Packing list for Southeast Asia in the rainy season
Bangkok and Singapore from May to October: a downpour most afternoons that stops in an hour, side streets that flood for another, 90°F (32°C) in between, and temples that still want knees and shoulders covered.
On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.
Checked October 10, 2026.
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0 of 12 packed
Clothes
0/4Rain
0/4Health
0/4What the weather is like
Bangkok runs 77°F (25°C) at night and 91°F (33°C) by day from May to October, with 150 to 340 mm of rain a month and the most in September. Singapore holds 77 to 88°F (25 to 31°C) all year; June to September is its drier monsoon with morning squalls, and October to November turns wetter with afternoon storms.
- Jeans and canvas sneakersNeither dries in a week of humidity; linen pants and strapped sandals do the same job
- A heavy rain jacketToo hot to wear; a thin shell or a 7-Eleven poncho covers the hour it rains
- A hair dryer and a travel ironHotels have the first and the humidity defeats the second
- Mosquito coilsAny pharmacy or 7-Eleven sells them for about a dollar, and they work on a hotel balcony at dusk.
- Laundry detergent sachets7-Eleven sells single-wash sachets, which is what you need for the sink-washing in Singapore.
- Elephant pants or a sarong near the temples100 to 150 baht outside the Grand Palace, and they cover knees for the rest of the trip.
Worth knowing
- The rain keeps a timetable. In Bangkok it builds from 3 p.m. and empties by 4 p.m.; in Singapore the June to September monsoon brings pre-dawn Sumatra squalls that clear by late morning, and May, October and November bring afternoon thunderstorms instead. Put temples and markets in the morning, malls, museums and massages after 3 p.m.
- September is Bangkok's wettest month at around 340 mm, and Singapore is drier from June to September than in its December monsoon. Neither cancels a trip, because the rain is warm and short.
- Grab and the BTS Skytrain beat a taxi when the streets flood, and the Chao Phraya Express pauses in a storm. Ask Waystop's Chat for a rain plan, a second version of the day with indoor stops, and switch to it when the afternoon forecast turns.
Trips to pack this for
Never leave the charger in the hotel again.
Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.