In case you’re not familiar with my traveling style, my traveling style is something in-between a budget traveler and not-so luxurious one.
I mean, I’m totally fine with the idea of staying at a cheap motel with a small room as long as I could get a quality time through doing my makeup without any disruption. I’m not exactly the kind of person who would ask for a pic anytime I see a good stop for the ‘gram, but clothes and makeup are the essential things for me to travel comfortably.
I’m not exactly fashionable, as I’m kind of a sucker when it comes to the idea of mix and match things I’ve got in my clothes. However, I’m not exactly a t-shirt and jeans kind of person either.
So, if you could relate to the situation and you’re planning to travel around South East Asia, let me share with you the tips and trick on how to travel fashionably in this part of the world! 😉
HEAD
I didn’t grow up learning makeup from my mom, but I sure got a lot of inspirations growing up when it comes to makeup. One of my early inspirations would be Aunt Becky from Full House as I grew up with the series. And I’m so glad that she has taught me this valuable lesson since the early age.
And I’m still a firm believer of this tip until now as I live for a ‘no makeup’ makeup look, it doesn’t matter how many stuff I wear on my face to get the look. *lol*
Skincare
The most essential things to bring with you when you travel around South East Asia would be your skincare regime. Everyone may vary when it comes to this. While some of you probably follow the top 10 Korean skincare routine, pretty much like me, a lot of you are probably wouldn’t even bother too.
However, it’s important to have at least your CTM (Cleansing, Toning, and Moisturizing) product with you when you travel. And since we’re talking about South East Asia, most of the countries in this part of the world are tropical so there’s an additional product that you should never forget: sunscreen.
You see, you wouldn’t want your vacation ruined by the fact that you get burnt by the sun so it’s essential to have your favorite sunscreen product for your face and body with you.
As for me, I’m currently using Roro Mendut package for my skincare regime. It’s a local Indonesian skincare that happens to work incredibly on my face.
Makeup
You see, whenever I go out, I will either go all the way with makeup on my face or nothing at all. And although I don’t exactly live for the ‘grams, whenever I travel somewhere new, I always make sure that I will look decent enough for a pic or two. Hence, the importance of ‘no makeup’ makeup look.
I don’t always put makeup heavily during my travel, but the least thing that I could do is to put lipstick on my face. So yes, lipstick is the most essential thing for my travel.
Besides, I could always use lipstick for blusher when needed. So really, #lipstickislyf! 😀
Hair
I don’t know about you, but I don’t really trust hotel amenities to use it on my own. Or maybe it’s because I usually book a cheap hotel on my travel, so I really don’t trust the quality of the toiletries provided. 😛
I always bring toiletries on my own from home. I suppose that’s the bright side of being a slow traveler, so that the 100ml shampoo or body wash that is allowed in the flight is more than enough for each trip.
As I said, I’m not exactly a person who could travel light, so whenever I book a hotel where they don’t provide a hairdryer when I travel, it’s likely I will have a hairdryer on my own. Better put on weight in the checked-in baggage than kill my own confidence for going out with the wet hair. 😐
In fact, I wouldn’t even mind bringing a hair straightener with me just because it has an incredible effect to boost my confidence when I travel a new place.
BODY
One thing that you should keep in mind whenever you choose what to take with you for your travel is this: always make sure that the things you pack make you feel comfortable if not useful.
If you regularly use body lotion, it is recommended to use the one that you know will work on your skin. Otherwise, you can always try to use the local products whose ingredients may be tailored to the local climate and whatnot?! It wouldn’t hurt to try Que Origin’s Potion Lotion in Singapore, for example.
With the humidity in most parts of this region, wearing something light and comfortable is a must!
As for the bags, although I occasionally wear sling bag in my travel, I’m more comfortable with a small backpack despite the fact that I don’t really consider myself as a ‘backpacker’. There’s always some cool backpack that you can consider to bring with you in travel, anything that is suitable for your traveling style! 🙂
Clothes
One of the reasons why I love traveling around South East Asia is because I rarely have to pack thick clothes like a coat or even a jumper if not necessary. Most of the time, a shirt and shorts are enough to spend a day in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.
If you feel a little fancy, a dress is also great to pack since it’s super handy for both formal or casual occasions. I personally love packing dresses on my travel, because not only I feel most comfortable in the dress but also because I feel it’s almost effortless to look great in a simple way with a dress.
You can wear a dress in a hot weather and there should be no problem. When it’s getting windy, you can just add a cardigan or a jacket. As simple as that!
Some probably go with some easy to mix and match materials as they pack their favorite jeans for traveling, but I’m personally not a fan of wearing jeans unless it’s for the hotpants. Especially in the humid place like Southeast Asia.
It’s also important to know the typical weather of the place you’re planning to visit. For example, while a shirt and shorts are probably the best way to go in Jakarta, you might feel sorry if you don’t bring a jacket and your favorite yoga pants to Mount Bromo.
But wherever you go, again I remind you, never forget to bring sunscreen with you. And this too applies to your body.
Also, please note that despite living in this modern era, some areas in this region are still considered conservative when it comes to clothing. For example, when you can wear a tank top and a pair of hot pants anywhere in Bali, don’t be surprised if people look at you like you’re nuts wearing the same thing in Bandung.
Jacket/Outer
Normally, a cardigan is enough in the region except for some period in several places. Monsoon in some areas like in the Philippines can be quite challenging for any travelers planning to visit in the period, not only to decide what’s to pack in the bag but also weather could be really rough during that period.
Even though light jacket or cardigan often work well enough around South East Asia, there are also some places where it’s worth to bring your winter jacket with you. For example, in the Northern part of Vietnam like Hanoi and its surrounding, the weather could be really cold during winter.
And if you feel like going out with your fancy coat around here, North Vietnam in December might be a perfect time and place to go.
In some other places, a light jacket is fine. You can also prepare an umbrella with you in case it’s gonna rain outside.
Swimwear
Talking about South East Asia, it’s hard to avoid talking about beautiful beaches. From the infamous Bali and Phuket, to even some off-beaten destination like Pink Beach around Komodo Island or Koh Rong in Cambodia.
If South East Asia is on your list to visit for your next travel, don’t forget to bring your swimwear to test the water!
Not only that, because if you enjoy the idea of wearing your cute bikini, then you can. Most people around the beach area in South East Asia wouldn’t even care what you wear around there.
Something that makes me wonder, I suppose society who live somewhere around the coast have a tendency to be more open rather than those who live in the landlocked area. I don’t have enough data to prove this statement, but feel free to enlighten me if you know what’s up! 😀
TOE
I think I’ve seen some article where the writer told us NOT to bring more than a pair of shoes during our travel. Frankly, I don’t agree with the statement.
Shoes
Take an example when I go for a short stay in Singapore a couple of months ago, I went to Singapore for watching Arsenal FC apart from getting around some off-beaten destination in Singapore. Despite I was only there for 3 days, I brought 2 pairs of shoes with me. I had a pair of sneakers for football time, and another pair of flat shoes to get around comfortably in the city.
I know there are plenty girls out there who come across as sneakers snob, but I’m not exactly that. I’m more comfortable with flats if not stick with flip-flops. I love flats because it usually goes well with the dresses I’ve got. As for flip-flops, I usually rely on the hotel sandals just so I don’t get my feet dirty.
I like wearing shoes that look girly, but still comfortable like those that I could get from FSJshoes.
Although it’s not exactly common to see people wearing boots around this area, I relied on my boots when I traveled around North Vietnam during the winter.
ATTITUDE
The last but not least, there’s nothing about fashionable that could beat your attitude when you travel.
I notice this as I traveled with some people who would go all out when it comes to their physical appearance, yet they can’t respect the waiter or even the local culture in general. It’s important to keep in mind that the beauty of travel lies to the fact that the place you are visiting might be different with where you come from.
Most countries in South East Asia are still considered as the third world country, except for our advance neighbor Singapore.
So, while it’s okay for you to be aware with the scam that might and might not happen, it is not okay to complain that the facility sucks compared to your first world country. The best thing you could do if you feel disappointed with the public facility is to send your valuable feedback to each of their respectable tourism board so that way, they can improve.
Anything that you do, please mind your attitude and enjoy the rest of your travel… Cheerio! 😉
Disclaimer:
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