older / next adventure

I’m leaving on Monday for another month-long adventure in Hong Kong and China. This is my first time doing winter travel with a 22L pack (I did 19L for a month in Southeast Asia in the summer, and 50L for my last trip to Europe and Canada), and also my first time shooting exclusively film for more than a week. I’ll be off of all social media for the duration of my trip, so hit me up on WhatsApp, WeChat, or good old SMS if you want to reach me.

Reading list includes:

  • From the Ruins of Empire by Pankaj Mishra

  • How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

  • 21st Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

  • A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

  • Very Good Lives by JK Rowling

  • Gweilo by Martin Booth

Will probably toss in a few more things depending on my mood, but I’m excited to just disconnect for a bit, think about life, write, read, and absorb the world around me.

Yay, packing pics:

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heirloom / one bagging

Hello friends! I'm headed off to Vietnam/Thailand/Hong Kong/Seoul (24 hours) in about a day, and I thought I'd show my blog a bit of love before I take off. I've loved traveling since I was a kid, but with my love for traveling also comes a love for...packing. I'm weird, I know. My mom has let me pack my own bags since I was super young, which I've appreciated as a way for me to learn how to plan for trips. I remember the first time she let me do that, I forgot to pack any underwear and had to hunt for tiny children's underwear in Vancouver. I've come a lot further since then (hopefully). For the last few years, I've become pretty obsessed with the idea of traveling only with a backpack, and recently realized there was an entire online community dedicated to "one-bagging". For me, packing only a small backpack forces me to think critically about every object that I bring, and also forces me to do research about the places I'm going and to think about potential situations I will have to deal with. I have really sensitive shoulders, so it also greatly reduces the weight I have to carry, and therefore makes traveling significantly more enjoyable. It's definitely a mindfulness exercise, and the overall process of choosing exactly what to bring is incredibly enjoyable to me. Below is (mostly) what I'm bringing on my 4 week trip, all packed in a 19 liter backpack (for size comparison, the standard Jansport backpack is 25 liters...this bag barely fits a 13 inch laptop!).

The packing cube contains all of my clothes, and I didn't include my toiletries in this picture.

The packing cube contains all of my clothes, and I didn't include my toiletries in this picture.

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Here's a complete list of what I'm packing:

  • 2x Uniqlo Drape Pants

  • 1x Board Shorts

  • 1x Running Shorts

  • 2x Tank Tops

  • 4x Underwear

  • 2x T shirts

  • 2x Ibex Bras

  • 1x Patagonia Houdini

  • 1x Linen Cap

  • 1x Swimsuit

  • Skinners (they're like socks with protective bottom...nice for flights!)

  • Shamma Sandals Jerusalem Cruisers

  • Fuji X100T + charger + 2 batteries + various SD cards

  • Moto G4

  • Jelly Comb keyboard

  • Kindle

  • Audiotechnica Earbuds

  • Gorilla Pod Tripod

  • Anker Charger

  • Toothbrush

  • Toothpaste

  • After Bite

  • Soap

  • Shampoo Bar

  • ACV Powder (conditioner)

  • Nail clippers

  • Tweezers

  • Menstrual Cup

  • Hand sanitizer

  • Baking soda/cornstarch mix (deodorant/dry shampoo)

  • First aid kit (Advil, antihistamine, band aids, wipes etc.)

  • Mesh bag (for dirty clothes)

  • Dry bag (doubles as a laundry container, pillow when filled with air, camera protector in the rain etc.)

  • Silk travel liner (can also serve as a blanket on cold flights)

  • Grayl filtration bottle

  • Muji pocket notebook

  • Zebra SL-F1

  • Linen towel

  • Money, passports!

Hopefully this is all enough to keep me healthily thriving for about four weeks. It might not seem like a lot, but I actually couldn't think of anything else that I would want to bring - in other words, doing this isn't a sacrifice to me at all. I'll probably have to do laundry a bit more than a normal traveler, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. I opted for phone/keyboard instead of laptop for this trip - photo editing will be done on Snapseed and keyboard will help for writing journal entries or any extensive editing. The Kindle and the 30+ books I want to read should keep me completely occupied on any long flights.

Happy July! :)

Snap from a short hike to Red Rock Canyon in Lake Forest, CA this week.

Snap from a short hike to Red Rock Canyon in Lake Forest, CA this week.