Four inputs, one deterministic list. No model, no sign-up, and every line tells you why it is on the list.
14 days · Spring · 2 climates
Lengthening days, changeable weather, good shoulder-season light.
Clothing
5 tops — Enough for 4-day laundry cycles across 14 days — no more, you'll wear the same six things anyway.
2 pairs of trousers/shorts — Two is genuinely enough when you can wash. Three without.
1 warm mid-layer — The single item we used most across climates, including in the tropics at altitude and on night buses.
Light waterproof shell — Not an umbrella — you need your hands free and a shell packs to nothing.
Tropical
Reef-safe sunscreen — Required for coral areas, and cheaper to bring than to buy somewhere resort-priced.
Mosquito repellent with DEET or picaridin — Dengue is daytime-active, so this is not just an evening concern.
Quick-dry towel — Guesthouses in Bali and Thailand rarely provide one for the beach.
Oral rehydration salts — For the day the water or the ice doesn't agree with you. Small, cheap, and the thing you can't easily find at 2am.
Essentials
Passport + a photo of it — The photo is what gets you a replacement at an embassy.
Card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees — Two cards from different networks, kept separately.
Small amount of local cash on arrival — Airports and taxi ranks are the worst exchange rate you'll see all trip.
Universal adapter + small power strip — One adapter in a strip covers two phones, a camera and a laptop from one outlet.
Basic medical kit — Plasters, painkillers, antihistamine, rehydration, and any prescription in its original packaging.
Photography
Lens cloth + blower — Sand, sea spray and temple dust are the three things that ruin a shot.
Fixed rules, no model: the list depends only on the four inputs above, so it is the same every time and costs nothing to serve.
Rules, not a model
The list depends only on length, month, hemisphere and the climates you select — so it gives the same answer every time, costs nothing to run, and cannot invent an item that does not exist. Each line carries its reason.
The strategy underneath is the one we actually used on a very long trip: route around the weather rather than packing for every climate up front, and buy clothing locally when a swing demands it. Past about three weeks, that beats a bigger bag.
