Comments on: Q&A: What to Wear on Vacation in Southeast Asia

By: helene

helene — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:29:41 +0000

hi!

thank you all for the tips! I was the one asking the question, because I’m going to vietnam in September.
I think I kind of freaked out after all the warnings I got, but now I’m relieved that I can just dress “normally” for hot weather.
I will attend university there, and I just found out that I have to wear skirts all the time, so I guess I’ll just go with bug repellent and my usual way of dressing (thanks also for the tip for conservative clothes, I’ll think of that when packing!)

Again all your tipps really helped!!

By: kay.

kay. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:49:16 +0000

it really depends on which part of southeast asia you’re going to and what you intend to do. if you’re going to cities, then dressing like that would definitely make you stand out, because we all wear the same stuff you’d see in other western countries. although of course if you’re trekking or going to visit ancient ruins, then lightweight trousers would be good. shoes are also important! because it can rain pretty heavily.

overall though, dont worry too much. just bring some comfortable basics, because the shopping in SEA is pretty good hope you have fun on your trip!

By: Trisha

Trisha — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:41:05 +0000

Vanilla body spray? That sounds much more pleasant than bug spray. Thanks for the tip, Corynne!

By: Corynne Escalante

Corynne Escalante — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:27:11 +0000

i don’t know about southeast Asia, but i do know that for bugs in the south (USA) and also the soldiers in iraq use either avon skin so soft or vanilla as a bug repellent. my husband used a vanilla body spray when he helped with the katrina aftermath and he said it worked amazingly to keep the bugs away. everyone who was using plain old bug spray still kept getting bitten, but he didn’t…

By: Trisha

Trisha — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:03:09 +0000

Dressing for a more conservative culture and carrying an umbrella - great tips, Suzie and Denise! Thanks for sharing

By: Suzie

Suzie — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:13:23 +0000

I’m from Malaysia and trust me, we dress similarly to people from Western countries during summer your summer months (although we’re cursed with having hot weather all year round). Just try to not to reveal too much cleavage and legs as some SEA countries are a bit on the conservative side.

By: Denise

Denise — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:20:27 +0000

I’m from Malaysia, a country from Southeast Asia. And while the weather over here can be quite hot for westerners, I have yet to see any who doesn’t like a free sun tanning Even so, It can also rain heavily without much warning. So be prepared by carrying a foldable umbrella in your bag.