What do you bring to Peace Corps? (Thailand)

February 1, 2020

*edit: This list served me well but it was extremely difficult to evacuate because of it. I truly packed for two years. Navigating through the airport was obnoxious to say the least but I the only thing I would've brought "less" of was clothes because I gained so much stuff in country. Everything strikedthrough I believe wasn't needed *

I have issues -- like real life issues. I was accepted into the Peace Corps in June of 2019 and I looked on Reddit, Pinterest, Google searched the words "Peace Corps" with different variations, and typed #PeaceCorpsThailand into the Instagram search bar nearly every day until the last week of December. I have read almost every blog pertaining to Peace Corps Asia, solo travel, monsoon season, the heat and what to pack when you uproot your life for 27 months. I scoured the internet to the point where I become overwhelmed with all of the information I found... so I created my own Word Document copying and pasting anything I found relevant to me so that I could keep all the information in one place.

There are a ton of Peace Corps packing blogs and they all come with the disclaimer "this is country specific, your country might differ". Some things are transferable, while others are not. I didn't necessarily care about how many pairs of underwear and polos someone packed, because I knew I was going to do what I wanted anyway, but I did care about identifying the items that would make my two year experience easier. So after nearly seven months of gathering research; I packed my life into two rolling suitcases, a duffle bag and a hiking book bag on January 7th 2020 and started the next chapter of my life armed with all my goodies.

Below is my packing list, I want to preface this with, yes I did bring all of this and yes, I wanted to throw my hands up and cry navigating 20 hours through three airports, two check-ins and a hotel, carrying my own bags. Now that I'm at my PST site, I'm so happy that I brought what I brought but I definitely will be cursing myself again when I move to my permanent site. Note to self *invest in compact suitcases*.

Disclaimer: I am a Black woman with natural hair serving in Thailand a country that does not have products for my hair and puts bleaching creams in their products so my suitcase looks different than most.

Things for Thailand!

Peace Corps allows two checked bags not totaling more than 50 lbs, a carry on and a personal bag. I had some good luck! My checked bags were 52 lbs and my carryon was oversized yet all my fees were waived when I stressed that I was going to the Peace Corps.

Amazon buys:

Backpack cover (for rainy season)
Coolmax travel sheet (good for hostels)
Concentrated laundry sheets (great for hand washing your clothes)
Quick dry towel (cotton basically never dries in the humidity)
Portable charger (solar is best for iffy power)
Personal serving wear set
Reusable Ziploc
Portable clothes line (you will hand wash your clothes during your hotel stay and more, this comes in handy)
Scrubba Portable washer (not a necessity but I love it when I don't have two basins to hand wash or my hands are raw)
Rechargeable portable fan (ITS HOT IN THAILAND)
Laundry bag book bag (good for biking with laundry)
Collapsible solar lantern ( I have no lamp in my PST house and I love this thing)
Travel jewelry organizer
TSA locks for belongings (never used these so its definitely a preference)
Gel bike seat cover **not a necessity Better for your butt to not have it
Dry bag (I keep all my electronics in cases and a dry bag. It's super humid in Thailand and I don't want anything to be ruined it also keeps out the bugs)
Ear plugs (I hate my rooster) I never used it because I wanted to be able to hear people at my door
USB drive
Flashlight (for when I forget to charge my solar lamps)
External hard drive
any insulated water bottle that stays cold (hydro flask is a Peace Corps staple)
Batteries
Multi tool opener (My Leatherman is my BEST FRIEND)
International power adaptor (for travel)
Small speaker **not a necessity but cool to have

Target or other in-store purchase

Carabiners (I've surprisingly used two out of four of them already)
Yearly planner
Analog watch
Otter box
Paracord
Toiletries bag
Back up chargers for phone and laptop

Cosmetics

Face wash (salon size without bleaching components)
Orajel ( I get canker sores when I travel from new water and I love this stuff)
Deodorant (needed some without bleaching components)
Razors
Conditioner (salon size)
Deodorant (there's bleaching agents in the ones here)
Chapstick (you get one in your med kit but I lose mine so often)
Lotion (salon size without bleaching components)
Gel nail polish (always pack personal things that make you happy) They have good ones in country
Face masks (always pack personal things that make you happy)
Two packs of headbands and hair ties
One tub of Vaseline (for cuts, scrapes, burns and can also be used as lotion substitute)
Salon size hair products (whatever you need)

Shampoo bars (better than shampoo in a bottle for travel purposes)
https://www.sheamoisture.com/hair/shampoo-bar

Wipes (for hands and for the days you can't take a shower)
Bar soap (better than liquid for travel purposes)
Shaving bars instead of shaving cream

All electronics (I love my kindle!!!! I brought my tablet for TV shows/note taking and computer for work)
Otterbox
Speck laptop case (lifetime warranty) WORST CASE EVER

Sunscreen (PC will give you government issued but for sensitive skin get your own)
https://supergoop.com/products/glow-stick-sunscreen?_pos=1&_sid=c738add6b&_ss=r
https://www.blackgirlsunscreen.com/product/black-girl-sunscreen-spf-30/

Tech protection

Laptop sleeve
Two back up screen protectors
Case for kindle
Screen protector for laptop
Case for iPad

Clothing

Tevas or Chacos https://www.experticity.com/home/tab/feed
Good boots ** some say not necessary
Long skirts
Flowy pants
BREATHABLE rain jacket
One Piece Bathing Suit

Random/pack:

Print pictures to share
Duct tape
Seasoning (people swear you need to bring your favs)
Benadryl bug cream (this will also be in your med kit)
Vitamins
Tea tree oil ** for bug bites
Shoe insoles
Art supplies and stickers (go a long way towards making friends with children in your area)
Reusable tote bag (good for grocery store runs)
A pillow
Gorilla glue
Nail clipper
Light scarf
Two notebooks (moleskins hold up great)
Portable Clothes steamer/iron
Tissues (bathrooms never have their own)
Gifts for host family
Passport-sized photos – Often needed for visas.
Exofficio quick-dry underwear (worth the extra expense, plus you get a Peace Corps discount)
Quick dry socks

Phone recommendations:

Unlock phone before you go, port number while IN the States, get new sim card in country.

Packing tips:

https://aliciamcarter.com/blog/packinglist

https://www.asherfergusson.com/must-have-items-for-thailand-travel/** not peace corps

https://liasian.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/peace-corps-zambia-rap-2018-packing-list/

Pathway Discounts:

Teva https://www.experticity.com/home/tab/feed

Chacos https://www.chacos.com/US/en/pro

Hydroflask pro@hydroflask.com

Scrubba https://www.thescrubba.com discount: request code

Eagle Creek http://proshop.eaglecreek.com/

Apple Products AppleElectronics5-6%Use their government pricing program. Need original copy of your invite

Clements Travel Insurance (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BUY) Ive had a really terrible experience with them not getting back to me. Honestly a waste of money it's been 3 months

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What do you bring to Peace Corps? (Thailand)

February 1, 2020

Things for Thailand!

Amazon buys:

Target or other in-store purchase

Cosmetics

Tech protection

Clothing

Random/pack:

Phone recommendations:

Peace corps blogs I utilized:

My Pinterest board:

Reddit Pages:

Blog for travel:

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