One perk about being in Thailand is the ease of travel to get to so many different locations in less than two hours. Using Chiang Mai as my home base, there are several major cities accessible with an AirAsia flight. I often travel for a week at a time, often five or six nights. I found that this is enough to really get the vibe of a city – and see if I want to revisit in the future.
I travel very light. This is for a few reasons. First, I want to avoid checking in bags, since this incurs fees with AirAsia and gobbles up time spent at the airport. Second, if I need to get on a Grab motorbike to zip from point A to point B (and not get stuck in traffic) then I refrain from using large baggage, especially with wheels. Third, I don’t like rolling luggage while walking on a busy city street or on sand at a beachside destination.
I’m a self-declared minimalist. I believe I am economical when I pack. Having done this for almost decades now – first, traveling weekly as a management consultant to different cities across the U.S., then as an executive for a company, and now as an mini-retired adventurer – I have gotten by packing list well-remembered.
I carry two bags with me: one backpack and one duffel bag:
- My backpack: the Patagonia Arbor 22L (discontinued). Nothing fancy here. Basically a Jansport backpack from grade school but with the Patagonia brand on it. What is essential though is having a sleeve for my iPad and/or Thinkpad while traveling. A rookie mistake I made: having a half-way shut tumbler in my backpack that leaked water onto my exposed Thinkpad; very quick way to lose $1,000 device! So I use a cheap Procase Laptop Sleeve to double protect my devices. When I reach the useful life of this backpack, I would like to get one with more utility (pockets, loops) and durability (e.g., ballistic nylon, DWR finish
- My duffel bag: the North Face Base Camp Duffel XS 31L. I found this duffel to be the perfect size: large enough for me to pack a week’s worth of clothes, extra pair of shoes, and my two dopp kits. I love the ballistic nylon, which makes it wear/tear resistant, as well as the DWR finish, which makes it water repellent. While this duffel comes with two shoulder straps, I removed one strap because I don’t carry it as a backpack but sometimes may need to carry on one shoulder (like a messenger bag) in order to free up my dominant right hand. But more often than not, I carry this duffel with the side handle; it lessens the load on my shoulders and works out my arms. Maybe that’s why my left arm is stronger than my right!
In a typical week when I travel, these are the essentials that I pack in my duffel:
- Five or six polos with performance fabrics (quick dry, cool in the SE Asian heat). Favorite: Uniqlo Dry-Ex polo shirts
- Four or five pairs of shorts. Favorite: Columbia Silver Ridge stretch shorts, because of the DWR finish, the thinness of the fabric, and the side utility pocket with zip enclosure
- Three pairs of workout clothes. Favorite: Patagonia Capilene Cool T-Shirts and Patagonia Nine Trails shorts
- A pair of my Teva Universal sandals – great for the beach or going from my hotel room to/from the hotel pool
- Travel-size protein shakes. I currently use Organic Seeds, which are plant-based and come in travel-ready pouches. These pouches are almost always on sale at various Lemon Farm outlets in Bangkok
- Aegend Swim goggles. These are light and take up such small space that I throw them in the small interior zip pocket of my duffel
And in my Patagonia backpack, I place my devices and miscellaneous items:
- Tablet or Laptop. I usually pack my iPad Pro because it’s easier to play my downloaded, in-flight entertainment. If I pack my iPad, then I will also pack my Logitech wireless keyboard
- Procase Laptop Sleeve (mentioned above) which protect my tablet and the keyboard
- Chargers and wires
- Powerbank. I currently use the Anker Powercore Fusion which doubles as a wall charger
- A tumbler. I currently use the 16oz Hydro Flask Tumbler
- Pair of sunglasses. I currently use Carreras 259/S (Havana)
- My Passport protected in a waterproof pouch I received from Universal Studios Japan
- Some mints; I always have some laying around to fight against the onion- and garlic-heavy Asian meals I eat! I usually pick up the lime-flavored Halls from the local 7-eleven
- Optional: I may throw in a sling bag, currently my Patagonia Atom Sling 8L, which I take with me on day-long tours
And to further conserve space, I make sure I wear a pair of pants and my sneakers onboard. I love the versatility of my Proof Nomad pants – which I can wear for formal or casual events, alike – and black Zara trainers – which also can double for formal or casual events.
There you have it – that’s what’s in my travel bag. I hope this inspires you to focus on just the few essentials you need to travel around Thailand and Southeast Asia. Less time packing – and more time adventuring!
~Lester T