Without stating the obviously don’t forget, your toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, cotton buds and wool.
Now ditch the big bottles of shampoo and conditioner you’ve bought to take with you (guilty… I had to leave them behind). Head to lush, they have bars of shampoo and conditioner that are just like bars of soap. They are incredible and are well worth the £9 you will pay for them, mine lasted me around 3 months until they ran out and that was using them daily. You’ll be surprised at the fact you can also find brands you will know in stores all around Asia so you can always pick small bottles up to take on the road with you.
Now ditch the big bottles of shampoo and conditioner you’ve bought to take with you (guilty… I had to leave them behind). Head to lush, they have bars of shampoo and conditioner that are just like bars of soap. They are incredible and are well worth the £9 you will pay for them, mine lasted me around 3 months until they ran out and that was using them daily. You’ll be surprised at the fact you can also find brands you will know in stores all around Asia so you can always pick small bottles up to take on the road with you.
Sun cream and after sun is a must, especially in Asia I would advise buying factor 50. It is insanely expensive to buy sun cream in Asia so if you have the room then I would take a few bottles. We got a bundle of 2 sun creams and 2 aftersuns from boots at around £16 before we left, they also came in a zip up bag which was really handy.
Be aware that a lot of moisturiser has whitening cream in it, which is something you do not want to buy if you want a lovely glowing tan. I would suggest taking some of your own if this is the case.
Ladies this ones for you… I read so many things about not being able to buy sanitary products in Asia as it is against religion etc… This is NOT true! You can buy sanitary products in almost every store including 7/11’s. I think I took around a 6 month supply but you really don’t need to unless you want to stick with what you know then take your own.
Plasters, bandages, antiseptic wipes & cream, hand sanitiser, painkillers and lastly Diarrhoea tablets are probably all you might need just in cases. You will most likely get the dreaded runs at some point in the first 2 weeks so be prepared!
Deer Spray / Mosquito Spray is an absolute must, whether you think you’re prone to bites trust me you are now. They will get you and it will itch like crazy. Tiger balm is really good to use to stop the itching but buy it whilst in Asia as it’s so much cheaper.
If there’s anything else you obviously can’t live without then add it to your list. We left things like perfume, hair gel, hair spray etc. Behind. You probably won’t use it if you do take it.