Packing for Cambodia:

Packing for a 3 month stint in a 3rd world country has been a surprisingly expensive and hard challenge! I've been unpacking and packing for months and have only just finished, 4 days before departure.

In England, our shops spill out summer clothes so there's tonnes to choose from, right? Wrong. Our shops are filled with strappy tops, tops with cleavage, shorts and tiny skirts, which is fine during any normal summer. However, rural Cambodia has a strict yet unwritten dress code in which you are required to cover your shoulders, all the way down past the knees. Against this, the temperatures are currently 30-40 degrees Celsius, so any Winter clothes are completely out of the question. Also, being a size 6-8 doesn't work in my favour as all the petite clothing is usually crop tops or tight jeans. Despite this, I have successfully found and packed enough clothing for 2 weeks, which will then be washed and worn

repeatedly.

With me, I have bought 7 pairs of trousers. The majority of these are flowing and light in material, patterned and colourful. I have two pairs of 'thicker' trousers, just in case monsoon season requires something a tad thicker. Also, I have one long skirt for a more formal look if needed- or if my legs need a bit of air!

I actually have about 15 t-shirts, all pretty basic and light. VSO will provide a few work t-shirts. Most of these t-shirts are for work/casual wear and are all really cheap so that I can throw them away if they get too damaged or worn.

These are all smart shirts, long sleeved and light. These shirts are reserved for meeting people of higher power and meeting my counterpart.

This is a cute, below the knee dress just in case I'm feeling a bit fancy! Underneath this will be a plain tank-top to cover any chest area or unwanted skin showing.

Ok. Enough about clothes. The rest are just regular socks, pants, more tops and an abundance of hair bands!

When it came to medical supplies and safety, there was a lot to pack! I have two medical bags - one to take around with me and one to keep in my suitcase- and more just lying around.

Unpacked from a big medical bag is the majority of the 'health and safety' items I'm bringing with me - which we learnt all about in training. There's a good chance that no hospital facilities will be nearby and they don't have the privilege of on-call doctors 24/7.

The basics include: Dioralyte, lots of wound dressings, bandages, plasters and lots of stuff to sort out a dodgy tummy!

With me at all times, we have to carry a thermometer and test our temperature twice a day. This is because many of the diseases that the mosquito's carry mimic cold and flu symptoms before they're serious. Taking good care of our temperature gives us a chance of early treatment before anything becomes a medical emergency! We, also, carry steri-strips, bandages and wound dressings to close up open wounds, giving us a lesser chance of having an infection.

DEET is one of the most important things to take along with you when travelling to a country that is swarming with mosquitoes.

Deet deters and repels mosquitoes and all bugs, making it extremely hard for them to land on your skin. This is a must have for every day use. Maximum protection DEET is around £8 a can and can be quite expensive when buying in bulk.

TREK pretty much does the same job as DEET but is only 50% DEET.

It's important to not apply bug repellent and sun cream simultaneously. Sun cream should always be applied first and left to set into the skin. Then, spray your choice of bug repellent on top.

It's important to buy sprays when possible as cream attracts all sorts of bugs and mozzies!

This is another product that is vital when travelling to Cambodia, it's called Premetherin.

Premetherin is a harmful spray to all insects and some animals. When applying, it's important not to spray near animals or directly onto the ground - you should also wear gloves!

Premetherin stops any bugs, insects or mosquitoes from living in your clothes by killing them on contact. It's also used to kill scabies and lice! This is also what our mosquito nets will be sprayed with.

One bottle covered the entire contents of my suitcase, with two bottles spare to take with me and lasts around 20 washes. It does stink a tad though!

In our host homes, the toilet 'shack' is located outside the house- some a few minutes walk from the houses. Therefore, It's essential to get some head torches. Solar panelled head torches are the best ones to use... but I ordered the wrong ones because I'm an idiot.

The Aqua Pure water bottle is another essential. It retails for around £40 but is worth every penny. Unlike most filtered bottles, you can fill up this bottle with pond or puddle water and it'll be filtered well enough to drink from and stay healthy - not that I'll be trying that for my own review!

There's a load more other stuff to get to make sure you're prepared but I'm sure going through my suitcase as a first blog post has been boring enough - that's if you've gotten this far!

Some things to keep in mind:

- A money belt or a skin bum bag to put under your clothes will keep your phone, money, ID etc as safe as possible.

It's a MUST that you don't flash around your smartphone or money in rural areas in respect for everyone who lives there and for your own safety.

- DOLLARS! Cambodian traditional currency is Riel. However, they also frequently use (and LOVE) dollars. As VSO gives us a semi-frequent allowance and our families cook for us, I have only bought $135 dollars with me, which is more than enough for my stay and any necessities.

Host family gifts are a pleasantry, and a small thank you for the next 3 months of care. They appreciate small gifts such as tea and coffee. Avoid coffee in glass cases if you have a luggage allowance!

Toilet paper tablets... yes, you read that right. In rural Cambodia, most facilities and homes do not have toilet paper. These magical tablets evolve into a piece of toilet paper with just two drops of water! I have around 500 with me and hopefully that'll do!

When in fight with the luggage allowance and huge bottles of shampoo and shower gel, Lush comes in very useful. Although you will have to pay substantially more, Lush shampoo and soap is very light and carries many qualities. For example, The small, circular, yellow blob is citrus shampoo! Citrus is known to deter bugs and mosquitoes as well as smell delicious. With one run through your hands and water, the tiniest bit of shampoo foams up completely in your hands, giving you more than enough to cover your entire head. The small bars of soap are also citrus scented and will all last 3 months and weigh substantially less than many bottles of shampoo and shower gel!

Those are pretty much all the essentials I have brought with me to Cambodia! Also , pyjamas (obviously) and a set of towels and flannels.

Vaccination wise, I have had to endure 12 wonderful injections to prevent sickness out in Cambodia. These include: Measles, Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, Rabies, DTP and Japanese B Encephalitis. In total, these cost just over £400, but luckily VSO reimburse all money spent on medical treatment.

If you've reached the bottom then I thank you for reading all of this as the start of my blog. I'll be posting as much as possible during our adventure (hopefully around once a day or every other day)! I hope you continue to follow this journey!

Saum arkoun, lea!

- Katie