We will be visiting Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand for 3 weeks in November. How many pairs and what kinds of shoes should I take? We will not be roughing it but will be visiting temples and doing a lot of walking. I love sandals but am wondering if they will be appropriate.
Thanks!!
Shoes - - how many pairs should I take?
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bring a good pair or walking sandals and also a good pair or walking shoes. There will be times when for a variety of reasons you will not want to wear sandals. Then bring a pair of shoes for evenings.
I always throw in a pair of rubber flipflops (thongs). They can be used around the hotel room as slippers, worn to the pool or beach and often i carry them in my daypack.....if a gullywasher rain blasts through and I don't want to soak my good sandals or walking shoes, I pop on the flipflops til it passes.
great advice from these posters!
A pair that are good for walking in dry weather, something suitable for wet weather and importantly, something easy to remove for the days you are visiting temples and wear socks too.
my wife brought two pairs of sandals this past summer....one with lots of support and one sort of dressy--black...she also purchased several pairs of fancy flip flops in thailand which appeared at dinner at the end of the trip...she used to take a pair of flats but has stopped that...
we stay in nice places and go to top end restaurants and it always worked out fine
Just agreeing really, take a good pair of walking shoes, pair for evenings, sandals and something that can easily be slipped on/off for visiting temples and entering other places where the norm is to remove shoes. The flip flops also.
Always 'break in' new footwear before traveling
I agree with all the posters on the ' shoe ' subject. I traveled to India last year and all of those suggestions were useful. Question of socks. In India I couldn't wear anything on the feet entering a temple. Are you saying that in Thailand, while you remove socks, you can enter a temple in socks?
i believe that is true...my wife just has said only bare feet...
I am starting to pack for my upcoming trip to Kerala and I am having that same shoe issue again..I am taking at minimum, 1 pair cheap flip flops, 1 pair nicer flip flops, birkenstocks and 1 pair walking shoes..I might take 1 really nice pair as we are going out one night in Dubai..Man..my suitcase will have nothing but shoes in it...again...
After a number of trips to perfect my packing list, I take the following shoe collection on trips to Asia:
2 pairs Teva or other "water sandals" - I like to wash my shoes daily and it takes them 24 hours to dry, this way I always have a clean & dry pair
1 pair cheap thongs which I only wear as slippers inside the hotel room
Wear on plane: pair of New Balance trail running or walking shoes in a dark color (never white!)
Be sure to "break in" all sandals & shoes before travel. Wear the Tevas for at least 8-10 hours straight while walking to make sure they won't give you blisters. Some Teva styles are better than others for keeping feet blister-free.
I have very wide and bunions-prone feet, very bad feet. I can only wear about 3 brands of shoes and they have to be available in wide width. There are many brands of "water sandals" but I find Tevas to be easily adjusted for width using the Velcro tabs. They also have pretty good arch support.
For Thailand, Laos and Cambodia you can wear socks while walking in temples. I haven't been to Vietnam (yet) so can't comment on socks inside temples there. I take 2 pair of black very low cut sox (from Target) and keep one pair in my purse while in Asia. I take off the Tevas and put on the sox at each temple. I usually put the Tevas in my totebag, rather than leaving them with hundreds of other pairs at the temple entrance. I trust the local people but don't trust other tourists... I HATE walking in bare feet where thousands of other feet have trod.
I pack my shoes in stretchy-knit shoe bags which protect the shoes and clothing. Put shoes in your bag first, along the perimeter of the suitcase. Then pack purses, totebag, and everything else.
Happy travels!