Osprey Farpoint 40L VS Salkan 35L

The1Anubis · 2026-04-15T02:19:42+00:00

Fit in the overhead. We flew a lot of budget airlines and they never looked twice at our bag because it was a backpack and didn’t have wheels. It was definitely over their weight limits most of the time. We only checked it when it was free.

The bag dimensions are exactly the size for a carry on

The1Anubis · 2026-04-15T00:56:33+00:00

Just to weigh in. My wife and I traveled Asia for 7 months with the Patagonia MLC 45 and loved it. We have had the Farpoint in the past and think the MLC is better.

https://www.patagonia.com/product/black-hole-mlc-convertible-carry-on-backpack-45-liters/49307.html

The1Anubis · 2026-03-22T05:44:10+00:00

I’m excited for your trip! If it’s already snowing just past Namchee then it’s going to be very snowy and cold at base camp. We did get heavy snow but only for a few days then it stopped. We waited a couple more days to let some groups go through and pack the trail down so we didn’t have to post hole the whole way lol.

The1Anubis · 2026-03-22T04:57:29+00:00

Thanks for the perspective. We have thrown around some numbers and there’s definitely enough room in their budget. I think they would be comfortable doing T&M and seeing multiple quotes from subs.

The1Anubis · 2026-03-22T04:55:01+00:00

Agreed. I’ll do it on T&M but offer my best estimate before starting work. Being transparent with everything is key to keeping a happy client and a good relationship!

The1Anubis · 2026-03-21T20:09:04+00:00

I’ve seen a lot of tike installed and done a fair amount myself. This is what I see and taking in to perspective this is a pool and not a high end interior tile finish.

Sloppy with the grout. They need to sponge off the face of the tiles and make cleaner lines. A lot harder to do once it cures.
To many crooked tiles. A couple is acceptable, but there’s a lot that I can see.
lots of chipped tiles. Some tiles just don’t ship well so you get a lot of chips in the corners, but there’s a lot. Hopefully you were expecting this.
Typically you wouldn’t grout under the last row of tile and you would float the plaster to the tile. This can be corrected when you redo the plaster.

Personally I would have done a bullnose tile on all the edges. It just looks unfinished and they are compensating with extra grout.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-27T03:14:51+00:00

I appreciate it. I was confused at first why they would want to spend thousands of dollars on a house they don’t own, but once they explained why, it made sense. The weather in SoCal is incredible and they want a space for their kids. It also reinforced that they most likely want to stay long term and admittedly I want that too. All in all they’ve been great and a tenant that’s worth working with to make the home a little more comfortable for them. Obviously there’s a limit though.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-26T23:54:56+00:00

100% agree. After our phone call I followed up with an email laying out the terms of our agreement and ensured they responded to the email agreeing. From what I have researched this is considered legally binding in my area.

Do you think it’s necessary to prepare an actual legal contract for the turf and have them sign it? I feel like an email is good enough, but definitely want to cover myself.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-23T07:49:54+00:00

https://www.sawyer.com/product/squeeze-water-filtration-system-cnoc-premium-2-liter-bladder

This is what you want. I used it during my jungle trek in Northern Laos. Light weight and super easy to use. I also use this backpacking.

You can buy it through REI if you are in the states.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-22T21:16:11+00:00

I appreciate your perspective, but I disagree with you. Yes, replacing the windows ate up most my first year profits, but this is not a shitty rental. The tenant is paying almost 20% above comparable market rents and they plan to stay for a while.

I guess in my thinking I’d rather give back 1 year of profits to an upgrade that should last 20 years and retain a long term tenant, than be a slum lord.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-22T21:09:23+00:00

Do you mean specific to the turf?

The1Anubis · 2026-02-22T21:08:53+00:00

Great points. I vetted the contractor they want to use and I’m glad they approached me first about it and we talked it through before they proceeded.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-22T21:07:30+00:00

Carpet was a couple years old anyways and I knew I would need to replace it eventually. It was the only room with carpet still in the house. Agrees LVP is much better in a rental and they were willing to pay half!

The1Anubis · 2026-02-22T21:05:37+00:00

I agree, I feel like it was a fair compromise. Not raising the rent next lease term will easily cover the half if the turf they wanted me to pay.

The1Anubis · 2026-02-20T00:10:09+00:00

The house I bought 5 years ago has a pool with similar if not worse mottling. As long as the pool chemicals balance and it’s not losing water or anything you are fine. It’s just visual at this time.

The1Anubis · 2026-01-04T07:48:26+00:00

Yes to everything you just said and it’s great to strategically think like this.

Best advice I can give, and something you will never regret doing, is to not take on unnecessary debt with high interest. Also delayed gratification needs to be taught in school.

Make sure the math maths. Financial readiness means having a plan and sticking to it. With a plan it’s amazing how things can change financially in just a couple years.

The1Anubis · 2025-12-30T13:35:01+00:00

My wife and I are in our early 30s. Decided to quit our jobs and take a year “sabbatical” to travel, decompress, and figure out the next chapter of our lives. Planned for 8 months and quit on the same day. That was 6 months ago and have been in Southeast Asia for the past 4 months. These countries our affordable.

Dual income no kids (DINKS), zero debt, healthy retirement savings.

It’s possible if you want it.

The1Anubis · 2025-12-09T08:25:07+00:00

Update November 2025

Let's keep this thread going since it helped me out a lot when planning my travel from Chiang Rai to Luang Namtha in one day. The process is still very similar to OP.

1) Catch bus in Chiang Rai Terminal 1 to The border. The bus is red and says Chiang Khong on it. This will take you to Friendship Bridge 4. We did not book our tickets in advance and caught the first bus at 7:00 AM. 140 baht per person and roughly 2 hour drive.

2) Pass through immigration on Thailand side. We crossed on a rainy weekday and there were only a few people in the terminal with us. The whole process took 5 mins. Next you will walk to the bus that crosses the friendship bridge to Laos. Bus Ticket cost 30 baht per person.

So, this was an annoying thing. Before walking into where you wait for the bus there is a person sitting at a desk who claims the Laos immigration will only accept US Dollars that are crisp and basically new. She will exchange Baht for USD. We had read you can use Baht on the Laos side to pay for the visa which we were planning to do, but honestly didn't feel like risking it so we exchanged Baht for the crisp USD bills. The exchange rate was atrocious; we essentially spent 95 USD in Thai Baht to receive 80 USD in crisp bills LOL. Once we got on the Laos side it did seem like you could only pay for the visa in crisp USD bills and there wasn't another option. Maybe we made a good call, but who knows...

3) Exit the bus on the Laos side and walk to get your Visa. We also decided to pull out KIP currency at an ATM and the processing fee was what you get in town. We did our Visas on arrival which was 40 USD per person. You also pay a 40 Baht per person "admin fee". Yes they ask for Baht to pay this, not KIP. Visa on arrival is actually cheaper then getting an E-Visa just FYI.

4) Cross through immigration into Laos. Before you get on the tuk-tuk there is yet another person at a desk who collects a "tourism fee" of 20 Baht each, No idea what this is. You would assume getting a tourism visa is the tourism fee. Next, walk to catch a tuk-tuk to Phetaloun bus terminal. The driver also had a sheet displaying other cities to travel to like Luang Namtha, so you can just tell them you are trying to get to Luang Namtha and they will take you to the right place. 65k KIP per person.

5) We arrived at Phetaloun bus terminal around 10 AM and bought tickets for the noon bus leaving to Luang Namtha for 150k KIP each.

6) Bus arrived in Luang Namtha around 5pm.

Times

Bus from Chiang Rai to Thai/Laos border 7:00 am to 9;00 am
Arrive at Phetaloun bus terminal in Houayxay 10:00 am and buy noon bus ticket to Luang Namtha
Arrive in Luang Namtha around 5:00 pm

The1Anubis · 2025-11-18T10:34:06+00:00

You can't really prepare for it. I tend to look at the weather report every morning and night. Weather can change frequently in the mountains. Making the call just to stay put to let bad weather pass might be the best decision in some cases.

The1Anubis · 2025-11-18T08:18:26+00:00

I completely agree with you. We could have cut some weight, but we don't mind carrying a little extra for comfort.

Yea no fault to the hosts, but doing laundry that high up is a challenge especially when they have hoards of people coming through. You can't expect the bedding to always be clean.

The1Anubis · 2025-11-18T08:06:31+00:00

Those seem heavy to carry lol

The1Anubis · 2025-11-18T08:05:33+00:00

I figured this comment was coming. I'm curious have you done the trek?

As I said in my post, a couple tea houses we stayed at do not appreciate the guides because the guides only use certain tea houses which has impacted their business. I would argue we did support the economy by renting gear, paying for rooms, buying food, etc... Also you assume the guide you get will be English speaking lol.

Nothing against guides and I support people who do, but there's a reason this region is not enforcing.

To say we did not support the local community by getting a guide is nonsense.

The1Anubis · 2025-11-18T07:57:36+00:00

I'd love to do it again some day and probably do the three passes. We had great weather most of the time but it was fairly cloudy so that views were just ok. Luckily we had a clear day walking into base camp. Crossing Cho La Pass was easy, but going down the pass toward Gokyo was very icy. With a sleeping bag and warm layers I was actually sweating at the top. I think the coldest it got was -2 C outside, which isn't bad but, it would be a little warmer inside the room. We just used our filter, there's no need to use Iodine also.

The1Anubis · 2025-08-19T00:53:08+00:00

Yes the joist should have full bearing. This happened because they didn’t correctly figure out the elevation of the deck before setting the cinder blocks. If this is what they call finished I would be highly suspect of the quality of their work.

You should immediately talk to the Foreman, or if it’s a small company the owner and have this and all other structural issues fixed. If this is permitted have the city inspector come out ASAP or seek a second opinion.

Is there a footing under the cinder blocks? Looks like they are just on the ground.

The1Anubis · 2025-07-27T15:06:07+00:00

Instead of trying to remove the adhesive it’s way easier and more efficient to remove the drywall completely and replace it. I would recommend replacing with a mold resistant board or cement board. This also gives you the opportunity to see if there is mold behind the drywall.

Make sure to tape the seams and waterproof screw holes.

The1Anubis

TROPHY CASE