Good Morning Vietnam!

Well Friends,

I am off on another grand adventure! For the next three weeks I will be backpacking through Vietnam and Thailand and I am BEYOND EXCITED about what these next few weeks will hold!

I’ve decided to travel with only carry on items, so me and my 44L Osprey pack are going to be very intimate with one another. Aka, it is my one stop shop for all my needs when it comes to this trip.

For those interested in my process for packing light, here’s what I’m taking with me (for those uninterested, skip to the bottom):



  1. 3 pairs of shorts (1 linen, 1 athletic, 1 to sleep in)
  2. 1 pair of leggings
  3. 1 pair of long pants
  4. 1 reversible skirt (for hitting the town)
  5. 2 tank tops
  6. 1 blouse (for going out)
  7. 1 t-shirt (for sleeping in)
  8. 1 long sleeve shirt
  9. 2 swimsuits
  10. 4 pairs of socks (3 athletic, one smartwool)
  11. 5 pairs of underwear
  12. 2 bras
  13. 1 light shrug
  14. 1 rain jacket
  15. 1 pair of sneakers
  16. 1 pair of chacos
  17. 1 pair of born flats (for feeling comfy while looking fly)

Full House looking fly gif


  1. Nikon Camera
  2. 2 lenses (18-55mm & 55-200mm)
  3. 1 camera bag
  4. 1 iPad mini (for blogging)
  5. 1 converter
  6. 1 pair of soft footie socks (courtesy of my mom) 😉
  7. 1 life straw water bottle 
  8. 1 head lamp
  9. 1 hair brush
  10. Bobby pins and hair ties
  11. 4 books (“The Unbearable Lightness of Being”-Milan Kundera, “Demian” -Herman Hesse, “Selected Poems of Rabindranath Tagore”, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”-Neil Gaiman)
  12. Passport (obviously)
  13. Visa on arrival paperwork
  14. Passport sized photos for visa in Vietnam and Thailand

Toiletries-travel sized

  1. Conditioner
  2. Curl styling creme (gotta have something to combat that humidity!)
  3. Body wash
  4. Detergent (for washing my clothes in the sink)
  5. Contact solution (as well as replacement contacts)
  6. Deodorant
  7. Eye drops
  8. Solid stick sunscreen 
  9. Solid lotion bar
  10. Makeup (for those nights when you want to put aside the grunge I got travel sized-blush, mascara,and eyeliner)
  11. Diva cup

All the Pills/First Aid

My super sketchy bag of pills…I hope TSA doesn’t stop me…
  1. Activated charcoal for food poisoning-(this product received resounding reviews)Screen Shot 2016-07-13 at 10.28.17 PM
  2. Malarone for dem skeeters
  3. Anti-diarrheals to stop me up
  4. Laxatives to loosen me up
  5. Extra-strength Tylenol for aches and pains
  6. Tums for heartburn
  7. Ciprofloxacin- Antibiotic and final resort to stop up violent intestinal evacuations from both ends(aka the double dragon) because of foreign bacteria entering my system.

And that folks, is what I’ll be living off of/carrying on my back for the next three weeks!

Plans for the trip:

  1. Hanoi, Vietnam
  2. 3 day cruise along Halong Bay
  3. 4 days hiking/biking through the terraced fields and mountains of Sapa, Vietnam
  4. Eating all the food
  5. Da Nang, Vietnam
  6. Sunning on the beaches and taking cooking classes in Hoi An, Vietnam
  7. Fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand
  8. Two day trip to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
  9. Eating all the food
  10. Possible day trip to Doi Inthanon National Park
  11. Possible day trip to Wat Rong Khun
  12. A day or two eating all the food in Chiang Mai
  13. A day in Bangkok
  14. Coming home!

By this time tomorrow I will be well on my way to Vietnam via IND-NYC-Taipei-Hanoi. I hope to be posting somewhat frequently in ebbs and flows along the way. I’ll also see what I can to about getting my pictures up.


Can’t wait to share my tales with y’all!