Trip preparation

So been preparing for about 6 months now for our trip. Got the flights booked in January through statravel. One way ticket to Bangkok £300 each. Obviously cheaper if you buy a return journey but we aren’t planning on coming back any time soon!

Itinerary so far goes like:

• Thailand – one month
• Laos – two weeks
• Vietnam – one month
• Cambodia – two weeks
• Indonesia – one month
• New Zealand – one year to work and play!

We’ve bought a paper copy of LP south east asia on a shoestring, and LP ebooks for Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia to go on our Samsung tablet. We’ll see how usable the ebooks actually are on the road, it does save carrying alot of excess weight in paper though.

Trying to pack everything into a 35 litre backpack so only the essentials, quick drying/easy to wash muiltifunctional clothing etc. The packing list:

• Vest, zip-off leg trousers, 4 pairs of sock, 4 pair boxers, swimming shorts, thin wool jumper, cagoule, long sleeve shirt, tshirt, short sleeve shirt.
• Sandals, sketcher shoes with good grip. Sun hat, sunglasses, swimming goggles. Watch.
• Compass, whistle, pen knife, headtorch, first aid kit, dry bag, knee support, needle and thread.
• Tablet, mp3 player, camera, cheap phone with good battery, notebook & pen, headphones and splitter, plug adaptor.
• Passport, wallet, hotel and flights details, drivers licence and international driving permit.
• Washkit, earplugs, blindfold, wet wipes, selection of drugs (aspirin, malerone etc).
• Suncream and insect repellant. Insect bite cream.
• Micro-fibre towel, now available in large size thank god!

Looks like a lot doesn’t it? But the main thing about all of these items (apart from the liquids) is they pack up to nothing or are multifunctional, or incredibly useful, in their own right. Clothes that can be worn anywhere and combine well with each other saves changing all the time and avoids the “Oh you can’t wear that clash!”, not that these things usually worry me, but hey, don’t wanna look like a dickhead! Headphones splitter? Can watch the same film on the tablet with your buddy and hear everything. I suppose an upgrade to the electrical section would be a good smartphone, kinda of an all in one deal, however with these you are constantly looking for a charger and if you lose it, well you’ve lost everything! Basically south east asia is largely hot, there are cooler bits though, hence the thin wool jumper and cagoule for the monsoon rain. Also why get well at all, take a tiny umbrella! Also good as a sunshade on those boats to the Thai islands if your prone to the burn!

Security wise, we’ve booked travel insurance for the 4 months in south east asia, and have also scanned in all essential documents such as passport, visas, drivers licence etc and uploaded them to a “cloud” drive so they can be accessed anywhere if need be. We’ve read up on all the latest scams and places NOT to go. Of course that list is not exhaustive so will exercise a level of caution all the time, especially the “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is” philosophy. Play it by ear anyway!

I think thats everything sorted. Can you think of anything we’ve forgotten? Let us know and comment below!