Checklist of things to take to Thailand

Some of these things may seem like the blindingly obvious, and others are things that perhaps only one or two people from the whole group need carry.

Bike riding gear & clothing
The climate is HOT & HUMID. Here in the UK, we appreciate the need to wear armoured, tough, and perhaps insulated protective clothing, which keeps us warm & dry. Whilst you may take conventional motorcycle apparel that you’d wear in Northern Europe, you are likely to find this EXTREMELY uncomfortable in 40 degree Celcius heat and 90% humidity. Make your own choices here, but here are some suggestions.

The locals wear flip-flops, shorts and vest, with no helmet. Don’t. Please.

Proper Moto-X or trail riding gear is good if you can beg, borrow or steal some before the trip. It’s pretty light, tough and is designed to let air flow through it.

As a minimum, consider tough jeans, stout boots, denim jacket or shirt, with elbow and knee pads in case of a tumble.

Helmet – open or full faced moto-x type helmet. These can be bought in Chiang Mai for about £10 - £15. Saves carrying one there. Note – they are not EC approved or Gold ACU stamped! These allow air to flow through, and have a peak to deflect sun & stones.

Goggles & sun glasses as eye protection. Goggles needed to prevent dust in the eyes. You can sometimes get goggles in Chiang Mai, but they didn’t seem any cheaper than UK.

Helmets are compulsory in Thailand, although they are rarely worn by Thai locals. Police impose on-the-spot-fines for transgressions.

Body armour of some sort. Elbow / knee pads as a bare minimum, but consider an armoured jacket or UFO style torso protector if you’ll be doing some UK trail riding as well. I’ve not seen this for sale in Thailand yet.   I made do with knee pads and elbow pads for the first few trips, but now I'm quite glad I've got my body armour.  If you're likely to become a regular trail rider, get the right kit, 'cos you'll use it again and again.  If this trip is a one-off, you may consider getting an "airflow-jacket".  I'm not sure if that's the correct description, but Hein Gericke had introduced an armoured net jacket, for road riding in hot weather.  I know there may not be that many days in a UK Summer when you'd wear such a thing, but it would be very handy for French & Spanish trips.

This is the kind of thing I’m talking about;
Have a look at this armour, any good? worth getting or should I look about first?
Martin
http://www.dirtbikestore.co.uk/acatalog/DirtBikeStore_com_SPECIAL_OFFERS___CLEARANCE_109.html
The Dirt Bike Store is just one of many places selling stuff like this.

This is really sad, but if you want to see the mother of all articles on body armour, look at the second posting on the discussion board below.
Everything you wanted to know about just about every item of body armour on the market. I fell asleep reading it. The Dainese safety jacket is on there somewhere.

See here http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=147

Gloves – light moto-x gloves, or I use ordinary biking summer gloves (leather).

Boots – you should really use motorbike boots – again proper moto-x or trail boots are best. BUT – you have to carry them there and back, and wear them all day. I usually wear tough walking boots, which can be more comfortable for all day wearing and a bit more subtle for visiting temples. But they offer far less protection. Possibly AVOID Goretex or waterproof lined boots. Why? Because you ride through a stream, the boots fill with water from the top and it never runs out again. You then ride all day, every day with wet boots, which fester and never dry out in the humid climate. Nasty for your poor feet and most unpleasant for your room mates at night.

A “Camel Back” is a handy device. Various versions exist. Wear it on your back like a small rucksack and it contains water (or whatever) to drink. Good on the move in hot climates. Alternatively, a bumbag – some have side pouches to carry a water bottle.


Ordinary Clothing*.
Shorts, Tee-shirts, swimming shorts / trunks. Towel. Sandals / boots / shoes? / socks. Tough jeans for riding the bike? Summer gloves, strong shirt, or moto-x gear for bike riding. Sunglasses & Goggles (Dust!).
Baggy, loose cotton trousers are good. Natural fibres rather than sweaty synthetic garments.
*The hotels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai are of a reasonably high standard. Casual dress is OK, but consider taking a smart-ish shirt & pair of trousers (rather than string vest and cut-offs!) if you want to feel more at home with the highly respectable Japanese coach parties. Bear in mind the Thai culture is fairly conservative – in company, in towns, and certainly in temples, don’t go exposing large amounts of flesh – have long sleeves and long legs to hand.

Health
Usual toilet bag.
A few paracetomol etc.
Suncream, and lipsalve (burnt lips?)
Mosquito repellent – arguably one containing DEET is good. You can put liquid drops on ankle and wrist bands if you wish. Try Army Surplus.
Mosquito Net – no real need to buy one specially (not applicable in sealed AC hotel rooms, and generally already supplied in the hills). I already have one, so I’ll take it, but I don’t recall using my own last time I was there.
First Aid Kit – I always take one – if you already have one, bring it along. We really only need one or two between us don’t we?
Mozzie tablets and any other drugs you may be on.
(serious point – Thailand has a strict anti-drugs stance and can come down hard on foreigners misbehaving. You’ve seen “Midnight Express” haven’t you?)

Paperwork
Air Tickets 
Driving licence, as you may have to show it to Police or hire shop.
Passport (and maybe a photocopy of it).
Certificate of vaccination (if you have it – not essential)
Travel insurance details.
Wallet & cash** Limited use for credit cards in the far North.
Money belt, if you have one. Discrete, secure pocket otherwise.

Tools
No point everyone carrying tools – I try and take these, but sometimes distribute amongst people to spread the weight.

Socket Set (or part of)
Selected spanners (which ones Mark? 10mm, 13mm certainly)
My “special” one-size-fits-all spanners
Pliers.
Foot pump and/or bicycle pump(s), pressure gauge
Tyre levers & spare tubes 
Puncture repair kit. 

Gadgets / accessories
A torch. Maglites are good, but a simple candle is OK either!
The new LED type lights are excellent, weigh less and batteries last ages.
Swiss Army knife? (DON’T carry one in your hand luggage – it’s an easy mistake)
Possibly take one of those little multi-tool things if you have one. (again, NOT as hand luggage). I have several cheap ones – Better than nothing in your pocket whilst on the bike.

Compass (we don’t all need one – I have one already) – may be of some help if (when!) we get lost.

Camera & Film / or Digital camera. (batteries – power supply limited in hills)

Walkman / iPod – needed? In practice, one gets little time to relax and chill out listening to music if one is a sociable person. It’s usually ride hard, shower, and hit the bar to chat with others then crash out comatose later! Clever little trinkets are great things, but the more you take, the more there is to worry about losing or breaking.
Video / camcorder – I don’t think it’s worth the effort. Your choice. (might try and take some video clips in Nov 2005)
Personal Stereo? If you want to listen to music on the plane, or just chill out alone in the evening. I used to always take one on holiday, but now on “action-type” trips, I rarely get round to using one, so I don’t bother anymore.
Remember, the more expensive little toys you take, the more you risk losing them or having them stolen. You’re coming to ride some bikes, and have a few beers with the lads. There isn’t a lot of time for lounging around by a pool – I think we can do without most trinkets, but it’s your choice.

Update - iPods are so convenient now and easy to carry.  You might not use it much on the actual bike tour, but remember flights from the UK are about 12 hours, so you might find that some music or a book to read is a worthwhile distraction.


Mobile phone – check with your provider to see if it needs setting up for Thailand – there is a good network of transmitters there. They work in most, but not all, places.  Expensive calls.  Get your phone unlocked and buy a Thai Sim card.

2-way radios - DO NOT buy a pair specially, but if you already own them – those little walkie-talkies can be handy (cheaper than a mobile phone at 1-2 mile range). They are not brilliant, eat batteries and have pretty limited range, but I have a pair, and have found them quite useful on the trails.  I've just bought four more now.  So we have six radios.  Not far off one each.

GPS system? You’re ‘aving a larff aint ya? Not needed. A lot of the time we’re just following the one and only road there is. Someone used one once, and recorded all our rides.



Cash

** Cash amount???? Hard to say – Your major expenses have been covered. Lunches £2 or £3? Evening meals £5 to £6. Beers cost a bit less than here (£1 a bottle), but Mekong Whiskey is very cheap. Fuel – not as cheap as you might think, but we won’t need all that much of it.
Spending money – most things are quite cheap – but that’s all the more reason why you’ll want to buy stuff in the night markets. £150 to £200 total? (about £120 would be OK I think as a bare minimum – £200 plus would allow you to have a total blow out with no worries about the cost of anything).

We often run a kitty system, which can cover all agreed group purchases.  When we've put virtually all meals, fuel, soft drinks, beers, park fees etc. on the kitty, the total bill for the trip is normally about £90 GBP.

The currency is Thai Bhat. The current exchange rate is a fraction over 70 Baht to the UK pound. You can draw cash via ATMs at Bangkok airport, as well as hole-in-the-wall points in Chiang Mai.

Luggage
Try and stick to one medium / large bag that can be chucked in the 4x4, as well as a smaller item of hand luggage.  The downside of a rucsack, is the straps. Tie them back at the airport to prevent tangling up with the conveyors. Pack pretty light – you can always get more stuff in markets in Chiang Mai, and buy a cheap bag to carry it back in.


Have I missed anything?