3 weeks in Thailand - what would you pack?

Donalh

Hi there, heading to the islands in Thailand for 3 weeks in January. Can anyone who has been before give some practical advice on what to pack or what not to pack?
Thanks

Donalh

Donalh wrote: »

Hi there, heading to the islands in Thailand for 3 weeks in January. Can anyone who has been before give some practical advice on what to pack or what not to pack?
Thanks

plenty of condoms;)

Stinicker

When I was in Thailand I spent around six days in Ko Samui as I was traveling around the country, as it was only my second time in Asia and my first time there for a prolonged period I made an absolute balls of my packing for the second time in a row! As I had previously packed light for Australia only to discover Australia's Winter is not like our Summer as I had been told and discovered it was fine and cold in Melbourne, cue many purchases of billabong clothing!

Basically Thailand is very hot and humid so pack light wash and wear clothes, light T-Shirts and casual shirts, shorts and sandals flip flops. I found some of the streets quite dirty in Bangkok and wore light socks with the sandals which is a terrible cliche I know, socks and sandals! Taking one pair of sneakers would be no harm.

Depending on your airline check out your baggage allowance and if you are given 20kgs then allow at least 5 to 6 spare kilos for coming home especially if you are anything like me and love to buy various knickknacks, trinkets, gifts and €5 lacoste "genuine" T-Shirts! You don't have to pack much clothing as Laundry services are on almost every second or third street and they will wash, dry and iron your clothes for tiny money, I think I paid around 250bt -€6 for a large enough bag of laundry.

You don't need any winter clothing whatsoever and maybe one light jumper and one pair of jeans or casual pants if you want go somewhere fancy and look respectable, every tourist out there is in the same boat and some do look ridiculous but the Thais seem used to it, best to try look good when going to Temples etc. A rain mack is handy as they can get torrential downpours at times. Most things in Thailand are cheaper than here and they have 7/11 stores (like Spar) everywhere and Boots chemists in the resorts and you can buy most things there. I found suncream to be quite expensive as it is something only farangs tend to buy so they price it accordingly so get that here as I paid nearly €15 for a fairly small bottle there.

If you plan to go to the islands by overnight train or bus watch your valuables very carefully, I had $200 stolen on the bus from the train station at Surat Thani to the Pier at Donsak where you board the ferry to Samui, they won't allow you take your carryon bag into the bus citing "security" and when its in the hold underneath they covertly open the bags steal stuff and close them again, I only missed the $200 5 days later as it was like a backup fund incase anything went wrong.

Carry all valuables on your person if making this journey as there are dozens of pitfalls naive Tourists can get caught in if they are not careful. This is a valuable read to wise any newbie up to Thailand, pity I didn't see it in time though!!

Thailand is brill and I am going back there in April for a bit as I am travelling to Malaysia for a month and will probably head north to Thailand as soon as I get bored of Malaysia!

billyhead

Would 2 weeks be a good length of time to tour Thailand. Thinking of heading in possibly March

Stinicker

billyhead wrote: »

Would 2 weeks be a good length of time to tour Thailand. Thinking of heading in possibly March

2 weeks would be pushing it quite tight and you would not have enough time to truly appreciate it eg. if you wanted to do Bangkok, Chiang Mai and one of the Southern Islands, a week each in 2 out of the three would be ok though if you were time constrained.

FionaC

I'm living on Koh Samui.

You can get pretty much everything you need here and for cheaper than home. I wouldn't bring toiletries/medicines as buying them here will be way cheaper.

Only things that are quite expensive are sun-lotion/insect repellent so if you have them lying around no harm bringing them.

Clothes I'd suggest summer clothes. Its warm at the moment but not too bad t-shirt and shorts are perfect.

As suggested before leave plenty of room to buy clothes/gifts here. You can really stock up for cheap prices.

Fratton Fred

Imodium lots of it and carry it with you at all times.

Its not a case of if, it is a case of when you will need it.

Stinicker

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Imodium lots of it and carry it with you at all times.

Its not a case of if, it is a case of when you will need it.

If you watch yourself you will be fine, when I was there last Feb I was paranoid and as a result felt I missed out on some Thai cuisines. I basically ate mainly package foods, McDonalds, Burger King and Subway. I drank only bottled water and used it to wash my teeth and again afterwards to wash the toothpaste off the brush.

It was my first big trip to Asia and previously in 2010 during a stopover in Singapore for three days 2 out of 4 in our travel group saw more of the Hotel toilet than Singapore itself so admittedly I was taking no chances and being very careful as I had heard all these horror stories of delhi belly and so forth and witnessed my friends getting it in Singapore. In my 3 weeks in Thailand last February I had the runs once which came on me at breakfast one morning!

I never sampled the street food vendors and the only "stange" foods I had were pomegrante juice and orange juice from street vendors and when they didn't send me running to the Jacks I kept buying and drinking them. I did take immodium in my medicine bag but didn't need to take it once and on my next trip back to Asia this April I plan to be much more adventurous with my foods so I will know if my gut can handle it properly.

Delhi belly can ruin a holiday so if you take care and use some common sense it can be almost totally avoided or else well controlled.

Highwaychild85

Lucky you...

6ix

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Its not a case of if, it is a case of when you will need it.

I don't agree with that - I don't think it's a given at all - in fact I think you'd have to be fairly unlucky. However, bringing immodium is a good idea overall, you could be unlucky and if you've a long bus or plane journey coming up the last thing you need is a dose of diarrhoea, so it's useful to have.

As regards clothes, as others have said, just bring all summer clothes, the worst the weather might do is rain, and even then it's refreshing in the humidity.

zenno

Every inoculation you can think of. :pac:

hamsterboy

Stinicker wrote: »

When I was in Thailand I spent around six days in Ko Samui as I was traveling around the country, as it was only my second time in Asia and my first time there for a prolonged period I made an absolute balls of my packing for the second time in a row! As I had previously packed light for Australia only to discover Australia's Winter is not like our Summer as I had been told and discovered it was fine and cold in Melbourne, cue many purchases of billabong clothing!

Basically Thailand is very hot and humid so pack light wash and wear clothes, light T-Shirts and casual shirts, shorts and sandals flip flops. I found some of the streets quite dirty in Bangkok and wore light socks with the sandals which is a terrible cliche I know, socks and sandals! Taking one pair of sneakers would be no harm.

Depending on your airline check out your baggage allowance and if you are given 20kgs then allow at least 5 to 6 spare kilos for coming home especially if you are anything like me and love to buy various knickknacks, trinkets, gifts and €5 lacoste "genuine" T-Shirts! You don't have to pack much clothing as Laundry services are on almost every second or third street and they will wash, dry and iron your clothes for tiny money, I think I paid around 250bt -€6 for a large enough bag of laundry.

You don't need any winter clothing whatsoever and maybe one light jumper and one pair of jeans or casual pants if you want go somewhere fancy and look respectable, every tourist out there is in the same boat and some do look ridiculous but the Thais seem used to it, best to try look good when going to Temples etc. A rain mack is handy as they can get torrential downpours at times. Most things in Thailand are cheaper than here and they have 7/11 stores (like Spar) everywhere and Boots chemists in the resorts and you can buy most things there. I found suncream to be quite expensive as it is something only farangs tend to buy so they price it accordingly so get that here as I paid nearly €15 for a fairly small bottle there.

If you plan to go to the islands by overnight train or bus watch your valuables very carefully, I had $200 stolen on the bus from the train station at Surat Thani to the Pier at Donsak where you board the ferry to Samui, they won't allow you take your carryon bag into the bus citing "security" and when its in the hold underneath they covertly open the bags steal stuff and close them again, I only missed the $200 5 days later as it was like a backup fund incase anything went wrong.

Carry all valuables on your person if making this journey as there are dozens of pitfalls naive Tourists can get caught in if they are not careful. This is a valuable read to wise any newbie up to Thailand, pity I didn't see it in time though!!

Thailand is brill and I am going back there in April for a bit as I am travelling to Malaysia for a month and will probably head north to Thailand as soon as I get bored of Malaysia!

Completely on the money this, typing this from my balcony on Koh Samui. Even at this time of year its hot and humid, but you can get the occasional downpour (one started just as I began typing). If you are going to see some temples or the Grand Palace in Bangkok, you will need some long trousers of some sort, jeans will do.
Dont forget plug converters too.
Other than that, summer gear and sandals pretty much all the time.

Enjoy it, it's a country like no other

HB

Fratton Fred

Stinicker wrote: »

If you watch yourself you will be fine, when I was there last Feb I was paranoid and as a result felt I missed out on some Thai cuisines. I basically ate mainly package foods, McDonalds, Burger King and Subway. I drank only bottled water and used it to wash my teeth and again afterwards to wash the toothpaste off the brush.

It was my first big trip to Asia and previously in 2010 during a stopover in Singapore for three days 2 out of 4 in our travel group saw more of the Hotel toilet than Singapore itself so admittedly I was taking no chances and being very careful as I had heard all these horror stories of delhi belly and so forth and witnessed my friends getting it in Singapore. In my 3 weeks in Thailand last February I had the runs once which came on me at breakfast one morning!

I never sampled the street food vendors and the only "stange" foods I had were pomegrante juice and orange juice from street vendors and when they didn't send me running to the Jacks I kept buying and drinking them. I did take immodium in my medicine bag but didn't need to take it once and on my next trip back to Asia this April I plan to be much more adventurous with my foods so I will know if my gut can handle it properly.

Delhi belly can ruin a holiday so if you take care and use some common sense it can be almost totally avoided or else well controlled.

If you avoid Thai cuisine, then you miss out on one the best bits of the country.

We were fortunate to be in a group of six, one of whom was Thai (we spent three nights at her parents village near Sa Kow which was an experience and a half).

Although we avoided the chicken on a stick type street vendors, we visited several restaurants where we had no idea what we were eating, because the staff didn't speak a word of English and thee menus were in Thai. In one, we had one of the best meals I have ever eaten (just off the main road between Bangkok and Kanchanaburi).

We avoided the water and were a bit worried at first about ice cubes, but as it was put to us, if they used tap water for ice cubes you would have the ****s before you finished your drink.

None of us had "Deli Belly", but there was the odd time the imodium came in useful. I would rather that than live of Mcdonalds and KFC.

Sonnenblumen

A little common sense goes a long way in Thailand. Avoid buying any food from street vendors (urban areas), eating in is very reasonable and some thai food is excellent. If you're fortunate to be near a food market, do try the fish 'restaurants', probably the nicest freshest fish you'll ever eat in your life.

Away from the brash and boozey backpacker infested areas, street food (improvised barbeques etc) is actually quite popular and especially with the locals, and yes, I would sample same.

Something to pack: Tiger balm (great for cuts, brusies, insect bites etc.), there's plenty of bugs in Thailand!

Getaway from the city and trashy touristy spots, many beautiful remote islands and the people are very friendly.

gebbel

I'm in Chiang Mai now having spent 4 days in Bangkok. Crazy city but well worth a visit, lots to see and do. Chiang Mai is smaller and much less chaotic, and I'm beginning to like it here a lot. I would disagree with some views that recommend not eating Thai street food. I ate some every day in Bangkok and didn't once have an upset stomach. The trick is to find a stall where the locals are eating, if it's good for them then it should be good for us.....and that's exactly how I found it. I did condition my stomach from 2 weeks before I came out here.....by drinking 1 bottle of yakult yoghurt drink every day. This was recommend to me on the tripadvisor forum....boosts the good digestive bacteria inside you and makes you less likely to feel unwell after their food.

I brought mozzie cream (50% Deet "Jungle Formula" from Boots. I found Bangkok didn't have many mozzies but there are definitely more here in Chiang Mai so I'm using it liberally. It's very hot now also here so good factor sun cream is needed when you are out......temperature is over 30 degrees every day with no clouds or rain potential in sight......love it!

And pharmacies are everywhere here so don't worry if you forget something.

Travel safe.

Stinicker

gebbel wrote: »

I'm in Chiang Mai now having spent 4 days in Bangkok. Crazy city but well worth a visit, lots to see and do. Chiang Mai is smaller and much less chaotic, and I'm beginning to like it here a lot. I would disagree with some views that recommend not eating Thai street food. I ate some every day in Bangkok and didn't once have an upset stomach. The trick is to find a stall where the locals are eating, if it's good for them then it should be good for us.....and that's exactly how I found it. I did condition my stomach from 2 weeks before I came out here.....by drinking 1 bottle of yakult yoghurt drink every day. This was recommend to me on the tripadvisor forum....boosts the good digestive bacteria inside you and makes you less likely to feel unwell after their food.

I brought mozzie cream (50% Deet "Jungle Formula" from Boots. I found Bangkok didn't have many mozzies but there are definitely more here in Chiang Mai so I'm using it liberally. It's very hot now also here so good factor sun cream is needed when you are out......temperature is over 30 degrees every day with no clouds or rain potential in sight......love it!

And pharmacies are everywhere here so don't worry if you forget something.

Travel safe.

Be sure to check out the night market in Chiang Mai! Lovely little place!

YouSavedMyLife

I dont understand everyone saying to avoid the street vendors. I spent about a year of my life travelling in SEA and about 5 months in Thailand alone and i never got sick and i ate vendor food close on everyday. Its great snack food or after a few beers at the end of a night. Plus if your on a budget you cant go wrong with the price of a bowl Noodle Soup at 10-20 Baht.

As for what to pack, i think everyone above me have pretty much filled you in. One set of jeans + shirt is a good idea as some of the hi-so clubs that Thai's go to have a strict no shorts, sandals, t-shirts policy. Although i did manage to get into one in a pair of shorts and sandals as i didnt know of such policy beforehand. I guess they let it slide cause i was a foreigner :rolleyes:

spagboll

Buy all medicines etc at home, there're many fakes sold in Asia, especially sunscreen

otron

Agree with most of the above (having been there several times), especially about the street food thing. You might get the scuts, but that's not worth avoiding some of the best food on the planet for. If you're not someone with a very weak digestive system then dive in.

Other things that spring to mind:
- I wouldn't bother with rain gear. When it does rain, it's so heavy that any jacket is saturated in 30 seconds. You're better off getting to shelter, or if this isn't possible know that you'll be dry anyway soon after the rain stops
- It's always a good idea to bring some ziplock food bags and duck tape - these things have a way of coming in handy.
- Don't put your camera memory cards or USB sticks into tourist computers (hostels/hotels/internet cafes) if you can avoid it. These things are riddled with viruses. If you are paying to get your photos put onto disk - make sure they let you check the disk and then format the card if your camera will do this. Formatting is different to simply deleting all photos.
- Keep the scam-detector active at all times, but sometimes the best way to avoid a situation is to just make a joke and give a knowing smile.. it's all part of the game sometimes.
- Don't try to see too much in your time. It's better to see less places without panic then to rush around the place and never take it in.

oldjeep

I have been to Thailand 6 times, Janurary is a lovely month there, it always around 30c but not humid, 1st time I went packed too much, you can buy anything there for half the price of here, so have big case for coming home, just be careful quality of cloths can be poor. I found the people lovely, just take care like you would on any trip abroad. I have no bad experience to tell, never robbed like I was in Spain, Morroco was not robbed but cheated every time I bought goods or food. lomital for runs is my 1st item packed for every trip.
1st time we went we also hired a guide for a few days we got her through the hotel. Hope this is of help, you are in for a treat, lots of sun barrier away you go,

Joe10000

Lucky you, enjoy the trip.

I have been 3 times and all the above advice is good but each time I have gone I have brought less and less. Clothes are so cheap and there are serviced laundrettes everywhere that you don't need to bring very much.

Pick a bag that you can comfortably carry and work backwards.

Remember your passport, your wallet and your phone are all you really need.

Donalh

Phenomenal response, really appreciate everyone taking the time to reply to my thread. some really great tips in there, I've just turned it into a checklist so I think i'll be well prepared. Many, many thanks again! :-)

ebbsy

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Imodium lots of it and carry it with you at all times.

Its not a case of if, it is a case of when you will need it.

Ive been to Thailand 12 times and had food poisoning once. Ive been in hospital with it in Ireland.