Three Months With Only Hand Luggage (& My South-East Asia Packing List!)

TOP TIPS

• USE PACKING CUBES
  • Packing cubes are absolute life-savers; I obviously appreciated their ability to compress clothing, but the main reason that I loved them was that it allowed for some sense of organisation in my bag. I kept tops and bikinis in one cube, underwear and pyjamas in another, and then dresses and bottoms in a larger cube. You can see my packing list below for specifics on what I actually brought with me.

• CHECK-IN ONLINE
  • No one likes that moment at the airport when they’re about to put your almost-definitely-over-weight bag on the scale, and you’re contemplating how you’re going to fit three packing cubes worth of clothes on your body, whilst being stood in a queue for VietJet Air (…yes I may have found myself in that exact situation). So, honestly, the easiest fix I found for this was to not visit the check-in desk at all. Checking-in online meant that I could head straight to the departure gate, and I didn’t have my bag weighed at any point when doing this! (Also, as a side note, try and avoid VietJet Air, as they don’t allow you to check-in online).

• USE YOUR DAY-BAG WISELY
  • This follows on from the above tip! Day-bags, or personal items as airlines refer to them as, are very, very rarely weighed at the airport, so use this to your advantage. I stored the heaviest things, such as my journal, liquids bag, and portable charger, in my day-bag.

• STAY ORGANISED
  • You know how people say a messy house equates to a messy mind? Well, the same can definitely be said for backpacks. Having a place for everything not only made packing days so much quicker, but also allowed you to quickly reach for things, without rummaging around the entire bag. Plus, your roommates in the hostels will definitely appreciate you keeping your bag tidy, and not resulting in a room strewn with clothes!

PACKING LIST

A packing list will vary trip to trip, depending on what clothing you need, but on the whole, most of these items will be consistent in my bag, regardless of where I’m heading or what I’m doing.

BAGS

• Osprey Fairview 40L bag (I added patches to mine so that it was instantly recognisable in hostel luggage rooms and ferries)
• ‘Under-the-seat’ sized day bag (15-18L)
• Black bum bag (this one has a really handy pocket close to your body, perfect for your passport on travel days!)
• Cream Uniqlo bag (I got mine secondhand on Depop, always check there first!)
• Crochet tote bag (I bought this out there!)

DOCUMENTATION

• Passport (+ 2x printed copies)
• Passport photos x3
• International drivers license (if you’re based in the UK you can get this from the Post Office)
• UK drivers license (optional, but I used it as an easier form of ID, to save you carrying your passport around)
• Proof of vaccines
• Travel insurance documents
• Travel bank cards (I brought a Starling card and a Monzo card, but did 90% of my transactions on the Starling as it has 0% foreign transaction fee; Monzo only starts charging after £250)
• Printed itinerary with addresses of all hotels, flight times and details

MISCELLANEOUS

• Microfibre beach towel
• Microfibre bath towel
• Microfibre head towel (I didn’t bring one of these and definitely regretted it!)
• Water bottle
• Collapsible lunchbox (+ reusable cutlery)
• Laundry bag
• Shoe bag (definitely a must as shoes get quite mucky!)
• Journal (+ a pencil case)
• Waterproof playing cards
• Waterproof phone case (to bring your phone snorkelling!)
• 2x combination locks
• 3x packing cubes (I got this set and used the 2x medium and 1x small)
• Mini hand-held fan (an absolute life-saver, this is also a torch and a portable charger! So many people asked where I got this from while I was travelling)

TOILETRIES

• Hanging wash-bag
• 100ml squeezy-liquid bottles
• Battery-powered electric toothbrush (+ spare batteries)
• Hairbrush
• Razor (+ a razor travel case and spare razor heads)
• Nail scissors (check that these fit the flight safety regulations of the country you’re travelling to!)
• Tweezers
• Earbuds
• Floss
• Cotton pads
• Sanitary products (tampons are very hard to come by in Asia)
• Tissues (toilets over there can be dire so always keep a pack with you)
• Nail varnish remover pads
• 2x sheet masks

LIQUID TOILETRIES

• TSA approved liquids bag
• Toothpaste
• Hand sanitiser (always carry this with you and apply before eating to try and ward off food-poisoning)
• Suncream
• Mosquito repellent (if you’re travelling to Asia they have great repellent in 7/11 in a little pink bottle)
• Shampoo (I brought a travel size bottle with me and filled it up as I travelled around)
• Conditioner
• Deodorant
• Moisturiser (with an SPF in!)
• Night serum
• Hair oil
• Micellar water
• Body wash
• Atomiser of perfume

SOLID TOILETRIES

• 2x bar of baby soap
• 2x bar of facial soap (this one is my favourite)

MAKE-UP

• Foundation (honestly I barely used this, but it was nice to have the option for more dressed-up nights)
• Contour and blusher palette
• Eyeliner
• Mascara
• Lip balm
• Lipstick

TOPS

• Sweatshirt
• 3x day-to-day vest tops/camis
• 3x dressed up night-time tops
• Something to cover your shoulders for temples; this is a MUST if you are visiting Asia

BOTTOMS

• 2x maxi skirts (you need something to cover your knees if you are planning on visiting temples)
• A pair of denim shorts
• A pair of cycling shorts
• A more dressed up skirt

DRESSES & PLAYSUITS

• Casual playsuit
• Dressed up night-time playsuit
• Silk maxi dress (perfect for when you really want to feel dressed up!)

SHOES

• Trainers (preferably leather ones that can handle getting wet!)
• Hiking sandals (I didn’t bring these and regretted it almost daily; Tevas are a great brand to look into!)
• Dressed-up sandals (for when you want to feel a bit more put together)
• Flip-flops, for hostel showers

OTHER

• Sunglasses
• Pack-a-mac (…I visited Thailand and Vietnam in rainy season, enough said)
• Sarong/bikini cover-up
• 12x underwear
• 5x socks
• 2x pyjamas (I bought two pairs of short pyjamas but also a pair of long pyjama bottoms for chilly night buses)
• Bandanas and a bucket hat (or any other way to keep the sun off your head!)
• Bobbles, headbands and hair accessories

ELECTRONICS

• Phone
• Phone charger
• Kindle (saves you carrying books around!)
• Kindle charger
• International adapter (this one works for every country in the world, a travel essential!)
• Portable charger
• Airpods

FIRST AID KIT

• 4x Epipen (I have a severe peanut and nut allergy so I wasn’t taking any chances!)
• 4x allergy medication
• Plasters
• Anti-septic cream
• Bandages
• Paracetamol
• Imodium (unfortunately this is a must…)
• Charcoal tablets (I never took these but knew many, many people who did; it clears out any harmful bacteria in your gut!)
• 5x medical face masks (just in case!)