Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Checklist for travelling to Bangkok

Travelling check list- what every woman should bring!

  1. Credit card- better to bring both Visa and Mastercard. I have seen shops accepting on but not the other. Bring at least one credit card, it will come in handy when you suddenly see somthing gorgeous.
  2. Cash! How much? depends on how much you want to shop. You need not do the exchange at the airport in your home country. There are plenty of little machines and kiosks in BKK airport for exchange purposes, and these give you good rates. Just insert your USD/SGD/RM and watch them turn to Bath!! Unless you are exchanging a lot of money, it is not worth the special trip to your favourite money changer. Tip... make sure you keep some cash in your hotel safe, we advise at least 1000B for your exit airport tax (500B), and cabfares + a little extra for last minute airport shopping. BKK is a place that we squeeze even the last Bath out of ''rational'' shoppers due to the good bargains. As I am a credit card person, I find that around 1000B per day is enough as a 'small change'.
  3. Sunblock! Cap! sunglasses? Umbrella? Forget it... if it rains, your umbrella wll not help much. My favourite sunblock is Sunkiller, definitely the best in terms of coverage, and it is non-oily!
  4. Disposable panties! It is worth investing in the ''cotton'' ones, although they are double the price of the ''paper'' ones.. you will definitely feel more secure and comfortable in it.
  5. Camera!
  6. Good comfortable pair of walking shoes/sandals. If you need to go to Grand Palace, make sure you bring along a pair of shoe which cover up your toes, they guards may not let you in if you are wearing your fav pair of TeV**sandals. But then again, this depends on whether you will be heading there straight or after doing some something.... read more about shoes in in my ''BIG WIDE feet -- the FEMALE BIG-FOOTs guide to getting pair of shoes in Cinderella land''
  7. Disposable chopsticks! If you are very adventurous about road side food, and like me .. want to try EVERYTHING, and EVERY STALL which looks terribly crowded, bring one or two pairs of disposable chopsticks. While the washing standards done in the road side stalls are comparable or even better than many places in Singapore-Malaysia... let me warn you that they RECYCLE DISPOSABLE chopsticks!!!!!! It is not a exactly appetising to when you are handed a pair of dripping wet recycled chopsticks which had been washed in soapy water. Recycle chopsticks are permeable(do not have the coatings like your regular wooden chopsticks).
  8. Wet Tissues (body and face) BKK is extremely hot and humid, and let me warn you , you will SWEAT big time and STINK. It will be quite embarassing to try out clothes in that state! The wet tissues how in really handy to give your self a wipe down. As my skin is pretty sensitive, I usually buy a small packet of baby wipes in Watsons or Guardian before heading there. This is something that you got to buy in your home country, in a place where you are familiar, and I suggest you try out these wipes first before you actually bring them there (Test whether you are sensitive to it, and try to buy something that is not fragranced). I tried to get it in BKK, and was really disappointed. I found them.. but they were in huge banded packaging... I guess mums always look for savings and bargains. Other than wiping myself, my baby wipes have also cleaned tables, chairs, toilet seat in my hotel room (yeah... I did that). It will also be handy when you REALLY need to do your big bussiness in a public toilet. (Note: This is not something impossible to happen... after eating so much!!)
  9. A tiny bottle of soap/ one of your cheap facial cleanser samples- this is for washing your hands after going to toilets. Toilets in major tourist attractions and shopping centres are world class, but many of the lesser places do not have soap. To a foodie like me, my own bottle of soap will come in handy when I need to eat the tidbits that I bought, or use my fingers to pick up some nice food samples. (otherwise.. it is quite yucky to use your fingers after the toilet trip.... yucks.....)
  10. Your phone charger/extra battery
  11. A luggage that is at least 2/3 empty....to lug back all your stuff. I have seen may girls bringing the large size trolleys luggage there ... haha. Whether you want to bring extra bags depend on whether you want to get another piece. Luggage bags in BKK starts around 199B!
  12. Clothes- skirts. I used to go for pants, but I realised that they are very useless when I need to try clothes!
  13. Optional: Travel detergent n plastics hangers!-- if you like to travel extremely light like me, I think a small bottle will be very handy. I use it to wash the new T-shirts that I buy and also my sweaty smelly T-shirts. I usually bring 2-3 light weight and flat plastic hangers and put them at the bottom of my luggage. These do not take up space and will be useful to hang up your clothings. I do not like to use those wooden hangers in hotel rooms for my wet clothes or clothes that I need to wear....

If you got these things in your bag, I would say... relax and just go! You could almost buy anything you want/need in BKK! wait.. how about toothpaste and toothbrushes? If you paid USD25+ for your hotel room, you should have it there. What happens if you do not see it in your room?? Just call the housekeeper-- ask and you will get it.. FREE. Yeah... you might need to ask for your paper slippers too.

Well actually you need not bring anything but your cash and credit card :D

Here is a different travel check list for cold and wet November London: Travel checklist for Nov London

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