Checklist for backpacking.

[Condi]

Well... im not walking with my backpack per say, but wont be taking much on the plane. Once I get off round Thailand, Cambodia etc i'll need my life in motion, so; what would you take.

So far I have;

Camera
iPod
Phone + charger + adapters
Insect repellent
Plasters

And thats about it. How many clothes can one take? I'll need some work clothes, which will have to be kind of smart (hoping to get a bar job), and some lazy clothes for the beach/ whatever else. Obviously some smart clothes for going out. What else am I likely to need?

Suggest away. I'll have to buy everything, so if you have any specific products which might be useful then go ahead with those too.

[anonymous-user]

backpack?

[Engineer1]

Money, you can buy a lot of stuff you forgot, don't take too many clothes you will almost certainly be able to buy clothes cheaper there than at home and are likely to have a better idea of what you need not what you think you need.

[Xaero]

The usual Mantra is double your money and half your possessions. I took numerous things but chucked loads on the go.

I wouldn't carry much more than what you already listed (personally I'd take a phone that does music playing rather than a separate ipod but that's a personal choice). The only thing I'd add on is travel tap. Which is a bottle with an in built water filter. So you can drink any fresh water and it'll be clean as well as tasting good, useful gadget I used daily, saves buying bottled water everywhere.

Depending on your computer you might want to take an external hard drive for photo storage too.

Clothing wise, I ended up with:

3 pairs of underwear
2 pairs of socks (nearly always wore flip flops)
2 shirts (craghopper ones look neat and are more functional than cotton shirts)
2 t-shirts - I bought these cheap abroad, throw away items really
2 pairs of shorts
1 pair of swimming shorts (can replace a normal pair of shorts choosen correctly)
1 pair of trousers (craghopper ones again, look neat from afar but functional too [read: dry quickly])
1 pair of regular walking shoes
1 backpack

That's pretty much it. You can clean clothes yourself using shampoo to save space too.

I bought a bit more when I had a campervan as I had the space, but left it behind when living out of backpack.

A 50 litre back pack + day sack is more than enough if you aren't camping. If you need more than that then you are going wrong somewhere.

[Jackleman]

Condi said:

Well... im not walking with my backpack per say, but wont be taking much on the plane. Once I get off round Thailand, Cambodia etc i'll need my life in motion, so; what would you take.

So far I have;

Camera
iPod
Phone + charger + adapters
Insect repellent
Plasters

And thats about it. How many clothes can one take? I'll need some work clothes, which will have to be kind of smart (hoping to get a bar job), and some lazy clothes for the beach/ whatever else. Obviously some smart clothes for going out. What else am I likely to need?

Suggest away. I'll have to buy everything, so if you have any specific products which might be useful then go ahead with those too.

OK, I just got back from a trip round Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Oz.

Take some basic first aid supplies, but you can buy what you need in most places unless you are venturing in to the jungle for extended periods.

You don't need to take much in the way of clothes as you can buy them cheaper there than anywhere else, t-shirts are about 50p!

I would take..
50% DEET insect repelant
a couple of photocopies of passport, travel insurance cert, plane tickets. (don't store them in the same place to the originals!).
A list of important phone numbers, credit cards, bank, insurance etc.
Take a USB stick with a portable web browser on it so you have secure internet when you go to a cafe.
Suncream/Aftersun
Notebook and pen.
Spare camera batteries and memory sticks, I used over 6 x 2gb cards on my trip!
Sun hat
Walking boots, I bought a pair of the lightweight ones and was very pleased with them.
I would keep a stash of US$ for emergency or when your bank let's you down at the ATM.(Make sure to tell your bank your travel plans or your cards will probably not work!)

Have fun!

[Fume troll]

Several types of credit card.

Cheers,

FT.

[v15ben]

Another one no one has mentioned that I always take. A good quality padlock with a spare key or two!

[Trophybloo]

A pocket multitool / Swiss Army knife
As an aside does the Swiss Army only exist as a marketing tool for multi-hasp knife manufacture?

[5harp3y]

a decent torch, most places in thailand et al are unlit.

make sure you check the dates for the full moon parties and get yourself to one!

[chris123321]

From my experience (aus, thailand cambodia in 2008-2009) if I was to go again, I would take as little as possible, everything can be bought out there for much cheaper than here in most cases.

For a trip im planning in cambodia again, the only thing ill be taking is GPS, motocross helmet, a few essential clothes for first few days and my passports etc


A spare liver would've been handy!

Have fun, but be careful with the buckets on koh phangan in the full moon, I woke up boxing day 2008 floating on my back in the water some way out to sea, massive black eye, numerous bruises and no clue where id been for several hours

[Bill]

Xaero said:

A 50 litre back pack + day sack is more than enough if you aren't camping. If you need more than that then you are going wrong somewhere.

EFA.

[auditt]

Hows the trip going?