My tips for traveling Southeast Asia

Hello adoring internet public (…I can pretend at least)

Throughout the trip, I jotted down little notes here and there of tips, tricks and advice that I thought would be beneficial to bestow upon future travelers.

The recommendations I’ve tried to make are out of the ordinary and as you’ll read, obviously do not include common sense basics. Some tips are universal to all budget traveling, some unique to being on a bike. Without further ado, here they are:

Mandatory items:

Have a phrasebook on you; bought home or away. Additionally, try to learn some of the local tongue: I guarantee a richer more memorable experience.
Earplugs, quality ones. Not easy to find abroad, bring a big bag from home
A cheap 3.5mm audio splitter to share tunes with a fellow traveler (especially on buses) . Can be easily found while traveling
Tape: most useful for covering holes in shabby guesthouse screens
Domestic knick-knacks and family photos to entertain locals with
Universal sink stopper: Doing your own laundry? Don’t expect a drain stopper!

Cyclist items

Sugar and salt packets for makeshift energy drinks (keep your salt up!)
Dog repellant might be useful for Thailand’s vicious dogs
Punctures are easy to locate with a cotton ball; just run it along the tire’s inside and look for any cotton left behind on the protruding offender
Tent and sleeping pad, a contentious issue. I say, take them. They won’t be necessary, but they will give peace of mind when you can’t find a place to stay. The sleeping pad also offers relief against terrible guesthouse mattresses. Just make sure to not be stupid like me and bring the ten’s rainfly

Decide between toting a laptop and using cafe PCs: there are pros and cons of each

Cafe PCs

Have a USB flash drive with all your apps on it (ie picture editing). Having Picasa and Windows Live Writer on mine made blog posting a cinch
You WILL get viruses though, it’s out of control there. Do the best you can to make sure the machine is clean or find one that is.
Computers will be generally slow and cumbersome to use

Laptop

A several hundred dollar breakable and weighty liability
Privacy, all your apps in one place, no virus worries, properly calibrated screen, watch movies, learn languages with Rosetta Stone

Beware:

Guesthouse rooms without windows. Cheap, yes, but also impossibly hot.
Constipation: I prepared for the opposite, surprise! Eating lots of fruit helped
Money issues. Call your credit card company and debit card issuing bank before leaving and alert them you are travelling and request a cash advance PIN from your CC company. Generally no one takes credit cards but if they do, pass, fraud is a big problem. Have a backup and a backup to that backup.

Cyclists, beware:

All transportation beside the bike. Bus drivers and ticketers will refuse your bike outright. Airlines will refuse your bike if not packaged to their specifications. Trains only take your bike when there is a special luggage car (which can be random!). For buses, never mention you have a bike: when you arrive to board, have your bike ready in it’s smallest form (handlebars turned, front wheel off, seatpost lowered, pedals off) and with some ninja stealth open the luggage door and slide it in (it will fit despite what they tell you).
Being a weight weenie. Few weeks on the road and you’ll forget about weight. Being space conscious is much more important than weight.
Rust: The coastal routes I traveled wreaked havoc on my steel. Apply a light oil to all steel parts at regular intervals and keep that chain in check!