Preparation help needed..

Hi,

I am travelling through Thailand and Indonesia (on a budget) in the new year
and will be for around 6 months, it is time for me to think about what i
need to take in my backpack.. I know it will be easy to just cram my pack
full of stuff so would appreciate it if anyone who has done a similar route
or travel could give me a bit of advice on what i will actually need, how
much stuff to take, any essentials or things that become surplus from their
experience, it would be a great help.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cloudsteppa wrote:
I am travelling through Thailand and Indonesia (on a budget) in the new
year and will be for around 6 months, it is time for me to think about
what i need to take in my backpack.. I know it will be easy to just cram
my pack full of stuff so would appreciate it if anyone who has done a
similar route or travel could give me a bit of advice on what i will
actually need, how much stuff to take, any essentials or things that
become surplus from their experience, it would be a great help.

This topic has recently been covered in rec.travel.budget.backpack; you
might want to groups.google.com your way over there.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Site remodeled 10-Sept-2003: Hundreds of new photos, easier navigation.

The following is my personal packing list for backpacking in SE Asia.
Of course, if you're a girlie, you'll need to make appropriate
changes. The total weight is (for me) 9 kg.

Clothing
5 shirts
3 long-sleeved (including 1 or more suitable for
classy restaurants)
2 short-sleeved
4 T-shirts or vests (optional - to soak up the perspiration)
5 pairs underpants
5 pairs socks
2 long trousers (1 lightweight, 1 more formal)
Belt
Shorts
Swimming trunks
Shoes
1 suitable for walking over rough terrain
1 lightweight for the city
3 Hankies
Towel

Miscellaneous
Friend/family 'phone/address
Travel wash
Camera
Cable/lock
Pens
Envelopes
Water

Toiletries
Deodorant
Toothpaste + brush
Dental floss
Comb
Nail file
Scissors
Razor + foam
Sun block

Financial
Passport
Credit cards
Travellers Cheques
Cash
Photocopy of passport
Copy of TC numbers
Details of plane ticket
Bank account & credit card details/contact info
Insurance certificate

Common Items
Lonely Planet guidebook
Copy of hotel bookings
Medical kit
Aspirin
Imodium
Toilet paper
Mosquito repellent (DEET)
Torch
Bottle opener

Mike987 wrote:
The following is my personal packing list for backpacking in SE Asia.
Of course, if you're a girlie, you'll need to make appropriate
changes. The total weight is (for me) 9 kg.

Everyone's preferences are different - because I'm lazy, I'm just going to
list the things I personally wouldn't bother with:

Clothing
5 shirts
3 long-sleeved (including 1 or more suitable for
classy restaurants)
2 short-sleeved
vests (optional - to soak up the perspiration)
long trousers (more formal)
Belt
3 Hankies
Towel

Instead of a towel I bring a washcloth and pretend it's a towel. Smaller,
and can easily be tied outside the backpack where it'll dry quickly.

Miscellaneous
Travel wash

Maybe I'd bring this; what is it?

Cable/lock
Envelopes

More fun to buy weird local envelopes (or aerogrammes)

Water

Bring water? They probably have it there.

Toiletries
Comb
Nail file
Scissors

Financial
Travellers Cheques
Cash
Copy of TC numbers

Common Items
Lonely Planet guidebook
Copy of hotel bookings

Hotel bookings? This is a 6-month trip, not a long weekend in Paris.

Medical kit
Aspirin
Imodium
Toilet paper
Torch
Bottle opener

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Site remodeled 10-Sept-2003: Hundreds of new photos, easier navigation.

On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 21:55:31 +0100, Mike987 wrote:
The following is my personal packing list for backpacking in SE Asia.
Of course, if you're a girlie, you'll need to make appropriate
changes. The total weight is (for me) 9 kg.

Clothing
5 shirts
3 long-sleeved (including 1 or more suitable for
classy restaurants)
2 short-sleeved
4 T-shirts or vests (optional - to soak up the perspiration)
5 pairs underpants
5 pairs socks

That's a fair bit of clothing. I would swap the lightweight shoes for a
pair of sandles. That's what you would end up wearing most of the time.
Socks are only needed for the hiking boots, so you need fewer pairs. 3
at the most.

9 shirts is a lot. I carried

1 long sleeved dressy shirt
1 long sleeved cycling jersey
4 T-shirts

The cycling jersey was a good layer for climbing Kinabalu. I shipped it
home shortly thereafter. It just wasn't needed anymore. I don't
actually recommend buying a cycling jersey just for this purpose.
However, it would be a good idea to look through your closet for
something else that you can layer.

A nylon jacket is pretty much essential for frequent rain and more rare
chills.

A compact umbrella can very useful too. You need not carry it from home
but you should allow space.

2 long trousers (1 lightweight, 1 more formal)
Belt
Shorts
Swimming trunks
Shoes
1 suitable for walking over rough terrain
1 lightweight for the city
3 Hankies

Toilet paper should suffice and you're already carrying that.

Towel

Miscellaneous
Friend/family 'phone/address

Keep such information online rather than on paper than can be lost or
damaged.

Travel wash
Camera
Cable/lock
Pens
Envelopes
Water

Toiletries
Deodorant
Toothpaste + brush
Dental floss

2 packs of floss. Add little weight or bulk. Floss can be surprisingly
difficult to find. Toothbrushes are easy.

Common Items
Lonely Planet guidebook

Some guide book anyway. If you didn't end up somewhere you hadn't
researched, it wouldn't be much of an adventure. The one you left at
home can't help then.

Copy of hotel bookings
Medical kit
Aspirin
Imodium
Toilet paper
Mosquito repellent (DEET)
Torch
Bottle opener

Water filter and/or iodine tablets. Most of time, bottled water is
readily available and cheap. But when it is not, it is good to have
options.

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Just to clarify on a few points, in light of comments:

1. I don't look good in T-shirts, and prefer to look respectful when
visiting temples and better restaurants, so I wear a mixture of long-
and short-sleeved shirts, taking 5 of these. The T-shirts are to wear
*under* the shirts (American style), so the shirts aren't permanently
soaked in perspiration.

2. When I first arrive I'll be tired after an 11 hours flight, so I
prebook the first couple of nights in a decent hotel and take a copy
of the bookings with me. The water is so that I don't have to scout
out a shop selling water the moment I arrive. I also find it
convenient to have a 500 ml water bottle to carry around - more
convenient than the larger bottles one can usually buy. I decant from
the local, large bottle into my smaller one.

3. The envelopes are to put my cash/TCs/etc. in when I leave my
valuables in a safe at reception. I seal them and sign over the flap.

Whether you need a light jacket/umbrella depends upon where you've
visiting. But for 99% of Thailand/Indonesia I definitely wouldn't
bother; yes you'll get wet, but in the heat you'll dry out pretty
quickly.