Backpacking Asia Essentials

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When I first started backpacking for my 3 month trip through Southeast Asia, I had absolutely no idea what to pack. I had a 46 Liter backpack, and no idea what was worth taking up the space. Like I mentioned in my previous backpacking packing list: no other lists on the internet were helpful to me, as I lean way more girly than most backpackers, and I wouldn’t be getting any use out of zip off, quick dry, cargo pants or hiking boots.

As far as packing clothes goes, I actually managed to nail it (in my own opinion!). You can read all about the clothes that I packed HERE, but I also just wanted to write a post that mentions all the ~things~ that I bought specifically for this trip that I actually wouldn’t consider backpacking again without.

Backpacking Asia Essentials:

Water bottle

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to use a water bottle - especially because the tap water in Southeast Asia isn’t drinkable and I knew I was going to have to rely on buying bottled water from the store anyways. What I wasn’t anticipating was the fact that most hostels have stations and jugs of filtered water where you can fill up your own reusable water bottle for free! And even when that option wasn’t available, I would buy 2 Liter water bottles to save money, and then just keep it in my room and refill my bottle when I needed to take it on the go.

I used mine all the time! I actually lost it at a hostel in Vietnam halfway through the trip and let me tell you: I FELT it’s absence.

This is the water bottle I brought. It was thin enough to fit into the slim side pockets of my day pack, and it was super light when it was empty. Whatever you do, don’t bring a hydro flask - they’re so freaking heavy and you’ll definitely regret it.

Read More: the ultimate 3 month southeast ASia Itinerary

Converter

This is the converter to end all other converters - it is truly a work of art. NOT ONLY does it have four USB ports in addition to 4 different types of plugs for whatever you may need, it also lets you plug IN cords and cables from any country as well.

Real scenario that happened to me: I was traveling to Vietnam and forgot my cords and converter and needed to charge my phone! My British friend said never fear - and lent me his. While it plugged into the wall, my phone charger didn’t plug into his UK -> Asia converter, something I didn’t even think about. That will never happen to you with this converter!

I was able to charge my phone, my power bank, my airpods, my drone, and my laptop, all at once while I slept. This was especially useful when I only had one outlet next to my little hostel dorm bunk bed. I brought two, which was a good choice because I lent someone mine and then unfortunately never saw it again LOL. Good thing I had a backup.

Power Bank

My absolute prized possession, the love of my life, and my most used item in my backpack was THIS power bank. When you’re traveling, you’re constantly using your phone. You’re using google maps, looking up things to do and places to eat, google translating, booking flights and hostels, and taking photos. Your phone is literally going to die at noon, no joke.

For some reason my phone battery drains so quickly whenever I’m taking pictures, and the last thing you need is to be stranded in a foreign country, 45 minutes from your hostel, with a dead phone. Nightmare material.

This power bank is way cheaper than most of the others, and it can charge my phone fully about 4 times! I usually just do a half charge to get me through the day just in case I forget to charge my power bank. It comes in lots of colors so you don’t accidentally mix it up with someone else’s:)

Tinted Chapstick

This one seems really silly, but I brought a tinted lip balm that I literally used every day. It’s such a little thing, but it really did make me feel like a little less of a crusty dusty backpacker, and it just made my freckles and tan look so much better. I’m not going on another backpacking trip without some tinted chapstick. Sue me.

Travel towel

This was one of my most used items during my 3 months trip backpacking southeast Asia. I didn’t bring a bath towel as most hostels either provide them or lend them out in exchange for a deposit that you get returned to you upon checkout. Having a beach towel, however, was a must. The one I bought (this one) is super thin, lightweight, comes in a carry case that I tied to the outside of my backpack, and is sand-free!

I used it as a bath towel in a pinch, I used it to lay on the beach or by the pool, and hung it from the top bunk to use as a curtain when hostels didn’t have any.

The only thing is: I bought mine in light pink - and it was DISGUSTING by the time I got to my last stop. Like so disgusting that people were commenting on it. Don’t get me wrong, it was ~clean~; I threw it in my laundry whenever I did it at hostel, but the stains I accumulated after three months were absolutely horrific. So just get a darker color <3 Buy it HERE.

Read More: The best southeast Asia packing list

Kindle

This is one thing I didn’t bring, and was kicking myself for. I don’t even own a Kindle! That needs to change asap, because my initial plans of finding books in hostels to read was an absolute bust (half of them were in German and the other half was usually dutch, unfortunately), and laying by the beach or going to dinner alone as a solo traveler looks a little less lonely and awkward when you have a book:)

The book I brought only fit in my bag with a VERY SPECIFIC configuration, so it got ditched 4 days into my trip. One of my friends I met on the road had a Kindle and I was jealous of her every. day. If you like to read, definitely consider bringing a Kindle. She had THIS one!

Fanny pack

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I will probably get robbed. Or lose things. But mostly I blame everything on getting robbed. My parents are fully aware of this fact, and are probably so sick of getting phone calls at 3 in the morning from me crying on the other line, mailing me new credit cards, phones, and insurance cards, and having to wire me money when I inevitably lose something important. So they took matters into their own hands and bought me a Lululemon belt bag for my travels.

I am happy to report back that although this was the longest trip I’ve ever done, the only time I lost something was when an ATM ate my debit card and I couldn’t get it out for three days due to a Balinese public holiday. But also that wasn’t my fault.

Everyone I met had their own version of a bum bag as their main purse or (manbag). They’re convenient, cute, hands-free, and an absolute backpacking essential.

Just don’t get a white one LOL. Mine was disgusting by the time I got home if you can’t tell by the photos ->

Packing Cubes

Before my southeast Asia backpacking trip, I thought packing cubes were a gimmick. They’re not really that cheap, and I figured there were enough compartments in my backpack to stay organized.

WRONG.

I decided to buy a pack of compression packing cubes, and not only did they actually save space, they were a LIFESAVER. I caught a little glimpse of the inside of one girls 75 Liter backpack with no packing cubes and it still haunts my nightmares. If you want to stay organized and maintain any semblance of sanity while traveling, you’ll invest in packing cubes. I am so partial to THESE packing cubes: They’re cheap, and that slim bag gives you amazing tetrus opportunities that a whole bunch of square packing cubes don’t give you. 10/10 recommend.

Sweatshirt

A common misconception about Southeast Asia is that it’s hot 100% of the time. That is so far from the truth! One of my most-worn pieces of clothing was my crew neck sweatshirt that I wore on the plane. It was the perfect thing to throw on for chilly evenings on the beach, when the monsoons hit and the rain brought the temperatures down into the 60s, for the mountains of Vietnam, and for the FREEZING COLD NIGHT BUSSES. for real. One time I was on a night bus so cold I cried actual tears.

You can definitely buy one on the road (At one point all my friends were buying knock-off North Face jackets off the street in Vietnam because it was so cold!), but a sweatshirt is an absolute must.

Ft. me ditching the sweatshirt for the picture and the picture alone and also me freezing my booty off in Vietnam when the temperature dipped down to 65 degrees. lol

Baby Powder

This may be a personal thing, but using baby powder as dry shampoo was a lifesaver. I only brought a little travel sized bottle of actual shampoo, and while I did purchase another small bottle about halfway through my trip, I knew I wouldn’t be washing my hair all that often. Every day you’re in the pool, you’re in the ocean, you’re sweating like crazy. It’s pointless to try to wash your hair every time it gets wet or dirty! And dry shampoo is expensive, gets used up quickly, and gets confiscated left and right for being an aerosol.

My travel sized dry shampoo lasted all of 3 days before getting confiscated at the security of a train station in Laos; I was so annoyed. What saved my life, however, was the small bottle of baby powder that I brought as a backup. If you don’t know, it acts just like dry shampoo, absorbing oil and making your hair appear clean! This was my secret the entire time I was backpacking through Asia.

Facial sunscreen stick

While you can buy sunscreen almost anywhere in Southeast Asia (it is a little pricey, but it is readily available), I previously lived in South Korea, and if you know anything about South Korea, you know how obsessed they are with sunscreen. So, I made sure to bring along a sunscreen stick specifically made for your face! It was so easy to pop on every day, and I had a million people borrow it! It lived in my fanny pack so that I could reapply any time throughout the day, and it’s so much more convenient than lathering your face up with greasy lotion.

THIS one is a good one!

mini straightener

Now, this could just be me - but I brought my full sized flat iron and didn’t regret it once. And if I could go back and do it again, I might try to pick up a mini straightener to take with me instead. I loved being able to curl my bangs, iron out my linen shirt, and feel like myself again on a night when the humidity decided to let up. I had so many girls borrow it to do their hair or fix their bangs, and even guys borrowed it to iron their shirts when they got a little too wrinkled living in their (packing-cube-less) backpack.

I know this is a big one on a lot of “what not to pack” lists, but I said what I said. I’m a girly girl at heart!

locks

I’m not going to lie: I never used either of the padlocks I bought. I made sure to buy TSA approved padlocks that had a skinny wire top part, (Like THESE!) as they’re pretty much guaranteed to fit through any hostel locker lock. And maybe this is part of the reasons I’ve gotten robbed in the past LOL- but honestly, I would always just shove my backpack under my bunk, put any valuables on my bed and pulled the curtain, and I was (usually) fine.

Half the time, the lockers in the hostels are too small to even put your backpack in, so I don’t really know why this is on everyone’s lists. I included it just because I think it’s definitely an important thing to have just in case you have some sketchy dorm-mates or the hostel workers warn you that they’ve had issues with people stealing things in the past.

But one of my friends locked her passport in a locker to keep it safe and then forgot about it and left it there. And that’s definitely something that would happen to me LOL.

smooth move tea

AGAIN. This one might be partial to me. And it’s definitely TMI - but you can’t say that I don’t keep it real around here. Traveling just ~does~ things to my poor little digestive system. I bring this from America (I embarked from South Korea on my last trip and literally got my parents to ship it to me) and I can’t live without it. For some reason I never have the *opposite* problem (for which I am very grateful), but definitely still not an ideal situation.

extra credit card

Remember when I said I get robbed? and lose things? Yeah. I’ve learned from experience to keep a backup credit card in my backpack in one of the tiny little zipper pockets. Ya know, just incase I leave my wallet in a bar and won’t be staying in one location long enough to mail myself a new one.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to use it on this trip, but if I did that when I was in Spain, I would’ve saved myself literally so much grief.

sarong

Spoiler: I didn’t pack a sarong! I just picked up two silk scarves while I was in Hanoi and they were honestly a godsend. I wore them as temple cover-ups, skirts, and beach coverups. You can get these in lots of different cities along the way, but you definitely won’t regret having a sarong.

beach bag

This was such an unexpected must-have for me. It was a last-minute addition from when I got a free tote bag with a bikini order, and I decided to take it with me. Thank God I did!

It came in so handy when I wanted to go to the beach, go on a day trip, explore blue lagoons in Laos, and literally every boy ever would ask me if he could put his things in my bag. We all think that we have our “daypacks” for this reason, but in reality, your daypack is filled with things like chargers, laptops, cameras, raincoats, etc. - and you don’t want to have to dump everything out of it just so you can have a bag to go to the beach with.

Roll up your beach bag, put it IN your daypack, and boom. Problem solved. Unfortunately a hostel puppy chewed a hole in mine so I need to get a new one before my next trip LOL.

There you have it! All the essentials for backpacking Asia.

Some of these are ~actual~ essentials, some of them are essentials to me, but either way, they’re things I HIGHLY recommend bringing. If you’re girly and want to bring your makeup, do it! I did, and I did not regret it. If you’re not into that, don’t! If zip off pants are your thing - PACK THEM! You know yourself best, and don’t let any packing list on the internet guilt you into bringing things you won’t wear or use, or not packing things that make you feel like yourself!

I will forever be a flowy skirt and makeup kinda girl, and that’s okay. Doesn’t make me any less of a backpacker:)