Beachmeter

What NOT to bring to Thailand

Open suitcase with clothes and travel items lying around

Is your suitcase loaded when you head off to Thailand, and do you meticulously make sure that all the items on the “What to bring to Thailand”-list are checked off?

When you pack for a holiday, you probably add a lot of “just in case”-items in your suitcase. Nearly just as often you end up not using these items at all during the entire trip. You do, of course, get the pleasure of carrying them around on the journey and leaving less room for new shopping items. Tried that before? After heaps of travels to Thailand, we would like to offer you a guide about what NOT to bring on your holiday in Thailand.

The “What not to bring to Thailand”-list

 Towels
The vast majority of the accommodation types found in Thailand provide towels. If they don’t or in case you need an extra one, towels are not hard to come by.

 Mosquito repellent
You can find mosquito repellent in every single convenience store, pharmacy, and supermarket in Thailand. If they don’t have it at your beach bungalow resort, they can definitely advise you where to find it. Or they might even have homemade herbal mosquito repellent.

Mosquito net
At resorts where mosquito nets are needed, you can be 99% sure they already found out. And hopefully they have taken measures to alleviate the problem by, for example, setting up mosquito nets in the rooms. Should a few annoying mosquitoes enter your room, then you can use your locally bought repellent, shower before going to bed – yes, mosquitoes are attracted to smelly feet. or even try one of the anti mosquito apps – yes, there are apps with ultra-sonic sound which is supposed to scare away insects.

The medicine cabinet
You can find all ordinary medicines like painkillers, stomach relief tablets, rash medicine, and various bandages locally. And there is a good chance that a local pharmacist or doctor knows better how to identify and treat your insect bite or other ailment than your hometown doctor, who last studied tropical diseases in grad school 1977. Should it be necessary, Thailand has great hospitals of high international standards. This is not to say that prescribed medicine and perhaps a few emergency painkillers and stomach relief tablets should not be brought, but there is no need to bring all the medical cabinet.

Sun lotion, shampoo, soap, shaving cream etc.
Not surprisingly, Thailand has all of these items. Looking to your left a few steps down the street, there is a Family Mart convenience store. Looking to your right, there is a 7-Eleven. In the airport there are Boots and Watsons, and in the cities those small charming garage type pharmacy cum snack stores also offer everything you need. If not for the fact that you want to save some space in your suitcase for souvenirs and Thai whisky, you should fill your bag with herbal toothpastes and coconut oil.

Hairdryer
If you stay at one of those simple beach bungalow resorts, a hairdryer will drain the entire electrical generator of its power – not popular. Most tourist and definitely first class hotels have hairdryers available for guests.  If not, then Thailand is not the worst place to have wet hair. In case a hairdryer is an absolute must for you, remember that not all hairdryers work with the 220 volts which is the standard for Thailand.

Socks, underwear, and t-shirts for the enitre trip
Especially if you stay at the beach, you will not need much clothes. There will be days where swimming wear and a t-shirt will be all you wear. In any case there are good value laundry services around, so if you run out of socks and underwear, send it to the local laundry service, and you will have it back clean and even ironed by the following day.

Hiking boots
If you intend to do some trekking in Thailand, normal trainers will suffice. Your local guide might even wear flip-flops, but unless your feet are accustomed to long walks in flip-flops we don’t recommend that. There are also areas in Thailand where leeches roam, and then you definitely want to wear closed shoes. But those big, heavy hiking boots – leave them at home. They will most likely be a nuisance on the rest of your trip, and both the weather and the general tracking route conditions don’t demand bringing your mountaineering gear.

Download the pdf-version here: What_NOT_to_Bring_to_Thailand_List-Beachmeter.

With the exception of a very few things, Thailand has everything you need, and it is probably easier to get it here than in your home country. Two things about Thais: They are all about convenience and they love shopping. The combination of these two features makes every corner an opportunity for you to buy exactly what you need. Pack lightly, save some burden on yourself and your airline, and if you are a shopaholic then there is no better place than Thailand to have a little spare room in your suitcase. So always remember what not to bring on your next holiday.

Photo Credit: anaa yoo

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  • I suggest to definitely bring 2 microfibre towels if you are backpacking. Otherwise you can lay on the sand or if you only carry one, you will use the sandy beach towel after you had a shower which is not nice. Microfibre towels are not easy to buy in Thailand unless you have a Decathlon near to you or someone can order there online…

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