Once again, I am about to head out on the road! After a whirlwind visit home in California for my 30th birthday(!!!), I am taking off for a slightly different stint of my trip. I have a week in Mexico with my sister for a wedding, but then I take off solo to Colombia where I’ll be staying in Medellin for 6 weeks to study Spanish at a language school! I’ve talked about this before, but at the three month mark of backpacking, I get really burnt out and need to stay still to recuperate. I built this part of the trip in very intentionally. I’ll be staying at an airbnb, where I’ll have my own room and going to class everyday. I’ll be cooking and signing up for a gym. I am SO excited to have a bit of a routine and not have to pack up over & over again. In fact, I get to unpack for 6 weeks!! Truly what a dream.

Because this is quite the different type of trip, I get to pack a little differently. Other than needing outfits for a wedding (which thankfully was casual enough that I could wear clothes that I’ll also wear out & about in Colombia), I only need to pack fairly generic outfits for school, going to the gym, and an outfit or two to go out to dinner, etc. Additionally, I am not going to a bunch of different climates, so overall it’s a relatively simple packing approach.

Big news: I am trying out Tortuga’s newest backpack, the Travel Backpack Lite 40L. It’s the updated version of my last backpack of theirs (the Setout). Nice to travel with a brand new backpack! It’s the perfect carry on size & with their packing cubes, you can optimize every square inch of it. I actually had room leftover when I packed all the below into it. I’ve also added the Tortuga Travel Sling, the new Tortuga Packable Daypack (to replace my 5 year old one), & the Tortuga Tech Organizer, which means I’ve achieved my goal of being a walking evangelist for all Tortuga products haha.

Overall tips:

Use packing cubes! I love my new Tortuga Compression Packing Cube, as well as their normal packing cubes.
Think through how the clothes will feel in heat. Linen & lightweight materials will be best.
Make sure that every top works with every bottom and works with every shoes. Use a capsule wardrobe as inspiration.
Less is more! I can’t emphasize this enough. You CAN do laundry. You CAN buy anything you feel like you ended up needing on the road. I promise!

If you are planning a longterm trip, don’t forget to check out all the things I wish I had known before setting off on my first big trip!

PACKING LIST FOR Colombia:

CLOTHES

3 pairs of Lululemon Fast & Free Crop’s – I’ll be joining a gym while in Medellin so I need more workout leggings than I normally take.
1 pair of Lululemon Align pants – can be used for working out/walking around town or I can dress it up.
1 pair of Lululemon joggers- since I’ll be living in an airbnb, I wanted a more casual, comfy pair of pants to throw on when I am home in the evenings.
1 pair of jean shorts
2 Rompers (one is just a copy of the other that I had made in Hoi An)
2 jumpsuits I had made in Hoi An (inspired by my Madewell Jumpsuit)
2 Cute shirts (one linen for the heat, one basic cute grey shirt)
4 sports bras
5 athletic shirts (for running + sleeping in). One is from Vuori & one is from Lululemon. I need more of these shirts this time around since I am planning to go to the gym everyday in Medellin
Booty shorts (to sleep in)
5 pairs of underwear
9 pairs of socks
1 black bralette
Running shoes
Waterproof sandals (will act as my water shoe as well as my cute shoes- I never said the backpacker lifestyle was glamorous haha)
Pair of white sneakers (bought these in Japan)
Light Patagonia puffer – good for chilly planes/busses & for when I visit countries that are a little cooler, even in the summer. It also smushes down fairly small so it’s a great backpacker jacket. I’ve also used it as a pillow in a pinch.
1 Swimsuit (I don’t foresee doing much swimming on this trip, but it’s always smart to bring one)
Sunglasses (Warby Parker)
Hat
Rain coat (Patagonia; you can pack it up into its pocket so I can easily attach it to the outside of my bag via a carabiner)
Running belt – I don’t use it often since my Lululemon Fast & Free’s have a pocket for my phone, but every once in a while it comes in handy.
Tortuga Packable Daypack – This is their latest version of their daypack! Very excited to try it out. It packs into itself if you don’t want to use it. This is my personal item for flights.
Tortuga Travel Sling crossbody bag (I put it into my daypack on travel days). I use this out and about on a daily basis. It fits my iPad mini & passport in the back zipper pocket. In the main pocket I can put keys, credit cards, cash, AirPods, chapstick, sunscreen, etc.

ELECTRONICS

Computer + Charger
iPad
iPhone + Charger (I get a 6 ft cord so I can always reach the plug from my hotel dorm bed!)
AirPod Pro’s
Headphones (Bose; noise-cancelling for travel days)
Plug adapter (I use this one)
Portable charger (like this one)
AirTag (This is a no brainer these days; provides peace of mind incase I am forced to check my bag or when it’s below me in a bus. Always nice to confirm it’s still with me!)

TOILETRIES (I USE A BUNCH OF LITTLE TOILETRY BAGS TO KEEP THESE ALL ORGANIZED)

Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Floss
Any medication you take
Retainer
Deodorant
Tiny roller perfume
Makeup
Makeup Remover (I’ve become obsessed with cleansing balm for this because it isn’t a liquid, & it’s highly effective at getting makeup off at the end of the day!
Razor
Conditioner + Shampoo (Get containers to put your products into & refill on the road!!)
Face wash
Hair Brush
Pocket Hand Sanitizer– I keep one in my backpack and one in my sling/purse. Great in general, but also for when inevitably there is no soap at a random bus stop bathroom 🙂
Sunscreen (I love Sun Bum)
Chapstick (Don’t forget to get one with SPF)
Tiger balm (I picked this up in Southeast Asia and it’s now a staple in my bag. Great for mosquito bites and just feeling a little sick. It’s kinda like Vick’s vapor rub).
Ibuprofen
Hair ties and bobby pins
Moleskin
Bandaids
Cough drops
Topical steroid cream for bed bug bites or regular bug bites to help with itchiness

MISCELLANEOUS

Passport – no explanation necessary 🙂
ID (I bring my driver’s license)
Travel Credit Card (no foreign transaction fee; I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve (hello lounge access!)+ Capital One Venture Card)
Debit Card (Charles Schwab has the best one because it reimburses ATM fees from any ATM in the world 🙂)
Record of your plans (I make folders within my email inbox to keep track of everything or you could print out a copy of your itinerary)
Extra Passport photos
Thumb drive with all documentation if desired
Sarong/beach blanket- My roommate got this for me! Perfect for any countries where I need to cover up more as well as the beach or to dry off from a swim. I didn’t bring my quick dry towel with me this time since my apartment/airbnb provided a towel for the duration of my stay.
Water Bottle
Ear Plug
Eye Mask (you can either go the classic eye mask route or get one like this that almost acts like your eye mask + ear plug since you can play white noise through the built in bluetooth speaker- pretty cool!)
Lock (for staying in hostels or locking my bag.) Get the combo lock so you don’t have to worry about tiny keys. I take two to be able to lock two different compartments in my bag AND so I can keep my computer/passport/iPad compartment still locked when I use the other one to lock a locker within a hostel.
3 carabiners – I just attach them to my backpack and over the course of the trip they will hold everything from my water bottle, shoes, rain jacket and more. You will not regret having a few on hand.
Pack of playing cards
Face mask (I’ve used this while feeling sick as well as on a dusty motorcycle ride)
2 pens for writing postcards & for my Spanish classes

Here is what I packed in each packing cube:

Swimsuit, 3 sports bras, 8 socks, booty shorts, bralette

Two jumpsuits, two rompers, jean shorts, 5 pairs of leggings

All packed up! 40L Tortuga Lite Backpack, Tortuga Packable daypack (personal item), Tortuga Sling bag, and my airport outfit

Hasta Luego!! 🙂

CITY: Siem Reap

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Lub D Hostel and there was good & bad.

First the good: the facilities are fabulous. The rooms look new with very modern bed set ups. No bunk beds, but rather built in beds so no creaking as your upper bunk bed gets in at 2am. Curtains, personal plug, & light are all there. Storage lockers are available in the room. Rooms is blasting AC all day (sometimes hostels turn them off during the day). Bathrooms are VERY nice and clean (just outside in the hall). Never had any issues with waiting for a shower or toilet.

The bad: well this is quite a party hostel (but no issues with sound in the room thank god), but it’s quite large so I found it hard to meet people. I tend to prefer smaller, cozier hostels where everyone kinda hangs out together (like my favorite hostels in Chiang Rai or Hot An). There weren’t many avenues of organically meeting people unless you wanted to approach people who had their headphones in while on a chaise lounge at the pool.

WHERE TO EAT:

Lots of western food restaurants & cafes in town. Pub Street is filled with bars, burger places & clubs.

I ate at an Italian restaurant, a Greek restaurant, and Cambodian restaurant, but nothing notable.

I had a smoothie bowl which was was sooooo yummy from Brownie Temple Bakery & Smoothie Bar. Very cute, small spot. Next door was Sister Trey Cafe, which also is a great breakfast spot. I had a bacon & cream cheese stuffed French Toast!

Footprint Cafe was my go to for an afternoon drink & they have a fabulous co-working space upstairs (where I spent time catching up on this blog!).

I also had my first gelato in months (European Meg could never). Gelato Lab served up some delicious gelato- I had one scoop of chocolate & one scoop of stracciatella with a cone on top. The gelato would melt wayyyyy too fast if I just had it in a cone.

WHAT TO DO:

In a surprise to no one, the main thing to do here is explore Angkor Wat. So I’ll be honest and say, I am not a big temple person, so I spent one day here and felt like I got enough of an experience there. I know I might get roasted for that, but hey travel is personal. I’ve met people who spent 3 full days here and said it wasn’t enough for them. I think it just depends on what your vibe is!

Given I didn’t really meet people at my hostel, when a guy posted in the hostel world app asking if anyone wanted to join him on his rented motorbike for the day to explore Angkor Wat, I quickly responded “me please!” He picked me up from the hostel and we raced around to see 6 temples, including the main Angkor Wat Temple and my favorite temple, Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for all the trees that are growing through, around, and over the temple. Oh, also Tomb Raider was filmed here. I just was mesmerized by the reminder that nature is so much bigger than humans and ultimately nature will erase an impact humans have on the planet- very cool.

Beyond my time in Angkor Wat, I enjoyed some down time at cafes, catching up on planning & blogging, as well as getting a two massages! One evening I just decided to walk into a run of the mill spa and for $4 USD, I had a 60 min foot massage (my favorite thing is just to watch an episode of TV on my iPad during a foot massage – true bliss for me), but on my last full day in Siem Reap I decided to treat myself to a spa day. A guy at my hostel recommended Devatara Spa and I booked myself a 90 min Four Hands Touch massage (two masseuses massage you at the same time!) as well as a 60 min Aromatic Herbal Salt Scrub. Need less to say, I felt very zen after my 2.5 hours at Devatara.

One of the couples from my Ha Giang Loop trip were in Siem Reap at the same time as me so I grabbed dinner with them, which was fabulous. I absolutely love the overlaps that begin to happen as you backpack through a region.

My last morning before I flew out to the Philippines, I headed to the Apopo Visitor Center. From their site: “Cambodia is one of the most land-mine affected countries in the world, but for the last 25 years APOPO has worked to clear landmines here and across the world. We train African giant pouched rats (they are much cuter than they sound and super smart, too!) to sniff out the TNT in explosives in the ground. Our work keeps people safe by reclaiming land from the dangers of landmines, and returning it to farmers and local communities, allowing them to thrive once again.” It was very cool to see the rats in actions and they were in fact very cute! It takes about an hour and is a great experience once you are templed-out in Siem Reap.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I will be brutally honest: I really wasn’t sure if I would like Cambodia. As such, when my plan started to move around, I tended to want to protect my time in Vietnam & the Philippines over Cambodia, which meant I ended up shortening my time here to 4 nights/ 3 full days to explore. I think I was worried how the poverty disparity would feel. I was worried about the heat. I was worried that given I am not obsessed with Temples, I wouldn’t know how to spend my time here. I was worried about leaving the main cities because of the prevalence of Malaria. I was worried about safety. I wasn’t 100% sure how the sentiment towards Americans would be.

That being said, overall I would say I was really pleasantly surprised by my time here. Most of my fears were unfounded. I felt no safety issues (often walked home by myself around 10pm with no concerns). No issues with being an American (it was actually quite strange because they use USD so I felt slightly at home). The people were lovely & hospitable. To be fair, the heat was brutal & I personally didn’t find that I needed more than one day in Angkor Wat, but overall I really enjoyed my time here. Now, I did meet people who were spending the entirety of the 30 day limit on the visa here, and I’m not sure I would need a full month, but I would’ve been happy to spend a bit longer here.

BUDGET FOR 4 DAYS IN Cambodia:

Visa- $36

Accommodation: $40 ($10 per night)

Food: $53

Groceries: $0

Activities: $138 (Spa Day + Angkor Wat entrance ticket)

Local Transportation: $27

Total: $294 (Daily average: $73.5)

Transportation to next destination: $349 (flight to the Philippines)

The Pursuit Of Travel

A solo traveler's guide to the world

Tag: Solo Female Travel

Packing List: 2 months in Colombia (2024)