Totally agree (Score 0)

This is probably the closest to my own travel advice you can get.

I did some traveling in south east asia for two years and I ended up throwing away almost literally all the stuff I started out with.

Here is my list of the things you need when you travel in SEA:

A good knife

Don't even start without one. My knife cost 80 Euro and I opened tin cans, cut small trees for fires and even cut free a climber with it. It will be your best friend.

A lighter

You will need it. Period.

Three T-shirts, one pair of jeans, two pairs of shorts, three pairs of underwear, one pair of socks.

I did not use shoes for 1.5 years of my travelling. I started with proper hiking boots. Send them home since I never used them. Yes, you can hike properly in sandals. Or even barefoot. I did it.

Disinfectant, lotion against burns, something against diarrhea

You WILL get sunburn, you will get diarrhea and the disinfectant is needed for all the cuts and bruises you will get when you travel.

Copy of passport and insurance policy along with some money

A lifesaver since you are very likely to get pickpocketed anyways

A towel

Personally, I ... borrowed ... one when I was traveling (damn, gotta bring that one back! :). But you will need one.

A rain jacket

You are gonna love me when you get into rainy season (or to northern Laos)

A camera

Get the smallest, decent compact digital you can get and make sure it can be used without a cradle and does not need drivers. Also, make sure loading can be done through the usb port (less weight of the cable) and if there is an external loader, it should be tiny, tiny, tiny.

MP3 player

Any one will do, although I ended up having problems getting new music on it. I lost mine on a diving trip in the Similan Islands (it should be somewhere between Richelieu Rock and Koh Tachai :) and bought a mini disk player. Had friends send new music every month and that was way better.

If your backpack is still light: a decent pair of standalone speakers with rechargeables

Beach, evening, candles, girls, drinks ... your music through the speakers. Need I say more? :)

A second, small backpack

This is where you put your lunch and stuff for hiking, take it on the dive boat and put the more valuable things that you don't want to leave in the bungalow.

Everything else you will end up buying there. A sarong (kind of a very thin towel) is good for everything from waering to toweling yourself off to lying on to wrapping up things in. Clothes don't cost shit there. Buy everything you need there.

Ah, man, this list could go on for hours. Here my advice for what not to bring:

Laptop

Bought one in Singapore for my diving pictures and regretted it. Those things are soooo heavy if you also have to carry your divebag, guitar, big backpack and small backpack. Unless you want to make money of selling your dive pictures (I did), go to internet cafes - you will be surprised how well they are equiped even in remote places...

Big slr

Took it. Regretted it. Too heavy and you are likely not to bring it to the beach because of the sand etc. Just leave it at home, you compact is fine.

Sleeping bag

Not used it once, lost it in Singapore after 1.5 years. Did not miss it, either. :)

Hiking boots

See above - feet rock!

Too many clothes

Buy it there if you need it. It's sooo cheap

Again, I could go on for ages telling about what to do and what not to do. I hope this will help you a little bit, although I know it won't. :) I got advice myself and thought I knew better. Everybody has to make his/her own experiences.

I envy you - have the best time of you life... :)