Packing for four plus months in Southeast Asia was not an easy task. There’s a fine balance between having everything you need and packing as light as possible. Patrick and I purchased travel backpacks just for the occasion. After a lot of online research and testing at stores, we landed on the Fairview 55 (women’s) and Farpoint 55 (men’s) Osprey backpacks. We picked these bags for the following reasons:

  • Provided a zipper so you could open and access all parts of the backpack
  • Detachable daypack that we could use for all of our small daytrips while leaving our main bags at the hotel/homestay (and allowed us to keep our valuables with us on buses/trains/planes, while sending our larger backpack underneath)
  • Reasonably priced
  • Provided a hip/waist belt, so carrying long distances was possible (although I wouldn’t do any intense hiking/backpacking with it)

We both were completely satisfied with our backpacks and still use them for smaller trips today! We did see several others along our trip with the same bags, so it would be helpful to add a ribbon or other identifying marker to make sure you can differentiate your own (and don’t end up with someone else’s bag, like Patrick did in Laos!). We also locked our main bags whenever they left our sight.

https://www.rei.com/product/894563/osprey-farpoint-55-travel-pack-mens

https://www.rei.com/product/118595/osprey-fairview-55-travel-pack-womens

The sizes worked out well for us – I could not have gotten away with a smaller pack, but Patrick probably could have. I’ve itemized our packing lists below. We both used packing cubes to keep our bags organized and to compact our clothes.

Jess

  1. Six (6) t-shirts (versatile, so can wear for multiple occasions, including to bed) (e.g., https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/123839?page=streamside-tee-short-sleeve-splitneck-print&bc=12-27-607&feat=607-GN1&csp=a&pos=4)
  2. Two (2) tank tops (didn’t end up wearing these much)
  3. Four (4) shorts
  4. Three (3) pairs of pants
  5. Two (2) rompers/jumpers
  6. One (1) bright green-patterned dress – longer, loose fitting
  7. One (1) chambray long-sleeve shirt (could wear over every top I brought)
  8. One (1) jacket – Athleta Inlet black medium-weight puffy jacket with a hood – I could stuff this up pretty small, but it was warm enough for some of the colder weather we encountered in northern Vietnam. Also wore it on buses/trains/planes when the A/C was cranked up high. (https://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=486238)
  9. Underwear (brought enough for about 1.5 weeks to cover periods of time where we couldn’t do laundry)
  10. Two (2) regular bras and two (2) sports bras
  11. Five (5) pairs of socks
  12. Three (3) bathing suits (we planned to spend a month on the Thai Islands)
    • One (1) one-piece (good to have in instances where you want to be more modest)
    • Two (2) two-pieces (could mix and match, so like I had four suits)
  13. One (1) baseball hat
  14. Shoes
    • One (1) pair of chaco sandals (LOVED, wore all the time) (https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/product/185319/chaco-zcloud-sandals-womens)
    • One (1) pair of LL Bean trail shoes (wanted something stylish, but that I could also wear hiking)
    • One (1) pair of Old Navy flip flops (anticipated wearing these in showers, but our accommodations were surprisingly very clean, so I didn’t use these much)
  15. Purchased a sarong while in Thailand – good as a bathing suit cover-up or to wrap around your lower half to enter temples
  16. Small, cross-shoulder purse to take out at night
  17. Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, travel container of face wash, deodorant, contacts, Neosporin, Band-Aids)
    • Note, I did bring along some powder/cover up, but rarely used this because I would have sweated it off by the end of the day anyways
    • Also note, I did not have to bring tampons/pads because I elected for the IUD (specifically to avoid a period on this trip) – if you need these, they were difficult to find

Patrick

  1. Four (4) polos/golf shirts (light-weight, quick-drying)
  2. Three (3) t-shirts
  3. Five (5) shorts – two of which doubled as bathing suits (although in hindsight, he would have brought a separate bathing suit e.g., https://vuoriclothing.com/products/banks-short-azure-linen-texture?variant=32651991515239, Travis Matthew brand, Patagonia brand)
  4. Three (3) pairs of pants
  5. One (1) long sleeve lightweight shirt
  6. One (1) puffy REI jacket (could be packed down)
  7. Six (6) pairs of socks
  8. Shoes
    • One (1) pair of chaco sandals
    • One (1) pair of sneakers

Miscellaneous Items

  1. Light, canvas bag that folded up small (took to the beach)
  2. Waterproof bag (good for protecting electronics) – we each had one
  3. Small umbrella & poncho
  4. Headlamps
  5. Charging cords
  6. Outlet converters/adapters
  7. Lotion, sunscreen
  8. Ziploc baggies (you never know when you might need one)
  9. Camera mini tripod
  10. Sunglasses
  11. Two-liter platypus (there were some hostels/homestays that provided free filtered water)
  12. Microfiber towels (used every day at the beach)
  13. Lonely Planet Southeast Asia travel book

Items we kept in our smaller daypacks (mostly for security)

  1. Computer
  2. Passports
  3. Phones
  4. Wallets
  5. Nook/kindle
  6. Medicines (e.g., malaria pills, nausea pills, diarrhea)
  7. External hard drive
  8. Camera and additional camera lenses
  9. Journal (just me)
  10. Crossword books
  11. Deck of cards
  12. Hand sanitizer
  13. Extra toilet paper/Kleenex (always assume there will be none in bathrooms)

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