Thailand in January: Essentials to pack?
 

We will be in Krabi, Angkor Wat, Golden Triangle area, and Bangkok for two weeks starting end of December. Please give me your opinions on what you wouldn't go without . . . thanks!

Light, cotton, linen fabric clothing, sun screen, hats, comfortable shoes- no sleeveless shirts (not permitted in the temples). Wash N Drys- great for getting refreshed while out and about.One Empty suitcase as you will be filling it up on the things you will buy in Bangkok.

bill has hit it all...maybe two pairs of shoes...walking and restaurant decent for evening...loose fitting clothing...no spandex or the like..conservative

Save the shorts and sleeveless/backless shirts for the beach areas or anyplace you won't be visiting a temple (wat). Crop pants/slacks and camp/short sleeve/tee- shirts work well for visiting sights, temples especially... and definitely comfortable shoes. Consider slip-in shoes (loafers or keds) as these are easiest to remove when visiting temples. Just be prepared for hot and humid temps and don't be surprised that with clothing worn close to the body you're wet thru to your skin. Have extra "wears" and t-shirts. enjoy your holiday.

One comment on crop pants. Some wats require pants be a certain length below the knee, it looked like 2/3 the way to the ankle. However, the wats that have this requirement also provide "rental" clothing. So if you aren't dressed appropriately, you can rent shirts, wraps, or shoes.
If you are going to be in the jungle at all, bring insect repellant.
Be sure to take the suggestion of Condoms and Cabbages in Bangkok, the food is great and it is an interesting place.

Take a sarong or buy one when you get there. Can easily be put on over those crop pants that aren't long enough for certain wats. Can be used as a shawl in cooler A/C buildings or as a beach cover-up or as an impromptu "towel" to sit on, etc.

Crop pants come to the ankle. It's those capris that can be anywhere from below the knee down to the calf that could be a problem. And agree the the pareo (sarong) you pack as a beach/pool coverup is great in many places in Thailand if you have to cover anything.

Thank you all, I will dig out the crop pants and camp shirts. So you do not recommend bringing sandals? If anyone has advice on where to shop for tropical attire at this time of year, I'd also appreciate it.

For hotweather travel clothes...distantlands.com/ travelsmith.com/magellans.com/exofficio.com/and T.J.Maxx stores. Where do you live? I'm in L.A. area so light weight travel clothes are easy to find. I just bought some new ones last weekend to take to Ghana in a few weeks. So if you're in this area, post to me and I'll tell you where to look for them. Happy Travels!

Thanks -- we are in Washington, DC, where all of the stores seem to have only winter gear. But the catalogs and internet sites will help!

Yeah, you should have no problem with the internet sites. distantlands.com is in Pasadena,Ca...magellans.com is in Santa Barbara,Ca...travelsmith.com is in Novato,Ca( a little north of S.F.) and exoffico.com is originally from Seattle. Happy shopping and Travels!

we both take sandles, but substantial ones, not flimsy "woman wear" for fashion... fororites laugh at me but i wear socks under mine

I'm in the LA area and would love to know where you shop. We have just returned from Guatemala and spent some time in Tikal which made me realize that we are NOT prepared for our trip to Thailand/Cambodia in two weeks! We are going to be staying at very nice hotels in BKK and Siem Reap but then are going on a kayaking trip in the jungle so we have to be prepared for everything - from the highest to the lowest. I was planning on buying almost all microfiber clothing on the theory that cotton is of no use in the jungle as it gets damp and stays damp. Any problems with that theory? Also, what is the dress code in the nicer (but not top, top end) restaurants in BKK? I am taking three boys and need to know what I will have to force them to wear!

don't plan on shorts and t-shirts in the hotels, except around the pool...smart casual is the norm at nite...

we take only natural fiber clothing to the places you have listed....cottons, linen, etc....i just asked my wife if she would take micro-fibres to those places and her reply with a grimace was, "if its loose fitting"....she does not take any....

chinos and polo shirts are what we find are the best everyplace acceptable clothing for men/boys....we do not wear sneakers either....leather walking shoes or sandles....

By all means stick with natural fibers.
Spent a very hot July in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand a few years ago and wound up leaving all my synthetics and silks in the suitcase.

To...Annmcd....Go to Distant Lands Travel Store...everything under one roof...super large travel book library, travel agency, clothing store, travel video rental section,travel accesories section including luggage. If you go upstairs, there's a sale section. The section downstairs is the non-sale travel clothing store. Ask for Louanne,one of the owners. She's great and usually there.I've shopped there since it opened back about 12 years ago. It's located in Old Town Pasadena at 62 S. Raymond Ave Tel.800.310.3220. People come all the way from Orange County to shop there. Plus they have regular free travel seminars. Some years ago, Arthur Frommer came and spoke and one time someone from National Geographics came and did a slide show on Sulawesi,Indonesia. They also have a catelogue. Oh, the location is between Colorado Blvd and Green Street. Also there's Adventure 16 on Pico...11161 W. Pico.... next to the 405 Freeway. Then there's one in Tarzana at 5425 Reseda Blvd and a huge one down in Costa Mesa at 2937 Bristol...get off the 405 at Bear and go to Baker then make a left on Baker and a right on Bristol.Then there's REI in the valley. I prefer Distant Lands over them all. It's a REAL travel store. Tell Louanne that her number 1 customer sent you. She can try to order things for you if something is out of stock. Oh, and T.J. Maxx in Temple City on Rosemead and Las Tunas...and on Foothill in La Canada. Try Chicos stores,too for lightweight clothes. Got to go. Happy Travels!

What about buying clothes in Thailand?
We're going in January and I hope to take very little and purchase clothes for much lower prices than home. (Canada)

It's very easy and cheap to buy clothes when you're in Thailand. Alot of the tourist places have tons of roadside stalls that sell t-shirts, shoes, sunglasses, pants, etc. The quality is not the greatest of course, but you'll find all you need. Plus, it's easier to get an OK shirt for cheap to sweat in than some of your good stuff from home.

To Annmcd... I forgot to add that there's also a Magellans on Wilshire in West L.A. almost at the Santa Monica border. And there's the main Magellan's in Santa Barbara that's worth a drive to. I've found great bargains there. Someone mentioned that clothes could be bought in Thailand which is true, however sizes are a problem. I wear a size 10 and the sleeves are usually too short and the length of the skirts are too short for my height, plus personally, I don't want to HAVE TO run around looking for clothes on vacation when there are plenty of available clothes right here under my nose....and plenty in the travel stores and travel store catelogues.What I did over a decade ago was went to Target and bought a big,clear,plastic container and as I would find pieces of travel clothes, I'd drop them into my container.I made an investment and have bought pieces that I have worn over and over again for over a decade and they are still looking quite good.I don't regret the investment. So all of my hardcore travel clothes are in one container. I shop throughout the year thus leaving me without any pre-trip shopping stress.I prefer the micro-fiber travel clothes which last forever and dry REALLY fast. I was monsoon-rained on in Singapore once...soaked all the way through and my Ex-Officio clothes dried out, on my body, within an hour's time. A friend, who was wearing jeans and a cotton blouse had to go back to the hotel and change. I never returned back to the hotel to change.Plus cotton can take forever to dry in humid places and get moldy/mildewy,too. Buzz-Off clothes are available,too.They came out around Jan 2004.They are treated to keep the mosquitos off of you and I've heard that the clothes really work. In a malaria zone that's very important. Ex-Officio does the Buzz-Off shirts/pants. So,I've picked up a shirt for my upcoming Ghana trip. The treatment is to last 24 washings I think it is. Happy Travels!

My two-cents also says natural fibres. Granted they don't dry easily as you will be wet thru and thru, but I can't put a microfibre anywhere near my body. The sweat pours as soon as it touches my skin. Just bring extra t-shirts and "wears." Though I can tell you that we found camp-type or short sleeve cotton shirts worked best as they weren't close to the body.

Of course, you can buy clothing locally, but we found that sizing was real strange even for a size 6 and 8/10 - often a Large didn't work. T-shirts were never a problem, but these were only bought as gifts. When it came to regular women's clothing - shirts, skirts, dresses - we weren't too successful. At moderate prices the sizing was terrible and at more expensive shops, honestly, we didn't feel we were getting value for our money. We did investigate a reputable tailor for custom items, but our schedule didn't allow for us to return for a proper fitting. So, from personal experience I wouldn't depend on shopping for clothes while on holiday in place of bringing what you need.