Packing List For Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea

Planning a big trip requires research. Some trips can be more problematic than others in terms of logistics.

For instance, when we traveled to South America we had to take medication or when we went to Southeast Asia we had to take a bunch of passport pictures  and carry them with us to apply for visas on arrival. Each trip needs some preparation and it takes time.

Our favorite guide book

For us planning a trip involves lots of joy and passionate research.

Our first source of information is our favorite guide book, Lonely Planet. But sometimes the information is not accurate or updated. Tripadvisor reviews and forum posts give us some extra and useful practical tips.

Other than that we rely on travel blogs that we find through Google.  

For this trip in Asia we didn't need to apply for any visa. It should be like that for everyone but I won’t write a dissertation on immigration policies right now.

My essential packing tips for this trip (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea) are pretty simple,

1- Umbrella and raincoat. During the summer it rains almost every evening. And it lasts at least for a couple of hours.

2- Sunscreen, sunglasses and hat are a must pack. It’s always very bright. Most times it was cloudy but still very hot. Sunburns are very common.

3- Antihistamine cream. In my case it would be useful if I had packed some. If you suffer from any skin condition namely very sensitive skin, you can be in trouble like I was in Taiwan and Hong Kong. I developed an ugly and uncomfortable skin rash that lasted for a couple of weeks due the very high temperatures.

In my case La Roche Possay, Vichy and Avene work well and they are very easy to find in the main cities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea or Japan.

You should consult your physician.

Essentials

4- Light clothing. If you are travelling during the summer light clothing is the way to go. Taiwan and Hong Kong were by far the hottest places that we visited in this trip.

5- Laundry travel size detergent. In the countries that we visited almost all the hotels had self-service laundries. Some are complimentary and others you have to pay to use it. And some don’t provide laundry detergent. TIDE travel size packets can be useful. They are small and light. You can find it on Bed, Bath & Beyond or other large supermarkets.

6- Electronic device with wifi connection. Despite being young and owning smartphones, we used to travel in an old fashioned way. For the first time ever we traveled with a device to connect to wifi. We find it very helpful. It’s easy for westerns to get lost in Asia. It helped us to keep in the right track and planning or changing plans. There are many free wifi connections available in all of these countries that we visited.

I always travel with a small notebook and a Rotring mechanical pencil to write reviews

7/11 is a respectable institution in these parts of Asia. It’s not just the place to buy coffee when there is no Starbucks around. It’s the place to find essentials, pay parking fees and find ATM’s suitable for foreign cards.