Luigi Mangione Friendly, Carefree During Asia Trip Months Before Shooting

Luigi Mangione Carefree & Friendly on '24 Asia Getaway

Luigi Mangione, the charged killer in the Brian Thompson murder case, was living his best life in the months prior to the controversial shooting ... enjoying an action-packed trip to Asia earlier this year.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ … they had been on vacation with a friend in Krabi, Thailand, and met Mangione by chance at a Muay Thai fight in April 2024. We're told the trio hit it off, reconnected later to explore the city together and even planned a future road trip.

The source says the group split up briefly when Luigi headed to Phuket, and they made their way to Malaysia. However, the trio did eventually link back up in Thailand, embarking on their planned road trip -- which included stops in Khao Sok and Bangkok.

The source says Mangione never exhibited any strange behavior during their time together ... even describing the Ivy League graduate as a "super friendly, communicative, and open" guy, a sentiment expressed by several others who knew him.

Though, the source recalls Luigi mentioning something about a back injury during their travels ... they say he didn't share too many specifics.

The injury didn't appear to limit his activities, but we're told there was one day when he decided to sit out of a hike after explaining he didn't feel well.

In fact, in a video obtained by TMZ ... Luigi, at least, appeared to be pain-free while riding on the back of a motorcycle in Thailand.

As you can see in the video, he was smiling wide and throwing a shaka symbol ... which seemed to indicate he was having a good time.

We're told the trio stayed in contact for some time after their adventure ... with the source saying Mangione almost met up with them in Vietnam when they were there visiting.

Yet, by May 2024, the source says they fell out of contact with Mangione, who had stopped responding to text messages.

Again, the source emphasizes there were no indicators of violent behavior ... no incidents of him expressing extreme opinions, worldviews or ideologies.

Their bottom line is Luigi was easy to get along with and, basically, a normal guy.

Mangione has been charged with murder and gun charges in connection with last week's fatal shooting of Thompson. His attorney, Thomas Dickey, says Luigi intends to plead not guilty.