Southeast Asia packing list | Pre-travel Mini Series Part 3

Southeast Asia packing list | Pre-travel Mini Series Part 3

I’m about to head off on a six-month surf trip through Southeast Asia. And in this video, I’m going to show you exactly what I’m packing. I’ve been to Southeast Asia three times before, so I think I know what I’m doing. So, if you want some tips on what I think you should pack, then keep watching. [Music] This is the third and last video I’m doing as part of my pre-travel minieries before I go to Southeast Asia. If you want to watch the whole series, then you can click up here. In this video, I’ll start by going through what I personally pack my things in and what I do to keep them safe or at least safer from theft. Then I’ll go through different types of packing in different sections of this video. So for example, shoes and clothes is one section while toiletries is another section. If there is a specific section you’re more interested in, then you can always skip to that specific section. You can also get a copy of my packing list to use it to plan your own trip by checking off items from the list. I will leave a link to the packing list down below if you want to get it. And it’s also possible to edit it if you want to add or remove things. Lastly, I will also share an extra tip with you that I always stick to nowadays. And I learned this the hard way. So, I’m going to share it in the end of this video with you so you don’t have to. But first, let’s get into the packing setup I have and what I’ll be packing for this trip. Okay, so starting with my packing setup, what I will use to pack my stuff in is one larger suitcase that I will check in and one smaller suitcase that I will use as my carry-on luggage. I am not a backpack person. I have used a backpack before, but I felt like it was just very heavy and difficult to carry around. I am not a very light packer. I have certain products that I really like that you cannot buy in Southeast Asia. So, I bring a lot of extras for those and naturally that just makes my packing a bit heavier. So, for me personally, rolling with a suitcase is just a lot easier and more practical. Especially since I will not be moving around a lot during this trip. I will be doing slow traveling and I will be staying in most places for at least a couple of weeks. If you have less to pack and you’re traveling around frequently, then a backpack might be better for you. Just don’t bring a backpack that is too big for you, you’ll want to be able to carry it around without having to stop every few minutes to rest like I had to do. For me, with all my extras and my slower travel pace, uh, suitcase just works better. What I like about these suitcases from Deli is that they have a combination lock, which makes them more secure. You can also expand this larger suitcase to make it even bigger. And both of the suitcases have two separate sections, which makes it easier to stay organized. And they also have a couple of smaller pockets here and there. Another thing I use to stay organized is packing cubes. So without packing cubes, things easily get very messy and unorganized. So, I highly recommend using packing cubes. I also have this laundry bag, um, different shoe bags, and this underwear bag. All from a brand called Organista. Then we have toilet bags. I don’t just have one, I have a couple of different ones. So, I feel like toilet bags are what take up a lot of space in my suitcase. Um, as you can see, I like the color black, but to make it easier to find different things, I have them in different shapes and sizes to make it easier to stay organized. For my camera gear, I use these two bags. This is a bag from Douche Bags, which you can also turn into a backpack if you put the straps on. And then this bag is from Terrion. I put both of them into my carry-on suitcase so I don’t have to carry them in my hands. The last thing I want to show you when it comes to my packing setup is related to safety. So I have two air tags. One that I put in my smaller suitcase and one that I put in the larger one. And then also related to safety somewhere here I have let’s see okay here we go I have these safety lockers. So I have this longer one that I can use to attach my bags to like a bed or something and lock them with one of these locks and then I can use one of the locks on like the safety lockers that many hosts have. I also like to put a unique sticker or something on my suitcases just in case someone has the same bag as me so that we don’t mix them up by mistake. That did unfortunately happened to me once at the airport. So I discovered that the small suitcase, my carryon that I have was someone else’s with someone else’s passport and money and everything in it and he had my passport. So, that was a bit of a panic situation and we were just running around the airport trying to find this guy. And yeah, luckily I found him. But yeah, now I always put some unique sticker or identifier or something on my bag so they don’t get mixed up. For everything that I’ve showed you so far, I’m going to try to find the links to those products and I will leave the links down below if I find them. And now it’s time to have a look at what I actually put into these suitcases and packing cubes. Let’s start with important documents that I keep in my passport holder. So obviously I have my passport. I have my vaccination report, my driver’s license and my international driver’s license. a couple of cards and a little bit of cash. I don’t like to carry around a lot of cash, so just a little bit. It’s also good to have a photo copy of your passport, either a digital one or a paper copy, and you can keep it somewhere else. So, don’t keep it in the same place as you have your passport. Put it somewhere else in your carry-on luggage. Or you can also have a digital copy that you upload somewhere and then you can delete it when you get back home. Next we have clothes and accessories. So let’s start with shoes. I have four pairs of shoes. I have one pair of training shoes. Then I have let’s see if I can find everything here. I have a pair of sandals in here. I also have a pair of flip-flops somewhere in here. And then I have a pair of sneakers that I will be traveling in. When it comes to clothes, I’m bringing five pairs of shorts. Four of them are basic everyday shorts. And then one pair is a bit nicer. And then I also have two thinner, longer pants and one pair of workout tights that are longer that I will be traveling in. And maybe I will also use it during hikes during my trip. When it comes to tops, I mostly have tank tops and a few t-shirts, maybe around 10 pieces in total. And then I have five shirts, mostly linen or breathable fabrics. It’s nice to be able to cover up your shoulders every once in a while and lining and lighter fabrics is nice because they don’t make you very hot. My everyday outfit is usually a pair of basic shorts, a tank top and a lion shirt. So when it comes to clothing, most of my packing is basic everyday wear. The last thing I have when it comes to upper body clothing is this fleece jacket that I’m going to be flying in. And then I figured it might also be nice to have something warmer if you’re trekking in the night or early mornings. And also sometimes the rooms can get a bit cold from the AC. So it’s nice to just be able to cover up a bit. As for nicer evening clothes, I personally don’t go out a lot anymore. I spend most of my time at the beach surfing, so I’m not going to be bringing a lot. I think two nicer tops, one pair of nicer shorts, like I said before, and then I’m bringing four evening dresses. No high heels. No one really wears that to where I’m going from my experience. And no purse or anything like that. I’m just going to bring my phone with me. As for accessories, I’m bringing one pair of sunglasses. uh the jewelry that I’m wearing and like two extra pieces of jewelry. So, all the jewelry I have is water resistant or waterproof. So, I bought it specifically for this trip. I also bring some scrunchies, a couple of hair clips, and this beach bag. Then, of course, we have underwear. And this underwear bag I’m just going to be stuffing with as much as possible so that I don’t have to do laundry too often. When you’re in Southeast Asia, you’re probably gonna want to do some shopping because there are a lot of nice shops with clothes and jewelry around there. So, I would advise you to save some space in your bag for that. For toiletries, I have three toilet bags. And in this first one, I have my everyday stuff that I use every morning and in the evening. So, my deodorant, face cream, toothpaste, that kind of stuff. Also, medications like my probiotics that I take. Um, I talk about why I recommend you to take them in this video up here. Um, and also good to know if you take any prescribed medications. You might need a doctor’s note for that. and bring it in the original packaging. So, make sure you check what the country you’re going to requires you to do if you want to take in medication and how much you’re about to take. As well, in the second toilet bag, I have things that I use when I shower, like my shampoo bar, for example, um conditioner, hair oil, hair mask, all that kind of stuff. And then in the third bag, I have things that uh I probably will use quite frequently, but they just didn’t fit into the other bags. So, like makeup remover packs and um sun balm and yeah, those kind of things. On to surf gear. So, I’m not bringing my own surfboard. I’m going to rent boards where I go. And then I will this spring suit that I have in here that I use to serve when it’s morning when I think that it’s a little bit chilly in the water. Had this one for like 10 years. And then I have lots and lots of different bikinis. And I justify this to myself by thinking that I will spend a lot of time in the water. So, it’s nice to be able to mix outfits up a little bit. Then, I have my little surf toilet bag as well with all my surf essentials that I will be bringing with me to the beach. So, we have a zinc stick, some sunscreen, um a surf wax just in case, a hairbrush to detangle my hair after surfing, and a couple of other things like if I would get any re cuts, and I have this womb spray and some pads to clean it, and also some anti antibacterial plasters just in case. I also ordered a pair of Reef shoes, but I never got them. So, I guess I will try to find a pair when I get there if I feel like I need them. Next, I have a cube with some workout clothes. I’m not going to bring a lot of those because I don’t expect to be working out a lot since I will be mostly surfing. Um, and I also have a few home workout essentials if I want to at home. So, I have this travel foam roller. I have this little peanut for my back. And also this workout band. And then I also have this little knee pad which you can roll out and you can yeah put your knees on it or your hands on it or whatever when you work out. And it’s an alternative to a yoga mat. It just takes up a lot less space. Next, I have this backup cube. And as you might remember from earlier in this video, I mentioned that I’m quite particular with some of my products and they are not possible to buy in Southeast Asia. So, I’ve ordered a couple of backups like my deodorant, some leave-in conditioner, my surf sunscreen. Um, so I have a lot of backups in this little cube. And then I also have some emergency stuff like plasters and bandages, things that I will hopefully not have to use, but just in case. As for electronics, I have two phone chargers just in case one breaks uh or if I lose one so that I always have one extra. And then one of them has a bit of a longer cable in case I’ll be sitting in my bed with my phone and the outlet is far away from the bed. Then I also have my computer charger, chargers for my camera gear. Then I also have this adapter and this power bank. And I’m also bringing my Coobo reading tablet so that I can download books into it and I don’t have to bring physical books which saves me a bit of space in my suitcase. Next we have my camera gear. So I have my DSLR camera which I’m filming with right now. Uh I mostly use it to take photos actually and then I use my phone to film most of the time. Um, I also have my phone in here, my GoPro, and a microphone that is the latest addition to my collection, which I’m also using for this video. I’m still trying to figure it out. The settings and everything is a bit difficult, but I’m hoping that it will get better soon. Lastly, I also have a couple of other things that I couldn’t really fit into the other categories and two of them are related to scooter protection. So, I’m actually going to bring my own scooter helmet this time. Um, so a lot of the times when you travel in Asia, you either rent a scooter or you uh you border a scooter via like apps like GoJ or Grab. And sometimes the drivers have helmets that you can borrow. Uh sometimes they don’t. And the helmets are always too big for me because I have a very small head. So I’ve just ordered a helmet that kind of fits my head. It’s still a little bit too big, uh, but better than the helmets that I can rent there since they’re always too big. And then I also have this back protector that I’m going to use if I go on longer rides. Um, next we also have this travel steamer that I’m bringing. Um, so I like lion clothes and clothes that easily get shrinkly or wrinkled, unfortunately. Uh, which is why it’s good to bring a smaller travel steamer. So, this helmet does take up a bit of space in my bag, not going to lie. Uh, but I can fit this little steamer into it. So, um, takes up a little space, little bit of space at least. Then I also have two towels, quite small ones, one for showering and one for the beach. Um, my diary. So, it’s like a gratitude diary that I’m going to start using. I have never used one before, but I’m excited to start using it. And the last random item I have is a card game. I’m just going to jump in here because I realized there was one thing I forgot to show you and that’s this water bottle. So, I really recommend you to bring a water bottle because a lot of host and hotels have filtered water that you can refill your water bottle with. That way, you don’t have to go to the store to buy bottled water, which is both better for your pocket and also for the environment. Before ending this video, I want to share my last tip when it comes to packing for Southeast Asia that I mentioned in the beginning of this video. That tip is to pack the items that you want to use during the first couple of days of your trip in your carry-on suitcase as long as the airline allows it. This is if your checking luggage would be delayed for a couple of days so that you don’t end up at your destination not having anything at hand. This actually did happen to me once when I flew to Costa Rica. So, I was without anything like no underwear, no toothbrush, no toiletries, nothing for almost a whole week. Obviously, you can go and buy things, but that’s maybe not what you want to spend your time doing when you’re away. So nowadays I always bring some underwear, a pair of shorts, two or three tops, my toothbrush, and some toiletries and things I’m also going to be using on the plane. And yeah, I always put it in my carry-on suitcase. That way I know I will be okay even if my suitcase is delay for a couple of days. I also pack my most valuable things in my hand luggage. So like jewelry, um technical gear, camera gear, computer, things that have personal meaning to me just in case the checkedin suitcase would get lost. That’s all I have to share in terms of packing tips for Southeast Asia. If you want the complete list of items that I have packed for this trip and you want to use it to check it off for your own trip and maybe even edit it a bit yourself, then you can download an exact copy of my template in the description down below. Like I said before, this is the third and last video in my pre-travel minieries that I’m doing before I start my trip. And if you want to watch the whole series, then you can click up here. And don’t forget to subscribe if you want to follow along on this six month travel adventure that starts now. [Music]

✈️ This is the third and last video in my Pre-travel Mini Series, where I share my journey before a 6-month surf trip across Southeast Asia!
➡️ Series playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGYb0HNZfit5IjQ9K5JD77_3tVcE0RnSn&si=1o0A7xeEBzfU3Njy

✍️ Download the Southeast Asia Packing List Template: https://www.thebeginnersurfer.com/southeast-asia-packing-list

Links to products mentioned in section 1 of this video that are part of my packing setup:
🧳 Suitcases: https://int.delsey.com/products/003866821t9-trolley-case-upright-air-armour-77cm-expandable?variant=42947035365630, https://int.delsey.com/products/003866803t9-trolley-case-upright-air-armour-55cm-slim?variant=42947034874110
📦 Packing cube set: https://organista.com/collections/all-sets/products/organizer-set-8-pcs-black
🧖🏻‍♀️ Toiletry bags: https://day-et.com/collections/cosmetic-bags, https://www.arket.com/en-gb/product/mesh-travel-organisers-black-1019228001/, https://www.amazon.com/Leitz-Cosmetic-Resistant-Toiletry-24x17x3cm/dp/B07XYKC6TM
📸 Camera bags: https://dbjourney.com/products/ramverk-camera-insert-l-black-out, https://www.amazon.com/TARION-Camera-Sling-Bag-Small/dp/B0C8TMVTGJ
🔐 Backpacking locks: https://amzn.eu/d/cxlBHOY

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Hi, I’m Emilia! I’m here to help you start your surfing journey. I’m still learning to surf, just like you, but I’ve picked up a lot of foundational knowledge along the way. My goal with The Beginner Surfer is to help you get started, build confidence in the water, and find the best beginner-friendly surf spots 🏄‍♀️

#thebeginnersurfer #surftips #surf #southeastasia #southeastasiatravel #backpackingsoutheastasia #travelplanning #traveltips #packingessentials #travelpacking #packingforvacation #packinglist
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⏰ Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:43 Section 1: My packing setup
6:20 Section 2: Important documents
7:08 Section 3: Clothes & accessories
10:19 Section 4: Toiletries
11:44 Section 5: Surf gear
13:11 Section 6: Workout gear
14:02 Section 7: Backup cube
14:43 Section 8: Electronics
16:02 Section 9: Other stuff
18:28 Section 10: Bonus tip
19:58 Outro