Danny's Weblog

Things to bring: Money and related items

1. As I said before under "clothes" you should probably bring a moneybelt or some similar way to hide money, passport etc.

2. However, in general you should not need to *display* your moneybelt at every transaction! Thus you need some sort of system, which is comfortable for your circumstances, for deciding what items to keep in the moneybelt and what items to keep in your wallet (etc). You should probably wear the moneybelt for a couple of weeks *in your home country* to figure that out.

3. A useful item to have ready is a cheap purse about the size of your wallet which you can put all items that you normally keep in your wallet but *are not necessary in the current country*. You should have it ready on the plane so you can easily transfer items *before* arriving at the pay toilet, taxi, etc. (Such items are usually small enough to get lost if you try to put them in a larger bag.) When you come *back* to Thailand, having all those items (like your Thai SIMcard) in one place is handy too.

4. Normally you can easily use your credit/ATM card in Thailand, but currently in Cambodia you can only draw cash at a bank, and basically only travel agencies and a few pricey restaurants and hotels can accept your credit card.

5. Although Thai ATMs allow you to draw cash, they typically allow no other features. A few will give your credit balance.

6. If you are getting all your cash via ATMs, you will be absolutely snookered if you lose the card. It may be advisable to carry two cards *linked to separate accounts* (so you can call up and cancel the missing card), and of course in separate places. If you are very organized you may wish to set up temporary accounts before you leave your home country, so that your losses are definitely limited. It may be difficult or impossible to use 800 numbers from abroad, so investigate your bank's *non*-800 numbers before leaving.

7. In Cambodia you will be required to show your passport in order to draw cash on your ATM card. However, on one occasion, I had forgotten that I had handed over my passport to get a visa stamp a day or two before, and on that occasion the bank accepted my driver's license (with picture ID).

8. In general, you will find yourself using the passport a lot (it is a legal requirement for a foreigner to carry one at all times in Thailand and Cambodia, and although I have heard of no serious problems for people not carrying their passport Thailand especially has been tightening up a lot recently). You may therefore absent-mindedly leave it behind, and I can think of no cases in Thailand or Cambodia where people have carefully kept a valuable item (more valuable than an umbrella) ready for my return. My suggestion re the passport is that you buy a passport cover of some kind – mine is a cheap plastic cover with a neck strap – which you should leave on the counter while the minion is dealing with the actual passport, and serves as a mute reminder that you need to get the actual passport back.

9. You will probably find yourself carrying multiple currencies in your moneybelt. I suggest you make up some sort of folder for each currency. I have not found suitable folders commercially, but you can make them from side-loading envelopes (not the normal top-loading ones). I use folders made from plastic A4-size file folders. The plastic serves the purpose of protecting the bills from humidity (although presumably they also prevent my groin from being ventilated). Folders also prevent damage to the bills from being repeatedly reinserted in the moneybelt; this can definitely be an issue in Cambodia, where frayed and torn bills may well be rejected. A disadvantage of plastic is that the bills easily fall out of the folders.

10. It's hard to defend the contents of your moneybelt etc when you are sleeping or otherwise not present to defend them, but one thing you *can* do is keep track of the current contents. You should maintain a log of the quantity of each currency in each location along with the date and time. It's also wise to note each ATM transaction in the same log – even if you get a receipt, it may be illegible, or you may need to add notes like "he seemed to be running the card twice but assured me he wasn't". Clearly this log needs to be in a different place from the moneybelt/wallet.

11. Many sources advise making a copy of your passport. I suggest using a color-copy machine, and trying to choose the print size so as to make the copies fit neatly inside some sort of handy folder. Also, in the case of any difficulties the Thai or Cambodian police will be *especially* interested in the visa stamps etc that were added when you arrived, so make *more* copies of the passport pages showing the *current* info after you arrive in the target country. Other documents you may want to include with the passport copy are front and back copies of your credit cards, essential contact info (eg next of kin), and itinerary info (in case you lose your tickets). If you are leaving your home country for a lengthy period you may also need to carry a certificate that your taxes have been paid, which you will certainly not have easily available on your return unless you keep it here.

Thingstobring: If you're going to use an internet cafe

Many people will not want to risk the weight and security risk of bringing a laptop, so they'll use the many internet cafes available around Thailand, and in Phnom Penh , Siem Reap and Sihanoukville in Cambodia.

Here are some suggestions. A lot of stuff is things you can also find in Thailand, but may be difficult – like a CD pen; or things you really need to have played with before your trip – eg software.

1. If you have never used an internet cafe, try to do so locally before you go to Asia. You may well not have a clear idea of various problems like trying to access your normal email account, or how to set up and use a Hotmail account.

2. The large majority of machines I've seen were running W98, with a few W2K and XP; no Macs. Mac users need to be somewhat used to a PC, then. Also, the continuing prevalence of W98 means problems with USB device support and possible foreign-character-support problems.

3. If you bring a USB memory gizmo, it would be wise to bring the driver. It may be helpful to have the driver on a floppy too if possible, because I've found an amazingly high percentage of internet cafe PCs to have dead cdroms, even when fitted. (It's nice to be clueful enough with "Network Neighborhood" to be able to smoothly copy across the network from a machine with a working CD. )

4. Another good thing to bring with a USB gizmo is a male-to-female extender cable. Even when the PC has a front USB port available (very rare) it may have never been connected, or the bezel around the slot prevents your device being inserted. And of course it makes it much easier to plug and unplug things (eg your card reader and your backup hard drive) instead of having to crouch down in the snot, fluff and dog hair next to the tower.

5. Despite the rampant piracy, many machines do not have image editing software installed. I would look around for an open-source installable and check it out before your trip, then bring it with you to install.

6. I have seldom run into objections installing software; I have always asked first. One time the guy had to log in as administrator to allow me to install software, and then he walked away from the machine to leave me to it...

7. If you have a camera it is much easier to use a card reader to transfer the files than plug it in directly to the PC. Aside from anything else, it will probably kill its batteries.

8. It's nice to have one of the single-disk Linux distributions like Knoppix to use when you're afraid of keyloggers etc.

9. Very few people still use terminal interfaces these days, and those that do probably know this already, but the "PuTTY" package is free, easy to download, and includes a version of scp which can easily transfer multiple files much faster than other methods. Great if you have eg multiple folders of image files. Oh, of course it does ssh.

10. If you need to maintain websites you may well need to copy file hierarchies between servers. This is insufferably tedious and errorprone with normal Windows utils. I don't actually know of a free ftp client that supports interserver transfers, but the commercial ones do, and you can always install them and uninstall them when you're finished. (HMmm... can PuTTY do this?)

11. I would *never* access a financial website, including ebay, from an internet cafe machine. If you absolutely have to access such sites, bring a laptop. (Also bring your own Ethernet cable and an adapter to plug it into the *male* end of the cable going to the workstation you're using.) Be wary of DNS spoofing, too.

12. A surprising number of cafes have a CDR burner but nobody who knows how to use it. If you are already familiar with Nero and Adaptec, when they tell you "no can use" try telling them you'll do it yourself. And bring the CDRs and CDRWs with you – they're often out. Also bring a CD marker pen.

13. Even if you have no particular plans other than email, bring a regular floppy with you when you go to a cafe. Sometimes it just makes life so much easier. If you're a guru, bring a W98 bootable floppy too.

Things to bring: Clothes

The standard advice for travellers to Thailand is to bring nothing: there is plenty available. I would add the following warnings.

1. The selection of sizes large enough for westerners is very limited indeed, even in stores which seem to aim at farangs. I am not particularly tall but have significant difficulty getting shirts and shoes to fit. Someone who is tall for a westerner will have real problems.

2. People who prefer genuine cotton will find that they cannot get a straight answer from the shop assistant. I have tried various experiments like picking out obvious non-cotton and asking, and they will always tell you what they think you want to hear. Presumably this also applies to "Thai Silk"; I think I saw an article in the Bangkok Post which said that the majority of "Thai Silk" is actually artificial fiber.

3. If you stay long enough for the seasons to change at home, you may want to bring your cold-weather clothes with you (ie, in addition to what you may have worn on the outbound trip). Thailand actually manufactures quite a lot of the cold-weather clothes sold in the west, but that does not mean you can find it at a reasonable price when you remember you need it at the last minute. You should probably scout out several sources well in advance of your return.

4. The cheap suits available in Thailand may well remind you of the phrase "he was all over her like a cheap suit". Remember that the tailor's shop you go in may well have no actual tailor inside: just an order-taker, who transfers your order to a sweatshop for a commission. The guy you discuss your requirements with may well have no actual understanding of clothes, and his business plan may well depend on none of his customers wanting to stick around for a court case. Fabrics are almost certainly of the lowest quality and internal stiffening poorly stitched. Seams will be made of irritating viscose thread instead of silk. Linings, even if provided, will not be silk. The fabric will stain and will disintegrate when dry-cleaned. If you need any adjustments, there will not be enough time before your flight leaves. (As an experiment, initially tell him your flight leaves a week before the actual date. Then when he sorrowfully tells you he wishes he had an extra two days to do your adjustments...)

There may be tailors in Thailand of which the foregoing is not true.

5. I have not looked for motorcycle wear, but I would think the issue of finding farang sizes would be even more acute. Additionally, most safety helmets available in Thailand are of completely inadequate construction, resembling children's wear for Halloween.

6. Thais seem to prefer styles which are a little strange and garish to the western eye. This may make the clothes a fun purchase to show off when you get home, or not. For instance, Thai police are notorious for having overstuffed shirts straining at every button. This may be because of their sybaritic lifestyle, but I have noticed that even regular Thai shirts seem to be cut very tight compared with US or European shirts. Additionally, they are cut very short, ie from collar to tails, so when I wear a Thai shirt I have to stuff it back in my pants every couple of minutes. (The shirt.)

7. Because of the problem of counterfeiting, selecting a purchase takes much longer: it is practically certain that any clothing product you buy is fake, so you need to check every detail of the construction before you buy it, rather than being able to rely on your experience of the brand.

8. The airport is one of the most dangerous stages of the trip, so you will want to have pants with built-in moneybelts, etc, ready before you set off.

Things to bring: drugs and toiletries

I think the standard advice in the guidebooks is that Thailand has everything you need, whereas Cambodia cannot be relied on for anything.

I would add several additional warnings.

1. Although most over-the-counter and prescription drugs are available in Thailand, counterfeiting is rife, especially for recent high-cost drugs for which Thai manufacturers have not yet started manufacturing a generic equivalent (Thai law enforcement ignores counterfeiting unless the namebrand is a Thai product). If I had a serious health problem which was being held at bay by some wonder drug, I would bring an ample stock with me.

2. Although satisfactory products are available in Thailand for most purposes, you very likely will have to accept generic or offbrand versions of most of the drugstore products you regularly use. This may well mean you change over several products at once, which may make it impossible to figure out which one is now causing a problem.

3. Even when a satisfactory product appears to be available in Cambodia, it is usually (in my limited experience) well beyond its sell-by date, and in any case is sure to have been stored without cooling of any kind. (My paranoid guess is that Cambodia buys all its drugstore products cheap from Thailand when they expire.)

4. Reference materials you may be used to having may not be available. Drugs may not have a list of side effects or interactions. In Cambodia I bought ointment with instructions in Thai and Korean: neither Cambodian nor English!

5. One may be used to some assistance from the pharmacist in choosing the product, but language issues etc may cause major problems. Eg in Cambodia I was looking for a lice powder to dust the hotel bed, and after much nodding and smiling found I had been given antihistamine ointment.

6. You may well find satisfactory products only in a very large or small size. It's much better to gauge your needs for the length of trip while you're at home and repackage everything in the right size containers. (Which are also not easy to find here.)

Things to bring: Map of Bangkok

It's certainly not difficult to find a map of Bangkok when you arrive at Bangkok Airport (Don Muang).

However, you should buy one at home well before you fly, for several reasons:

1. Assuming you haven't travelled here before, you need to consider the layout of Bangkok a lot in weighing different options. Ie, you're trying to decide whether to stay overnight and you're wondering if you could see Pantip Plaza the next morning before you need to check out – or a million things. The map in the LP Thailand book is useful but nowhere near as good for planning as a fullsize regular color map.

2. There's a lot of time on most flights to get talking to fellow travellers and consider joining up. Figuring out what's practical for everybody needs a map, so remember to bring it in your carry-on luggage. (And study it before the flight so you can find things faster.)

3. Although maps are available at the airport, you may well be tired and frazzled, and possibly overloaded with luggage, when you arrive. You probably will not feel like searching for a map at that time, but sometimes you *really really* need one if the taxi driver tries to scam you.

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