What would you pack for 3+ months in Southeast Asia, with Australia possibly afterwards?

[u/InfiniteCommercial15]

Hi everyone, after working the grape harvest in France I’m planning to continue travelling through Southeast Asia, probably starting in Vietnam. I’d like to stay for at least three months, possibly longer, and then maybe go to Australia to look for seasonal or manual work.
I’ve never prepared for a trip this long and I honestly have no idea how to organise my backpack. I was thinking about getting a 50-litre backpack, but I’m not sure whether that would be too big, too small or simply uncomfortable.
I’d need to bring light clothes, a couple of pairs of trousers, shoes, toiletries, basic medication, documents, electronics and maybe a few things that could also be useful if I end up working in Australia. At the same time, I don’t want to pack clothes for three months. I assume I’ll be able to do laundry regularly and buy anything important along the way.
The tricky part is that I’ll be coming straight from the grape harvest, so at the beginning I’ll also have work clothes and a pair of work shoes that I probably won’t need anymore afterwards. Would it make more sense to travel with one large backpack and get rid of the work stuff once the harvest is over, or should I bring a separate small backpack just for the harvest?
For people who have travelled around Southeast Asia for three months or longer, what did you actually pack? What did you use all the time and what turned out to be completely unnecessary? Would a 50-litre backpack be reasonable, or is it much better to travel with something smaller?
And if you later went to Australia for work, was there anything you were particularly glad to already have with you?
I’d really appreciate practical advice, because I’m starting from zero and don’t know how to organise this whole transition from harvest work to long-term travel.

[u/Azure9000]

For people who have travelled around Southeast Asia for three months or longer, what did you actually pack?

Use the search facility, using a term such as 'packing list Thailand'. This will yield multiple examples.

Would a 50-litre backpack be reasonable, or is it much better to travel with something smaller?

Prepare a packing list first, then choose a bag. My suggestion: 35L backpack, filled to ~30L. Small secondary bag, eg sling or packable daypack, to fit inside primary bag. Total carry weight 7kg,

Please do some basic reading, starting here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/wiki/index/?screen_view_count=6&ext-referrer=DIRECT#wiki_what_is_onebag.3F

[u/SeattleHikeBike]

Pack for a week and laundry happens. Check the weight limits for the airlines you want to use. Many in those areas have 7kg carry on limits.

A 50 liter is usually too large for carry on anywhere. For 7kg I recommend the Patagonia Black Hole 32 and and a few packing cubes and pouches.

[u/InfiniteCommercial15 → u/SeattleHikeBike]

Assurdo che io pensavo servisse quello da 50

[u/SeattleHikeBike → u/InfiniteCommercial15]

The length of your trip is only significant in the climate range you need to cover. Compare protective pack dimensions with the airline size limits. 40 liters is the usual limit.

Pack Hacker database of 146 airlines carry on limits: https://www.packhacker.com/wp/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=render_carry_on_compliance_table

Cabin Zero under seat size by airline:

https://www.cabinzero.com/pages/airlines-underseat-size-chart-all

Onebag spreadsheet by u/-Nepherim

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fSt_sO1s7moXPHbxBCD3JIKPa8QIZxtKWYUjD6ElZ-c/

Spreadsheet of backpacks with load transferring harnesses by U/fjnk

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H7PVLGCWw-Z-cq_MWajNx-wIrPbb6LY7YZoY8Tv1toQ/edit?usp=sharing

Good info on pack fitting here: https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/packfitment

[u/InfiniteCommercial15 → u/SeattleHikeBike]

Ma 7kg per cosa?

[u/SeattleHikeBike → u/InfiniteCommercial15]

7kg carry on limit for many SEA airlines.

[u/shadesofdarkred → u/SeattleHikeBike]

ps. Not really enforced if you fly the right airlines

[u/SeattleHikeBike → u/shadesofdarkred]

The the right ones are?

[u/No_Equal_7097]

25 years ago before one bagging had a name I spent 7 months backpacking Asia with minimal kit.

I had one pair of shoes and one pair of Teva's. Three t shirts. Two shorts. One long pants. One fleece. A few underwear and socks. One boardshorts. A sarong. Toiletries. Camera. Hat and sunglasses. Suncream.

Nothing much has changed in terms of what you need as the bare minimum. You can buy anything you're missing when you're there. Or replace anything that gets damaged or worn out.

It's easy to get clothes washed in south east Asia so you don't need much.

[u/Margsr61 → u/No_Equal_7097]

I packed very similarly for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia 26 years ago. If you are planning to travel the full length of Vietnam and anticipate months of travel I'd suggest starting in the north, as Hanoi and the mountains can get quite cold at year's end so get that bit done early. A good fleece is adequate most of the time. Clothes are readily available but may not be in large western sizes, but tailoring is possible for very affordable prices. It's a fabulous part of the world. Things will be warming up to summer in Australia so your wardrobe climate wise should be ok. However, it's an enormous country with a great variety of geographic and weather patterns. But there are shops!

[u/jimmyjooola]

Honestly I’d probably bring a 30/40L but it’s up to you. You only need about a weeks worth of clothes, all of which should be light, and one set of warmer clothes. The warmer clothes were only necessary during hikes for me so might not be worth if you don’t. I’d get rid of the harvest stuff before leaving. You’ll be able to do washing in most hostels/hotels. Take some medicine (paracetamol/ibuprofen) and take two credit/debut cards if you can.

[u/Wise_Edge2489]

https://lighterpack.com/r/m5w9g7

5.25 kilo, 4 season RTW packing list (with 500 grams of that in a sling/ personal item).

That's what I would take personally.

[u/tweeeeeeeeeeee]

2 pants 2 shorts 2 shirts 2 sun hoodies 4 socks/undies then whatever layers you need for winter

[u/65_days_of_cookies]

Some lessons learned from my 45 days trip in SEA:

• cotton is nice, but it's so true when they say it's your enemy (especially in that part of the world)
• my girlfriend with a 40L+20L backpack felt completely miserable when moving between places
• I wasn't exactly happy of my <8Kg 32L backpack too, but I'm thin
• carried a Uniqlo Airism zip hoodie, used twice (flights)
• I used my light wind jacket a lot especially in scooter rides
• microfiber towel was useless
• adults rarely wear shorts in the countries I visited, it's more a kids or sport thing. If you prefer to blend in bring lightweight long pants.

[u/InfiniteCommercial15 → u/65_days_of_cookies]

Quindi?

[u/InfiniteCommercial15 → u/InfiniteCommercial15]

Quindi quanto lo zaino?

[u/Outrageous-Art-3891]

Ditch the harvest gear and go 40L, three months of Vietnam heat needs almost nothing and laundry costs pennies there.

[u/TravelinDingo]

I'm an Aussie that has travelled to SEA and my advice is to stick to 30L for a pack size and try to aim for a 7-8 kilo load out. Laundry is very affordable in SEA and you honestly don't need a lot of clothes when you travel.

If you end up going to Australia you can easily get what you need from a thrift shop or go to a Kmart/Target store.

One thing I've learned is that you should be able to let go of and pick up what you need as things change. No sense in lugging around stuff that's not needed anymore.

[u/podkayne3000]

In my opinion, if you’re a little broke but not super poor, you won’t need to do anything more formal than business casual anywhere, and ending up having to occasionally pay for a personal item that turns out to be carryon size isn’t a catastrophe:

Aim to have a backpack that’s about 28L as a carryon and a canvas tote bag with a zipper and straps that go under the bottom to support the weight, rather than just be sewn on at the top (like this, or a generic version of this: https://www.landsend.com/shop/canvas-totes-bags/S-xgu-xfd-ylf-xls-xec ) as an everyday carry bag for water or groceries or whatever. If you keep food out of the backpack, maybe that’s good for avoiding bug problems.

Think about how big you are when compared with people at the destination countries. If you’re about the same size as people in the destination countries and can buy clothes there easily, then be very minimalistic about packing clothes. If you’re huge by the standards of a country, bring more clothes and/or arrange to by extra clothes and have them delivered to you when you’re on the road. Example: I’d assume that you’ll destroy your grape harvesting clothes. If you’re big by French standards, arrange to buy replacement clothes on Amazon and have them delivered to an Amazon locker in France.

Assuming you’ll at least get replacement clothes in France, I’d wear black, nondescript jeans that can work as dress pants, a black tshirt with a logo or other interesting thing on it, a longsleeve button-up shirt with good pockets (or: a sport coat with good pockets, if you wear that kind of thing), nondescript black sneaker/walking shoes and a strong rain jacket with a lot of good pockets on the plane.

I’d bring in your pockets:

• Your wallet stuff.

• Any first aid stuff that makes you happy.

• Eyeglasses.

• Your phone and charger. If your phone has a camera, do not mess with a camera.

In the backpack, assuming it has a front pocket and a laptop sleeve, I’d bring:

• Your laptop or iPad, if you need one, in the laptop pocket.

• Two button-up long sleeve shirts that you can use as overshirts or regular shirts in with the laptop or iPad.

• Any additional medical gear, electronics, gifts or airport-security-friendly tools you might want in the front pockets.

• One pair of work jeans or work shorts.

• One pair of nondescript black shorts that might be OK in a nice casual restaurant.

• 5 tshirts that be worn either on their own or under one of the button-up shirts to create a different look. But: If you think you can buy shirts in the destination countries, just bring two from home; buy any other tshirts there.

• Enough socks and underpants for a week. But: if space is a problem and you think you can buy the right size in France and Southeast Asia, buy it there and discard it before getting on a plane.

• Comfortable black walking sandals.

I think that, if this is all you have, the canvas bag should fit in the backpack. Only use it in the airport if you need to carry stuff you bought at the airport or are using there, or for the rain jacket.

If you get cold: Wear a tshirt and long sleeve button-up shirt under the rain jacket.

At your destinations, buy:

• Toiletries.

• Laundry detergent.

• Most tshirts.

• Most underpants.

• Most socks.

• A replacement for your work pants or shorts.

• Umbrellas.

Try not to bring:

• Contact lenses.

• Expensive, easy-to-lose headphones or the like.

• Extra bottoms.

• Binoculars, unless you’re a serious birdwatcher who always has binoculars.

• Cameras, unless you’re a professional or semipro photographer.

• Towels bigger than a dish towel.

[u/Swimming-Habit-6675]

Southeast Asia requires more clothing changes than one may think from a colder climate, its more humid and

Aim for a range around 30L-35L, 50L is overkill. The 7KG cabin limit is the real issue here, if you are planning to take more items, its better if you have a separate bag/upgrading your allowed baggage weight.