Wanderlust
Packing for 3 days in Thailand
April 22, 2016
This was my first International travel and I wanted to have a carry on backpack only. We would arrive in Bangkok, Thailand before midnight of January 29 and by February 2 , we would be back in the Philippines. That’s 5 whole days. Technically just 3 days in Bangkok, Thailand, and a day in Manila, Philippines.
Months before our scheduled flight, I had to research about Bangkok’s weather, culture, food, and health.
Thailand is mostly hot. Hotter than Cebu, Philippines. As a person who sweats easily, I had to ponder heavily on what types of clothes I will bring. I needed shirts that let cool air in easily. Clothes that are easy to dry. Clothes that, as much as possible, don’t obviously show it’s already soaked on some areas.
Tap waters and some street foods aren’t safe. I have a tendency to have diarrhea on special days and I needed to find a way to stop this, but I also wanted to eat street foods! Travel blogs and Thailand expats pointed tap water is not safe.
Mosquitoes are everywhere. Even here in our country. Not sure about how dangerous their mosquitoes are in Thailand. Most travel blogs I read also noted how important mosquito repellents are.
Not everyone can speak or understand English. This is a tough one. I had to figure out a way to communicate to the locals when I get lost.
Wear modest clothes when visiting Temples. Covered shoulders and ankles for everyone. No sleeveless shirts. No short skirts or shorts. No fitting jeans. No see through maxi skirts. Covered toes. As a tourist, might as well follow these rules as a sign of respect for its country’s temples.
By the end of 2015, I had everything planned for my daily outfits for a typically hot weather. On January, Bangkok's temperature dropped to 17.5-degree celsius which was pretty unusual for the country. Jackets became a fashion trend. Some parts of Thailand experienced snow. I began changing my packing list to take into account cold days. Luckily, before January 29, the temperature become normal again.
Gadgets / Accessories
- Day Pack
- Sling Pouch for easy access to a few coins and notes while walking
- Notebook
- Pen
- Passport
- IDs
- Photocopies of passport and IDs
- Lock
- Fully charged power bank
- Earphones
- Smartphone with Google Map, Google Translate, and mp3 recordings of important Thai Phrases.
Undergarments
- A black bra
- Black Uniqlo Camisole
- 6 undies
Footwear
- Black Sneakers shoes
- Brown Keds Shoe
- Flip flops
- 3 ankle socks
- 1 socks
Clothes
- 5 shirts
- 1 kimono blazer
- 2 shorts
- 1 maxi skirt
- Black lounge pants – for sleeping
- Scarf
Toiletries
- Micro Fiber Towel
- Soap
- 2 Shampoo sachets
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Milcu Foot Powder
- Alcohol
- Mosquito repellent patches
- Sunblock
- Wet Tissue
- Facial Tissue
- Comb
- 3 extra hair ties
- Makeup Kit
- Face Powder
- Eye liner
- Lip stick
- Lip Cream
Medicine
- Diatabs – For LBM
- Alaxan – For body pain
- Biogesic – For fever
Now before I started cramming everything into my 44L Pink Cabin Zero Backpack, I had to learn more about efficient packing tips so as not to exceed the 7kg limit for carry on backpacks. I found out using luggage organizer is a nice way of making sure everything is tucked in to save space. But it does add a bit of weight to my backpack. I might purchase a new luggage organizer for my next trip because the one I’m using for Bangkok is not that durable and did add a few grams to my backpack. Here’s all the things inside my backpack.
Toiletries go into a transparent pouch and will be placed inside my CabinZero backpack. Makeup items go into a black mesh pouch and will be placed inside my day pack. I have to carry it everywhere. The pink pouch held my powerbank and phone. It goes inside my day pack. The bigger luggage organizer holds all my clothes. The smaller one held the undergarments, socks and my kimono blazer.
My black day pack carried the important items like my notebook and pens, my passport and IDs, makeup kit, powerbank and the wallet that contained the currency. I kept two wallets and two coin purse to separate Thai and Philippine currency. The unused wallet and coin purse goes to my CabinZero backpack.
The staff from CebuPacificAir informed me I could bring two carry on items, but I had to make sure my carry on luggage does not exceed 7kg and my other hand carry shall not exceed 2 kg. Which is awesome! My CabinZero weighed 6.4 kg, while my daypack was almost 2kg. Lol. I’m safe though.
Epilogue
I ended up not using one of my shirts since it functioned only as an extra item. When I started packing for going back to the Philippines, I realized I could have just left my brown shoe. One pair was enough for the trip. Shoes in Bangkok are pretty cheap. I would'nt have to worry about spending a lot of money in case my shoe gets lost or worn out. For my next trips, I'm planning to bring less items with me and of course I won't forget to talk about it here on Scribble and Wander.
What would you pack for your trip to Bangkok?
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