Hiking Gear:

The Filipino woman who was traveling with the apparently short Australian man had some great hiking gear.

She was wearing these hiking cargo shorts and tights – keeping relatively cool but still protecting herself from forest elements. She then had an athletic top (probably Northface), a nifty hat, and a hiking pole.

The only thing that I am particularly interested in is the shorts and tights idea. I was wearing breathable linen pants with my athletic gear, they kept me relatively cool but were still kind of cumbersome. Lesson for next time.

Also, I learned that I should have indeed packed those ice packs.

Another thing in general for Southeast Asia…

Money:

Do Not Bring Traveler’s Checks. No one takes them. Lonely Planet even said that every bank seems to have a personal vendetta against them. Granted, I’ve only tried the Philippines and it looks like Vietnam will fare better for my unused checks… but even so, it’s proved to be such a hassle. Bring US dollars instead and just exchange them as needed. Bring plastic as well, but skip on the checks and carry US cash instead.

Extras:

Thankfully, before departing on this trip, I consulted some other travel blogs done by women for Southeast Asia. One of which instructed me to bring a good hoodie as all of the buses’ AC makes it a frigid ride.
A good friend of mine lent me his ninja-esque puma fleece – it has this little bit that can cover up to just below your eyes. It’s kept my nose nice and warm on the plane, Autobus, and other overly air conditioned places.

A blanket is a good thing as well.- At time of posting in Manila, Philippines, it was 80.6 °F -

Humidity: 100% | Wind Speed: n/a | Cloud Cover: scattered clouds