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I will fly this December from Paris to South-East Asia for a backpack trip. I have to get to the airport at night at probably 4°C and arrive at Phnom Penh, where it will be around 30°C.

But because I want to travel as light as possible, I don't want to carry a winter jacket with me in Cambodia. What do you recommend?

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    South Asia's temperature is around 32-35 Celcius during the hot days. Nov 22, 2012 at 6:23

2 Answers 2

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Layers!

I recently did the Trans-Siberian Railway in May. Siberia in May is surprisingly hot, often over 30°C, but in Mongolia at night it can drop well below freezing. I found with a load of the usual t-shirts, about 3 thin fleece jumpers and thin rainproof jacket (mac/anorak type thing) I was fine to cope with the cold. And then I had jumpers for intermediate conditions, and they all fold away quite small. Fleeces also dry quickly when washed - very useful when backpacking.

Also look into base layers, which pack up very small and do a lot to keep you warm.

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  • Trans-Siberian Railway is located on the South Siberia, which not much from Europe counting on the latitude.
    – VMAtm
    Nov 23, 2012 at 9:04
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If you're not going to regions like Nepal and Northern India, don't even think to take warm clothing with you. That's from my experience. I'm travelling for a three months in Asia and I arrived here from Russia, and the only place you can possibly get cold is heavily air-conditioned transport. You may feel quite cold in sleeper buses and trains in Thailand. But all what you will need in this case is a thin fleece shirt or blanket. One time I saw some guy used his sleeping bag as a blanket -- it's really clever option for light backpacking too.

I'd recommend you to go to the airport with your friend or relative. In airport you can change the clothing and give all the winter stuff to your buddy to get it back in town.

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