The most important piece of luggage to have is a wallet you wear under your clothes. The ones you put around your waist, that lie flat on your stomach are the ones most travellers use. You put your cash, bank card, passport, credit cards in them, and any jewelly you just cant leave home without(wedding ring, engagement ring, though it is best to leave them with your parents or somebody at home, in my opinion). Use the credit card very sparingly too, in Asia, as credit card fraud is a bit too common, and so is the blocking of your card by suspicious credit card companies, when they see it is being used in Asia.
I wouldnt take a suitcase backpacking. Even the ones with wheels are not so great, for walking along a sandy beach with, and often the streets in some places are not at all clean so you might pick up all kinds of yucky things and wheel them into your hotel room.
Make the backpack small for Asia. Whatever home comforts are tempting to take, wont make you feel at all comfortable carrying them around in 40C. You dont need to take much. Just a couple of light dresses, underwear... You can rinse them out in the shower, while you are in there, and they will dry out quickly in the heat. Bring a light pair of trousers and sweater for air conditioned places, and for if you go to mountainous places which can be sometimes almost cold.
For working in Australia: Maybe shipping your work clothes to there might be affordable. I would check, before lugging them there in a suitcase. And, for all clothers, you could consider buying what you need and what you need to replace in the locations you are going to. You probably love shopping as much as I do, so buying clothes could be yet another travel pleasure for you. 😉
There is an organisation in Australia called 'Sleeping with the Enemy'. As far as I understand, it is very convenient and trust worthy. They find house mates for those who have room in rented houses. From what I have heard, they seem to be pretty flexible, and seem to be an ideal solution for those working temporarily in Austalia.
Where in SE Asia are you planning to fly into? I recommend Bangkok, as the flights to there are usually the cheapest from Europe, and you dont need to get a visa beforehand, and lots of visas for other countries in Asia are easily got in Bangkok, including the one for India.
Also, consider getting a copy of 'South East Asia on a Shoestring', by Lonely Planet. Though it weighs around a kilo, it is worth lugging around in my opinion, as it gives practical information for the independent traveller, for all the countries in SE Asia in one book.
Mel
Reply to this 
