What to pack when travelling around Southeast Asia!

I researched many different blogs and travel websites and spoke to people who have travelled to Southeast Asia about what to pack. Now many of them were very helpful, but we listened to some very bad advice – in my opinion, of course.

Many people told us – do not bring any nice clothing, you will be travelling and your clothes will get ruined. Yes, that CAN be true. BUT don’t you want nice pictures of you in cute clothes rather than old, ugly ones you were going to throw out anyways! Once we started looking at the stuff we packed (and even more so looking at our pictures), we wished we brought different clothing! Just remember you are going to be showing people your photos of an incredible trip, so look fabulous!

Here are the necessities for travelling girls:

Clothing:

- 2 pairs of shorts (do not bring denim, extremely heavy to carry and incredibly hot in the humid weather)
- 3-4 t-shirts or tank tops (make sure you bring at least one t-shirt, a lot of temples have dress codes your shoulders need to be covered)
- 1 dress/skirt (for nights out when you want to dress up)
- 1 pair of pants (buy there! In Asia those silly, hippie, harem pants are everywhere; and everyone wears them!)
- A few pairs of socks, bras, bathing suits and 7 pairs of underwear
- 1 light weight sweater for travelling and air conditioned rooms
-a clutch or little bag that has a zipper where you can keep your cash and camera for dinner or day trips
-1 pair of sandals
-1 pair of running shoes

Other necessities:

- PASSPORT!

-smartphone (make sure you keep it on airplane mode, there is Wifi access at almost every restaurant and hotel/hostel)
- Medication (including aspirin, Gravol and any tummy issue medication)
- contacts/glasses
-SUNSCREEN! (Most sunscreen in SE Asia is extremely expensive and has whitening cream in it, so bring some from home!)
-bug spray (I barely used it, but if you don’t want to get malaria or constantly be scratching, bring it!)
-toiletries (minimal makeup, hair supplies, toothbrush/toothpaste, shampoo, soap)  
-first aid kit (just in case you get a cut, or need an ice pack; infections can be much worse in humid weather)

 What to shop for when you arrive:

-everywhere in SE Asia, there are cheap clothes ($3-$10 US) for shirts, pants, dresses, sweaters, purses and flip flops
-all toiletries can be purchased once you arrive, all very inexpensive and in travel sizes

Things you can’t find easily:

-if you wear a large size in any clothing, it is extremely difficult to find something that will fit unless you have to custom made
-contact solution 
-medication; medication can be found HOWEVER, you may not get what you want due to availability and language barriers. Rural areas have very limited supplies, so stock up before you go or in major cities.

Take it out of your bag now!:

- Hair dryer, curling or straightening iron (your hair will NEVER stay nice in this humidity, it’s not worth hauling around hair styling tools you will not use)
-anything denim (too heavy to carry, too heavy to wear, take it out of your bag!)
-a coat/jacket (you will NOT need it)
- Illegal substances (Do not even think of travelling with any illegal substances. The laws vary depending on the country but generally are extremely strict in Asia.)
-travel books (This sounds crazy, but do you have any idea how heavy a 300 page travel book is to carry around for 2 months? In my experience, you do not even look at it.  You should have your smartphone and the option of internet cafés to do research.)

The packing list is based solely on my travelling experience. To make my own "vacuum-seal" bag, I used large zip-lock bags. This kept all of my stuff organized and in the event your bag ends up soaked or dirty, your stuff with be clean and dry. I hope it can help future backpackers!