We always tend to throw more stuff in our suitcase or backpack before going on a trip than we really need.
I don’t know how many several week long or just short time weekend trips I have done in Thailand, but what I know is the more often I go traveling the less things I put in my backpack.
I think it just comes from experience to know what we really need when going out on a trip and especially in Thailand there isn’t much at all we really need – if we forgot something normally we can buy it quite cheaply somewhere along the way. But what are the most important things that you should not miss out on any travel in Thailand? Here comes the top 5, ordered from not so important to super important.
5. Clothes / Shoes
Yeah you shouldn’t leave without clothes and shoes and also some spare t-shirts, shorts, socks and underwear might be worth to bring along unless you just go out for a night.
If you still figure you have forgotten something after you left or just taken the wrong clothes (e.g. no rain coat during monsoon season) you can always buy it quite cheaply anywhere you go and that’s why enough clothes and shoes are the least important thing to take on your trip.
4. Toiletry Bag
Not just the toiletry bag with paracetamol and pain killers for an emergency are important to bring along, but also your bathroom kit with toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo and so on.
Even though there is a pharmacy (stores with the big letters ยา for “yaa”, medicine) and 7-Eleven for bathroom products every 200 meters even in the smallest towns, generally you need that stuff more or less straight away (especially medicine in case you get sick) and that’s why it’s more important than the appropriate range of clothes you take.
But that still doesn’t make it in the top 3 of the most important things on any travel in Thailand.
3. Smartphone
It’s amazing how many useful things you can do with just one device that fits in your pocket. Communication, clock, alarm, camera, guide book (e-book reader), web browsing, map, music, online ticket and if that isn’t already enough you can download thousands of other useful apps.
2. Passport
If you think your passport is the most important thing of all you are wrong. Of course you definitely do need one not just in order to cross international borders but also to show your identity when some police officer asks you for it.
However, if you should lose your passport you can always get a new one at your embassy. So what can be the most important item then?
1. Bank Card
You won’t be able to pay for your passport without money.
If you have a bank card or credit card that allows you to withdraw cash at ATMs in Thailand you can not only get a new passport but also buy a smartphone, a toiletry bag, clothes, shoes, bus tickets, accommodation, condoms and anything else you might find useful on your trip.
The bottom line is never lose your credit card (or forget it after you take cash out of an ATM as in Thailand it spits out the cash first and then the card, different to most other countries in the world) or how I do it I always have two credit cards with me and put them in two different places (one in my wallet, one in my passport bag) in case I lose one and that has happened to me twice already as I forgot them at the ATM.
Means if you should lose one you still have another one – the most important item when traveling in Thailand: your bank card.
