Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the mrlukeniktravels blog. Today I travelled up from Kuala Lumpur into southern Thailand. As referenced in the title, this is the eighth country in my trip so far. Mercifully, given the amount of noise, turbulence and lack of space the flight lasted just over an hour. Thankfully I wasn’t on there much longer. The joy of budget airlines. A smooth exit from Malaysia and entry to Thailand was also much appreciated. Mundane and un-noteworthy as I like it to be. As I write this post there is a full moon proffering plenty of light to the local traffic traversing the city. Motorbikes, of all sizes, are everywhere- perhaps carrying me at some point!
I thought I might dedicate this blog to discussing my belongings and how they have changed over the past year. As of today my main flight bag tips the scales at just over 14kg. My carry on bag is nearly 6kg. This means adding checked baggage to a budget flight isn’t too expensive. Both of these have got slightly lighter over the past year. I have shed some less frequently used items to streamline my packing. Deliberately not buying the largest possible rucksack forces ruthless efficiency when deciding whether to keep an item. Before leaving New Zealand I also posted home some items I wouldn’t be needing from then on- a woolly jumper for example. Similarly, before leaving Australia my jeans went to a good home. I had always planned to adjust my clothing as I went along, changing with the climate around me. At the moment lightweight, full length cotton clothing is very much the order of the day.
In general my electrical goods have held up well, the occasional cable replacement or set of headphones part of the course. I deliberately did not replace any of my set-up before leaving the UK as it seemed unnecessary and attractive to others. My six year old laptop will be retired once I return. Similarly, that event may be the end of my phone too, it is getting too full! I haven’t, as yet, needed my power bank much but it is useful to have it in case I need it. One item I have removed from my luggage is my alarm clock. Although useful in Australia and New Zealand, being back in hostels again it is a little anti-social. Nobody else wants to here that sound. Finally, my desire for travel adaptors has not diminished over the past year. I shall try not to return to the UK with a rucksack full of adaptors!
An invaluable piece of equipment for me on this trip has been my hydration system. It allows me to get in a good day of hiking with plenty of water and, especially at the moment, cuts down the number of plastic bottles used. Taking up little space whilst stored, I can carry 3 litres of water in a rucksack rather than carrying a bottle around with me. During my time in New Zealand I had to get a new system as the old one had started to leak- a sad day indeed. A new addition to water provision has been my Lifestraw water bottle. As the name implies, it is not just a normal water bottle. It contains a filter which purifies untreated water as you drink it. In areas like South East Asia you can’t rely on the drinking water being treated and I don’t like being ill! It takes me a little while to get used to not filling water bottles with tap water.
Not being a fan of packing cubes, all of my belongings in my flight bags are in waterproof bags. I have yet to need to cross a river or go scuba diving with my luggage, but they are a useful compartmentalising tool. They are also invaluable for being able to find things quickly. I have a much practised system of what goes where which seems to work well. I dread to think how many times have unpacked and repacked my luggage over the past year! The bags also come in handy as an extra layer of defence against bedbugs which I had the pleasure of experiencing in Australia. Some of these bags are well used too so this will be their last outing before retirement.
That is almost it for this week’s blog post, next week will be filled with adventures in Thailand proper. I shall gradually make my way north towards Bangkok and the major cities of Thailand. Hopefully there will be some beaches, temples and rain-forest included in that too. For more updates on the go, my Twitter handles is @mrlukeniktravel. My Instagram handle is @mrlukeniktravels for pretty pictures. Additionally, you can sign up for email notifications when the next blog post is hot off the press! Finally it remains to say, as always, stay safe and travel on!