Trip context

2 weeks in Thailand and Laos

Itinerary: California – Bangkok – Phuket – Chiang Rai – Luang Prabang – Vientiane – California

Activities: Exploring by foot, eating, nature hikes, temples, snorkeling, waterfalls, food and drinks, relaxing while exploring new places

Average steps: ~14,000-25,000/day

Bags: 1 bag and 1 cross body (BD Stonehauler 30 and HMG Versa) (gf brought black hole 35 and baggu cross body)

Format: The bag(s), Things I loved, Wish I brought, Wish I left, Other Thoughts, Packing List

The bag(s)

Black Diamond Stonehauler Pro 30L Duffel Bag
I got this bag on sale through expertvoice for super cheap, and was intimidated by its size. I am an overwhelming overpacker, but thanks to this sub I felt up to the challenge for the first time. This bag seems to hold closer to 35L fully packed and has just enough features without making things overly complex. The laptop sleeve on top makes security an absolute breeze and was a favorite feature of mine. Other than that it’s fairly simple with a main cavity an expandable separator and a couple zips in the cover. The zips did well to accomodate tech gear on one side and life essentials on the other. The expandable separator was great to just put my sandals in and keep them separate. The shoulder straps are very comfortable and I didn’t find myself wanting or needing hip straps. The handles are great and I love the material. Especially when I was forced to check my bag on a flight and ended up getting delayed for 6 hours due to downpouring rain and lightning, I was happy to know my stuff was going to be dry

HMG Versa – I just love this crossbody bag, and thank you to my buddy who gifted it to me. It has a deceiving amount of storage space in it and the organization is nicely thought out. Not too many pockets, but enough to generally keep things organized. Made out of DCF, it is also super light AND nearly waterproof, which was great when things got rainy. My favorite feature of this pack, however, is the phone slip on the back. It keeps your pockets weightless and comfortable which can make a huge difference in hot humid weather.

Things I loved

Anker charger – one charger to do it all. With 3 usb-c ports and one usb-a port, this did everything I needed it to. Really awesome

Pepto chewables – i did the thing, i flew too close to the sun and ate something I shouldn’t have (raw laarb at a tiny stall in the middle of nowhere) and ended up with a one-day stomach bug. Incredibly uncomfortable and with extreme diarrhea and vomiting. Immodium did nothing to help but pepto chewables at least helped relieve the stomach cramping.

Shoe choice – I brought a pair of altra Via Olympus that are white and rainbow. Yes, they’re not the most versatile, but in reality, when traveling, you’re gonna walk tons. And in this part of the world, you’re generally not gonna need to wear a super formal shoe ever. A collared shirt and black pants will suffice. Optimize for comfort. Altras, with their footshape, zero drop, and good cushioning did great for me. We were doing at least 14,000 steps a day – that’s gonna suck in dressy sneakers. (oh! and upon looking up the via olympus, looks like they just dropped the via olympus 2 in an all-black colorway). Turns out good knee and foot health is just better !

Peak design compressible tote – I used this exactly twice. And one of the times was absolutely critical. A big part of why we went onebag was to optimize our plane travel. We had connections in airports that don’t transfer your baggage for you so we thought it’d be better just to stay with our stuff, not to mention the language barrier if something was to get lost (we had airtags in every bag just in case). Well, at the checkin counter at DMK, the person behind the counter decided to force me to check my bag (not my girlfriend’s though, even though hers was bigger). My bag being over the 7kg carry on limit was never an issue as it’s just a way for these airlines to make money… but for some reason she decided this and wasn’t going to be convinced to let me take the bag as a carry on. I whipped out the tote and grabbed my ipad, collapsible pillow, computer, chargers, and water bottle and quickly put those into the tote with my cross body as well. I was extremely annoyed to be separated from my stuff but so be it. Especially when our flight became 6 hours delayed I was glad to have my devices and their chargers.

Arc’teryx skyline shirt – I own two of these, shoutout to my buddy who was able to get them through his arc’teryx discount. I found myself wearing these shirts more than anything else. They’re stylish, exquisitely comfortable, airy and breathable, and pack down incredibly small. They both ended up a little stinky by the end of the trip because even if I had a cleaner shirt in my bag, these were more comfortable by a long shot. They also have a zippable pocket which is great for securely holding whatever you need in a pinch (glasses, cash, airpods, etc). I think I’m gonna need to get a few more of these before I travel again next November

Arc’teryx gamma pants – having some ultralight ultra breathable water resistant pants was a last second addition and I am so glad I brought them. In the heat, even my lululemon ABCs were too hot, but these gamma pants kept me cool no matter what the weather, and they were great to have when it rained as well. They’re not ultra water proof, but they’ll keep you drier than most pants if it starts coming down. Mostly, though, I loved them for hot weather. These pants with bedrock sandals and the skyline shirt was comfortable enough for the hottest days, appropriate for temples and religious destinations which have clothing standards, and felt like wearing almost nothing.

Wish I brought

Extra underwear – it is……. sweaty out there. I barely made it with the amount of underwear I brought but without doing laundry half way through I would’ve been in a kinda rough situation. I did bring soap and was ready to do sink laundry but would’ve still wanted to have one more pair of undies.

Wish I left

tee shirts – I only wore my short sleeve button down shirts and was more than satisfied with the flexibility they offered with formality and activity. I didn’t wear the tee shirts I brought even once

Gramicci corduroy pants – these are like sweats and were super comfy on the plane rides, but in such hot countries I found myself putting them aside other than for travel days. Will bring if I travel to moderate temperature places, but will leave if traveling to another warm destination

2/3 shorts – As an avid shorts-hater, i find that i only wear them when necessary. in this case it was for swimming at the ocean or at waterfalls. I brought one pair of running shorts (bright patterned nike strides), one pair of ACG hiking shorts, and one pair of gramicci hiking shorts. If i was to optimize this, I’d bring one pair of black running shorts (my favorite are nike strides).

raincoat – i think this is always necessary bring because you can never really know what to expect, but i didn’t use it once. Especially rain in the heat, you somehow dry off fast enough that it doesn’t seem to be a huge issue

water bottle – I brought a nalgene and since you always drink bottled water in this part of the world, it becomes almost completely unnecessary to bring a bottle. You’d have to fill it from another bottle of water so it just doesn’t make sense.

Gopro mounts – I always have a tendency to want to bring mounts for my gopro but the reality is i’m bringing it for the sole purpose of having an underwater camera. As a note to self – leave the mounts at home. A small loop of dyneema cordage attached to the mounting holes and around my wrist is more than enough for snorkeling, waterfalls, and more.

Retroid – depending on your trip, choose one platform to play games on and leave the rest at home. I had my laptop with me, so I could’ve left the handheld. this is a very personal choice though, and I’m not in a retro gaming phase so i’m somewhat just writing this down for myself.

Other thoughts

there are things that you can just expect to buy, especially in southeast asia where things are so cheap (especially small bags or umbrellas etc.). Drybags, especially will be available for sale if you’re somewhere by the sea in SE asia with any level of tourism for super duper cheap.

Computer AND ipad – I debated bringing either or both of these and was glad to have the battery life of the ipad for watching videos and movies on the plane rides, and was also happy to have the computer for power-use when planning out days the night before and more. I was also able to use the computer to play PC games (raft) during the extensive travel times. This system could be optimized but this was great with what I have. If I could have whatever I want, I’d bring a steam deck and an ipad and leave the retroid and laptop at home. This would remove the proprietary laptop charger and the laptop itself which is small but surprisingly heavy (xps 13). I will mention, in this context, that I decided to pick up an 8bitDo SN30 Pro to have as a travel controller for this trip (yes, lots of time on airplanes) and it was much more comfortable than expected and performed great, giving me comfortable seating when playing games on the plane.

Cameras – As a serial photo-taker I always am drawn to bring a camera (or two!) with me on a trip. And in the past, I almost always have. Even bringing my Z5 with a couple lenses. I’ve learned that I just don’t end up using the camera I brought. Reality is I like to travel light during the day, and only with what can fit in my cross-body. I don’t currently have a point-and-shoot as I lost my RX100MKIV in a fire a few years ago, and I find iphone photos and video to be good enough to document the trip (other than in/underwater, for which I bring a gopro). Sure, I may not be slowed down to get a great capture, but the photo taking ability is there and the 14 Pro is more than solid for sharing with friends/family. Bringing just my iphone kept me light, efficient, and having fun.

Laundry – this was super easy to just pay for the hotel to do while we were away from our hotel, out on a day trip. Total cost was about $15usd for our items to be washed and folded and left in our room. This was also at one of our nicer stays on the trip and other places we’d stayed would’ve costed easily under 10usd.

Extra room – I was able to easily compress this down and make enough room to bring back souvenirs for myself, friends, and family.

Toiletries – Bring your actual electric toothbrush, your actual soap, and your good face lotion. Bringing these things that you’re used to and make you feel homey and comfortable contributes massively to comfort when traveling. Yes it’s great to optimize almost everything, but feeling refreshed, clean, and comfortable when you bathe is key to feeling good on the road.

One black one white – one black shirt one white shirt, one black hat one white hat. It really does give you the tiny amount of variety to feel like you’re putting a fit together even with limited options. Colors are great but just not as versatile.

Wired headphones – you never know if your airpods will fail, and it’s great to have the option to watch the in-plane media if it’s available.

International plug adapter – in Thailand and Laos, I didn’t need this once (usa-based). Probably still worth bringing, just a word to all of you

Sandals – I bought bedrocks right before this trip because my tevas that i’ve had for years started falling apart at the soles. as i’ve gone deeper down the zero-drop barefoot rabbit hole, bedrocks came across my radar. They’re absurdly expensive but after comparing them to almost every option on the market, i decided to take the plunge. I ended up going with the 3d cairn pro 2 and they are fucking awesome. pack down tiny, amazing grip, and super comfortable. I usually hate any thong-style sandal but I found these to be perfect with no chafe. Wore them for over 10,000 steps in one day and was perfectly comfortable

Vacuum free vacuum packs – My gf bought some of these for her own packing (let me know if you want her to do a write up) and I brought one just in case I needed to further compress my clothes. Welp, to fit my souvenirs I ended up using one of these (one fit all my clothes) and it worked amazingly. You basically fill them with your stuff and roll them then put a knee on it and force out all the air. You’re left with a firm brick of your clothes that’s super easy to pack. By the end of the trip I had a great system going where fresh clothes stayed in the vacpac and dirties went into the drybag

Comfy travel clothes – I mentioned that I would probably leave the gramicci corduroy pants at home if traveling to another hot region, but otherwise, being super comfy in my oversized hoodie during travel and on planes was so so worth it.

Packing list below:

note that this may not include everything I brought but it’s the general guideline I used, largely inspired by packing lists I saw on this sub! 🙂

Clothes

• [ ] 6 pairs socks
• [ ] raincoat
• [ ] 1 black hat
• [ ] 1 white hat
• [ ] ABC black pants
• [ ] Arc’teryx black pants
• [ ] 2 shorts
• [ ] 6 undies
• [ ] 2 tee shirts (one black one white)
• [ ] 2 arc’teryx skyline short sleeve button down
• [ ] 1 upf mesh short sleeve button down (prana)
• [ ] 1 merino short sleeve button down (trew)
• [ ] 1 sun hoodie (outdoor research)

Tech Gear

• [ ] Gopro (no mounts just handle)
• [ ] Power brick
• [ ] Power Adapter
• [ ] Controller
• [ ] Ipad
• [ ] Laptop
• [ ] laptop charger
• [ ] Power bank
• [ ] Retroid
• [ ] IEMs
• [ ] Garmin Charger
• [ ] USB A -> Lightning
• [ ] USB C -> Lightning
• [ ] USB C -> USB C X2
• [ ] airtags in all bags

Toiletries

• [ ] Toothbrush (philips sonicare)
• [ ] toothpaste
• [ ] lotion
• [ ] deodorant
• [ ] soap
• [ ] face soap
• [ ] Tylenol
• [ ] immodium
• [ ] pepto chewables

Other gear

• [ ] deck of cards
• [ ] Sunglasses
• [ ] Crossbody
• [ ] Detergent powder
• [ ] drybag for dirty clothes/wash
• [ ] foam earplugs
• [ ] Black diamond 10L pack (flat in bag)
• [ ] Dyneema cordage
• [ ] Packtowel
• [ ] pen + fresh field notes
• [ ] Collapsible pillow
• [ ] Peak design tote
• [ ] sandals (bedrocks)
• [ ] Headlamp

Toiletries, tech, other fit into crossbody

Wear

• [ ] Hoodie
• [ ] Hat
• [ ] Shirt
• [ ] Socks
• [ ] Undies
• [ ] Gramicci Cordy Pants
• [ ] Altras
• [ ] PASSPORT

Thanks for reading! I’m really happy to have gone onebag for this trip and will be continuing to optimize into the future!!