-shirt or tank top.
Optional things:
- 1 pair of lightweight, loose long pants. They're very common and cheap at market stalls, so not necessary to bring with you if you'd prefer to not have to pack them over. However, it's nice to have them for mosquito protection or if we go to a movie - which have the AC piped down to arctic conditions!
- a knee-length, comfy skirt or dress OR a maxi-skirt - in case you want to change up your style a little. I wear skirts a lot because they provide a little more sun coverage than shorts, but are equally light weight if they're knee length or so. It's also nice to have something a little more dressy if you decide to go to a nice dinner and/or for walking into the semi-fancy resort we'll be staying at one night!
- running shoes - it's debatable whether they're worth the space and weight, but sometimes it's nice to be able to go for a run and/or to give your feet a break from sandals if your feet aren't used to them. After a 3-week trip to Europe the summer after high school, I promised myself I would never again travel without running shoes. Obviously if you do this, you might need another pair or two of socks.
- a lightweight scarf can change up style, and is nice for using as a pillow or as a beach coverup or on an air conditioned bus.
- an additional pair of board shorts or running shorts for swimming/kayaking/snorkeling in.
Cosmetics and equipment:
- the bare necessities of makeup/a favorite face wash or moisturizer if you're picky (I am!). Literally, the only make-up I've worn for at least the last month is mascara. Coverup/powder just tends to melt and cake. The same with eye shadow. I've never been a big bronzes/blush/lipstick person, and I'm even less so here!
- the bare necessities of hair styling if you're picky. I have one kind of gel that I use, but I ran out of hairspray in the first weeks here and have never bothered to get any more - with the humidity and the fans, there just doesn't seem to be any point!
- a headlamp - most of the lights here are overhead fluorescent lights, so lighting is sort of all or nothing. It's nice to have a headlamp nearby if you need to make a bathroom run in the middle of the night (keep in mind - you DO want to check the bathroom for critters before you go in barefoot and vulnerable!) or you're walking along a dark road.
- flat sheet (actually, Heather doesn't need to worry about this, as we have some extras, but typically Thai hotels don't offer a top sheet, and I am one of those people that finds it very difficult to go to sleep without a sheet over me - even when it's hot!)
- tampons, if you're going to need them. They're expensive here and not very easy to find.
- a water bottle if you have one you're partial to
What I would NOT bring:
- a towel (easy to find at open markets if you need it)
- a washcloth (also easy to find at open markets)
- shampoo and conditioner (there's a 7/11 on practically every corner, and travel size shampoo/conditioner is cheap)
- soap (again - easy to find)
- toothpaste (easy to find) - in fact, you can buy a toothbrush when you're here too, if space is that much of a problem on the trip over.
- perfume. It tends to attract bugs!
Extra things to consider:
- a day pack of some kind - we have a smaller-than-38-liter backpack that we use ALL the time for transporting stuff while we're going to church/going on an aftnoon adventure. In fact, we haul our groceries home from the writ in it! Choose something with comfortable shoulder pads as you'll most likely put a lot of water into it.
- mosquito net. We don't sleep with one here at our house because we have screens on our windows, but given that we're semi-budget travelers, it might not be a bad idea to have one on hand if you have room for it.
- you can buy razors here, but if you have a favorite one, it might be worth bringing if you're able to get through security. My razor made it fine, but I lost my tweezers in Hong Kong.
- usually I'd suggest bringing deodorant because the stuff they have here seems kinda weird (gel? Although I haven't tried it), but I have several unopened containers of Dove or Secret brand deodorants. I personally use a salt stick deodorant after every shower (usually at night), and then in the morning I use my arrowroot/baking soda/coconut oil/essential oil homemade deodorant and I think I've only had B.O. twice in the 5 months we've been here - it works amazing!
- Bug repellant. I don't know if it's avaialble her - I would assume so, but I haven't personally gone looking for it. I find the best thing that seems to work for me is: 5 drops of lemongrass essential oil, 5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil, 5 drops of melaleuca essential oil, and 5 drops of lavender essential oil. I mix that with water in a 15 ml bottle with a spray top, and that serves about 2 applications - one in the morning, and one in the evening, spraying down all exposed skin. It seems to deter about 90% of the bugs - which is good enough for me to avoid coating myself in deet every day for a year!
- electronics. I'd personally say less-is-more. Apple products are ok with 240 volts, so you don't have to worry about a voltage converter for an iPhone (we have charging equipment for our iPad Madge Gabe's iPod touch, so you shouldn't need to bring any if you're ok with sharing ours Irish us). Having music and headphones is definitely nice. Obviously, having a camera with whatever you need for charging batteries, if you have rechargeable ones (check voltage converters). Most Thai plugs I've seen will accept US style plugs, so no need for a plug adapter. I would avoid blow driers and hair straighteners, but I don't personally use them in my everyday life anyhow.
- Most easily accessible lotions are skin whitening lotion, so if you have some all-natural stuff you prefer, bring it if you can. Chapstick is pretty easy to find if you're OK with non-organic stuff.
- if you have a lightweight rain jacket/wind breaker that rolls up really small, you might consider bringing it. It's cold on scooters if you get wet, but honestly, poncho's are cheap and they're available all over, and that cuts the wind AND prevents wetness if you need it!
- a hat of some kind might be nice, even just a baseball cap to keep the sun off your nose and forehead.
- sunscreen if you have a favorite brand, although you might be able to find it here - I haven't really looked. I don't personally wear a lot of sunscreen - preferring to wear clothes and/or try to stay out of direct sun for long periods of time if I can.
- sunglasses - although they are also easy to find here if you need to get them.
- a luxury item: a battery powered, portable speaker is nice for if a movie-night-on-the-iPad happens. We regret not bringing ours.
And to close off: here's me sporting a typical traveling ensemble from a few years back! My goal is to always pack LESS than I did on the last trip! :) clearly I have a long ways to go until I match the packing efficiency of the couple I hosted in Rome!
