Here is an example of a travel list which is helpful to follow before you pack your bags:

Every day stuff: toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, deodorant, clothes, shoes.

Additional stuff: glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, fluid for contact lenses, razor, medicine, creams, cosmetics, hair/body products (shampoo, conditioner, shower cream, lotion), sunscreen, plastics etc.

Useful stuff: camera, charger for camera, memory stick to store your pics, extra memory cards for camera, mobile, charger for mobile, a book to read, earphones for listen to music from mobile, laptop, charger for laptop, universal outlet adapter, toilet paper roll (some countries don’t often use toilet paper in public toilets), small towel.

Travel stuff: passport, VISA (if required), travel documents (e-ticket), travel guides, tickets to for example cultural events and so on. Sometimes you can buy the entrance tickets to museums, amusement parks cheaper online so have them printed out before you travel. Paper and pen is also a good idea. You will need your own pen when you are filling out forms at some airports. Exchange money, dollars are always useful in Asian countries.

In most countries it’s best to just take out money in the ATM’s or to bring Euro or dollars to exchange when you arrive. There is a limit to how much money you can bring into some countries but I have never experienced anyone checking how much money people have with them in the airports. In some countries you might get charged an extra fee for paying with a foreign creditcard/debitcard. So its a good idea to have the local currency to avoid extra fees.

Advice on packing: Remember not to have razors or scissors in your hand luggage because they will take it in the security check, even though some airports are not that strict. You can only take liquid up to 100ml/bottle in your hand luggage, have it in a see-through plastic bag to make it easy to place it on the tray for scanning in the security check. Make sure your laptop is easy to take out from your hand luggage because you do not want to have to take out all your things just to get to it when you have to place it on the tray in security check.

Also check the requirements for how much you are allowed to have in your bags. Usually it is 7-8 kg in hand luggage and 23-30 kg in check-in luggage. That information you will find on the airlines homepage. If you have more kg then the limit you will sometimes be required to pay for extra kg, it is usually not cheap. Some airlines give you an option to add extra kg for a cheaper price online when you are booking your flight ticket, but at that time its hard to know if you will need extra kg. Usually you will only find that out the day before when you have done last minute packing.

Do not bring things you can buy in the country you are travelling to, it saves space and you can put necessary things instead.

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