Gear and equipment forum

"SE Asia offers laundery and ironing services for a relatively low cost, so there's really no need to pack enough clothes even for one full week."

DLuek
While this is true, I have unfortunately encountered many in the backpacker set who seem to embrace the latter aspect but forego the former. Hence their "grunge" look is more than just a look. Most SE Asians aren't too fond of our natural body odor (and I don't mean BO, I just mean normal scent that all humans have) and this distaste is made MCUH worse if you are truly funky.

I have obviously acclimated to the environment here, and I go through two shirts and two pair of underwear daily. You're going to sweat here unless it's winter. I went to Bangkok on Thursday and came back home on Sunday morning (night bus) and went through six shirts and three pairs of pants.

I'm a guy. Gay, but not a drag queen so tank tops, capris, earings, bracelets and heels aren't really my thing... If you get my drift? ;o)

Packing is going to be tricky... I don't want to leave my nice stuff at home!

Sorry, I assumed Ash = Ashley :)

Hmm... you can't go wrong with nice jeans and a black tshirt, can you? Keep it simple and make your dress-up clothes stuff that you can still throw into your normal rotation.

Think about WHEN you'll actually need those shoes smash.

It might be you'll only need them in when you're in BKK for example. If so, you could leave them in storage at a GH there.

cool thanks for the replies guys!

madmac - have heard that before (always at funerals ??? ) so guess you're right! i've been to thailand a few times and (a) wouldn't be caught dead in fake 'labled' clothes and (b) get really frustrated by the markets selling fake stuff - basically if you can't afford the real stuff don't buy it and if you buy fake, everyone will know its fake because it (a) looks fake and (b) you probably don't pull it off anyway. sorry... getting off my soapbox.

its just the shoes that are irritating me. I wear leather shoes alot with my jeans/pants (kind of like casual/vintage brogues I guess) even just casually so will probably be taking a pair of these... i'll probably live in flip flops (and sneakers) the rest of the time. don't want to take any serious walking shoes as we're not doing hard core 'treking' - will favor a good pair of trainers.

suckfull thing about our trip is that it is a 15 week detour enroute to doing our kiwi 'OE' in london so we're actually moving overseas so deciding what we want with us in London when we get there whilst being smart about what we put in a backpack is going to be a nightmare! yes we can ship stuff, but we'll need it when we get there. and i dont think our finances will be in a position to be purchasing a new wardrobe. *sigh*

Ash

Here late as I don't normally look at the gear site.

If HK is the only venue where dress-ups is anticipated, you may like to think about taking the 'stuff' and posting home/UK from there.

I wouldn't necessarily be thinking of buying from HK, it's not that inexpensive for fashion.

Also, travellers often find innovative ways to address dress. Instead of jeans, think outside the square. For example, maybe lightweight tailored linen look polyester pants that can be rolled up and only need a quick iron. I'm not saying such an item is what you'd necessarily wear, but is an example of thinking outside the square. Similarly, well chosen fashion sneakers can be readily packed away, and may be an option (try here.

Remember, western fashion isn't necessarily big in Asia. For some of the most innovative fashion design statements, go look at Japanese or Malaysian culture.

Just ideas...

Cheers

John (MAC)

I wasn't suggesting Ash be a quasi backpacking bum.

Rather, that there are always innovative ways to address a problem.

Cheers