Until our recent 7-week trip through India and southeast Asia neither of us had ever traveled for longer than a two-week period at a time, making for all sorts of new experiences, not just during our travels, but also while preparing.
How to pack for 7 weeks? We wouldn't quite be "backpacking" but we wouldn't be living it up in luxury either. We would be staying in a variety of accommodations in varying climates and varying levels of conservativeness. Given all of this, combined with the length of the trip, I imagined us packing large suitcases full of everything we would need, including full size toiletries, with enough clothes to last the entire time plus some, just in case.
After some research we realized that idea was plain silly. In fact, based on other travelers' experiences we found we should be able to more than manage with a carry on size suitcase holding travel size toiletries and enough clothes for a week, doing laundry regularly and buying anything else we needed at affordable prices along the way. This is just what we did and here is how it worked out.
Saigon, Vietnam: This flowy blue dress was easy to slip on, especially if I needed to look "nice"
Cochin, Kerala, India: These shirts got a lot of wear!
Koh Lanta: Shorts and bathing suits in hot southern Thailand
Singapore: Rocking the Crocs. RIP the purse.
Meghan's rough clothing packing list*
- 3 t-shirts and 3 tank tops
- 2 skirts and 2 dresses
- 1 jean shorts
- 3 pants: "hippie" pants, black capris, leggings
- 2 long sleeve shirts, one of which was slightly heavier
- 1 cardigan
- 1 jean jacket
- 1 light waterproof jacket
- 1 scarf and 1 sarong
- 2 bathing suit bottoms with 1 top
- 1 shorts and 2 tops for sleeping
- 1 running pants, 1 running shorts, 2 running tops, 1 sports bra, 2 pairs running socks
- 8 pairs underwear (including a few pairs of quick-dry for faster laundry time) and 2 bras
- Jewelry
- 1 purse and 1 carry on handbag
- Shoes (one pair each): running sneakers, flip flops, sandals, Crocs flats
*Most of these items were separated between three small packing cubes, which saved space, kept me organized and made the constant unpacking and repacking a breeze
Hoi An, Central Vietnam: Mixing and matching
Hanoi, Northern Vietnam: Sarong pulling double duty as a scarf
Prem's rough clothing packing list
- 4 t-shirts
- 1 shorts
- 3 pants, including jeans and a pair of lounging pants
- 1 cardigan
- 1 casual button down shirt
- 1 nice button down shirt
- 1 warm jacket
- 1 bathing suit
- 2 shorts and 1 t-shirt for sleeping
- 2 running shorts, 2 running shirts, 1 pair running socks
- 6 pairs underwear
- 1 backpack
- Shoes (one pair each): running sneakers, casual sneakers, nice shoes
Dalat: Wearing most of my warm layers for evenings in central Vietnam
Hanoi: Prem rocking the puffy coat he bought in northern Vietnam
Other items packed between the two of us
- The usual toiletries, all in travel size, plus laundry detergent and medicine
- Computers, camera and chargers for all electronics
- Journals, pens, playing cards, headphones, tissues, Kindle, books, etc.
- Gifts for Prem's family, which, once given out made room for picking up other gifts and souvenirs along the way
Items Meghan was most thankful for packing
- Crocs flats: supportive for walking, breathable, easy to slip on an off in temples, homes and businesses where it is custom to do so
- Sarong: used as a bathing suit cover up, scarf and blanket
- "Hippie" pants: very comfortable for planes, trains and buses
- Leggings: wore under a dress when in conservative regions and used as added layer of warmth in colder regions
- Kindle Fire: I read 8 books during our trip, all stored in my space-saving Kindle
Items Prem was most thankful for packing
- Unlocked iPhone: we purchased a sim card in each country; 3G made directions and Google searches possible from anywhere
- Toiletry kit: Prem usually lets his toiletries float around his suitcase but was glad to have them all conveniently in one place
Could have used
- Floss: hard to find in stores in Asia
- Prem's Kindle: one book takes up more space than one Kindle
- Flip-flops for Prem: he was able to pick some up in India, but these are helpful for questionable showers, beaches and easy on and off anywhere
A waste of space
- Mosquito repellent bracelets: these weren't strong enough to keep the mosquitos away!
- We barely used any of our packed shampoo or body wash; most accommodations had both
Hoi An, Central Vietnam: Yes, that's my suitcase in front of the driver! This load is nothing compared to what we saw other people carry on their motorbikes.
Hoi An, Central Vietnam: This light rain jacket was perfect for staying dry
Singapore: Adding leggings made it easy to wear this dress in conservative regions of India, but in this cosmopolitan city that wasn't necessary
Clothes picked up along the way*
- Sari (Meghan) in India, gifted at the beginning of the trip, worn once in Bombay
- Tank top (Meghan), purchased in Singapore, about 2.5 weeks in
- Dress (Meghan), purchased in Thailand, about halfway through the trip
- Shorts (Meghan), purchased in Thailand, about halfway through the trip
*None of these were necessary, but Meghan took advantage of the inexpensive shopping!
Practical items we didn't pack and were OK without
- Umbrella: our hosts had umbrellas in every city where we needed one
Practical items we had to buy along the way (not counting souvenirs and gifts)
- More toothpaste (even though we scored free travel size tubes from some accommodations), hair conditioner, eye contact solution, sunscreen
- Three prong plug (every accommodation had one until an Airbnb towards the end of our trip)
- A hat each for our kayak ride in Thailand, which we didn't carry to our next destination
- Northern Vietnam experienced the coldest winter in 20 years, which was unexpected for everyone, so in Hanoi we bought the following added layers:
- Sneakers (knockoff Converse) for me: my crocs and flips flops weren't cutting it. (I left this purchase behind in Hanoi; for $10 US they weren't worth making room for in my suitcase.)
- Waterproof jacket for Prem. (We were able to leave this behind at our next stop in case another traveler was heading north and needed it.)
- Gloves for both of us
Items that worked so hard we had to throw them out before going back to NY
- Shoes of Prem's: they lost their treading, were wearing thin and had been ruined by a few days of exploring in the rain
- Sandals: by the end, my white sandals were brown from dirt and scuffed up
- Purse: my purse was on its last leg when we left New York and the strap finally broke towards the end of the trip
Pros of packing light
- Less to choose from when getting dressed equals faster getting ready time
- No clothes wasting space in our suitcases
- Makes the constant unpacking and repacking process a smoother one
- Smaller bag is easier to fit in taxis (especially if with a group or if that taxi is an auto rickshaw or a motorbike!), carry up stairs, fit in small accommodations such as houseboat and sleeper train and generally move around with
