The Monsoon Diaries: How to travel the world with no time or money -

Grenada Más

by Calvin Sun | November 4, 2025 | Grenada, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End | 0 Comments

🇬🇩 190 down. 3 to go. After our 3 day stay in Dominica, we took a long hour-and-a-half drive back to the airport from our Portsmouth lodgings, stopping for a quick photo opportunity along the way. Dominica's airport is tiny. You...

Dominica-n’t Miss This

by Calvin Sun | November 1, 2025 | Dominica, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

From St. Vincent, we boarded InterCaribbean Airways JY 717 at 12:20pm. Their new airport, however, was built just 8 years ago and still has some operational quirks. The staff double-printed my first leg itinerary from St. Vincent to Barbados without including...

Dead Men Tell No Layovers: St. Vincent & The Grenadines in 12 Hours

by Calvin Sun | October 29, 2025 | Layovers, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0 Comments

Fresh off a quick overnight in Grenada (courtesy of a free JetBlue voucher from last October's Welcome to Chinatown gala), we touched down at Maurice Bishop International Airport at 1:53pm. This marked the beginning of a 3-country Caribbean...

Getting Away With Robbinsville: The Akshardham Redemption

by Calvin Sun | October 6, 2025 | Camping, Layovers, New Jersey, October 2025: Camping in Robbinsville | 0 Comments

One of my more unique camping trips to have monsooned; this is what happens when you plan a camping trip months in advance just to visit a temple arguably worth seeing as a world-class destination. I was stuck at work all day Friday as Eddie took the initiative...

A Quick Halifax Check

by Calvin Sun | September 12, 2025 | Layovers, Lessons Learned, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Walking Tours | 0 Comments

After two days in Saint-Pierre (and a turbulent ferry ride to Miquelon and back), we boarded an hour-and-a-half direct Air Saint-Pierre 9am flight to Halifax, landing around 9:30am local time (Halifax runs an hour behind Saint-Pierre), Our onward...

Miquelon Impossible

by Calvin Sun | September 11, 2025 | Doctor in the House, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Sometimes the most spontaneous detours leave the strongest impressions. That morning in Saint Pierre, we hadn't planned on leaving the island. But after completing two walking tours around St. Pierre and checking the ferry schedule, we realized we could still...

48 Hours in a Little Saint-Pierre-ce of France

by Calvin Sun | September 11, 2025 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

After three days soaking in St. John's charm, we dropped off our rental car at YYT Saint John's airport to catch the rare 5pm direct flight (PH1127) via Air Saint-Pierre to Saint-Pierre & Miquelon: one of the few weekly connections between Newfoundland and...

Don’t Be Dildo-Dallying

by Calvin Sun | September 9, 2025 | Canada, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

While based in St. John's, we took a spontaneous day trip by rental car to the now-famous town of Dildo. You'll know when you arrive; they're incredibly proud of their distinctive name. Though a vocal minority has repeatedly raised referendums to...

St. John’s: The Eastern Edge of Everything Everywhere All At Once

by Calvin Sun | September 9, 2025 | Canada, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Months ago I decided to gift myself a week off after Labor Day...simply because I could. After a year as wild as this past one, I craved actual and intentional self-prioritization to restore some balance. Finding fares under $200, I booked a morning departure:...

Singapore Airlines Business Class FRA-JFK

by Calvin Sun | August 5, 2025 | Flying Fancy, Germany, Summer 2025: The Long Road to Berlin | 0 Comments

After a slow morning walk and talking about our villain (antihero?) origin stories in Berlin, I hugged Daniela and Gabe goodbye, hopped on the tram for a few stops, went underground for the metro, and made it back to the hostel in time for a 1:30pm check out. Nisha,...

“There Are No Excuses.”

by Calvin Sun | Oct 30, 2013 | District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States

I started this blog the summer before beginning medical school and in the ensuing 3 years, I've carried this far along to over 45 countries, with #47 coming up right at the eve of my very last exam of medical school (knock on wood). And people always ask: "how...

Meet The Penguins

by Calvin Sun | Oct 23, 2013 | Introductions

ANTARCTICA - MEET THE PENGUINS View Winter 2013 in a larger map I will be visiting 5 continents in 7 countries in 27 days. And while you may have heard enough about my upcoming trip to Antarctica, you haven't yet met the brave souls who are...

Come With Us To Antarctica!

by Calvin Sun | Oct 14, 2013 | Antarctica, Our Next Adventure

ANTARCTICA 10 days View 2012, 2013 Monsoon Diaries in a larger map They say it's like visiting another planet: Antarctica. For those of you who want an experience that's totally out of this world and to come back with stories to impress, this...

Meet The Vikings

by Calvin Sun | Oct 8, 2013 | Iceland, Introductions

Before our December trip to Antarctica, we're practicing with a 3-4 day visit to Iceland and during the peak season of witnessing the natural phenomena known as the Aurora Borealis. Iceland is considered as part of Western Europe and thus can be a very...

Mt. Starr And Manzanar

by Stephanie Quan | Sep 30, 2013 | California, Camping, Guest Posts, How Did You Do That?, Post-travel Reflections, United States

Two weeks ago, my lab group did a camping trip in the Sierras. We drove up on Friday to the East Fork Campground (9000 ft). Hiked up Mt. Starr on Saturday (Class II scramble. 7 miles round trip. 12825 ft). And drove back on Sunday. On the way back, I stopped in the...

The Panama Canal

by Calvin Sun | Jul 1, 2013 | Epiphanies on the Road, Fit for Foodies, Lessons Learned, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Panama, Post-travel Reflections, Summer 2013: Central America

I never really got to sleep. By the time I posted the last entry, we were already out the door by 10am for Chinese-Panamanian dim sum, which according to our well-traveled guide Manuel (Tatiana's friend in Panama who showed us around last...

A Night In Panama City

by Calvin Sun | Jun 30, 2013 | Fit for Foodies, Lessons Learned, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Panama, Summer 2013: Central America, The Nightlife, Walking Tours

After a truly awful border crossing experience earlier today, we were welcomed at the Albrook bus terminal with the hospitality of Tatiana, a Panama City native and who offered to drive us around her city. This would be the first time Tatiana and I would meet, as she...

Border Crossing From Hell From Costa Rica To Panama

by Calvin Sun | Jun 30, 2013 | Border Crossing, Costa Rica, Fail, Panama, Summer 2013: Central America

I've done quite a few overland border crossings in my travels, but none was quite as bad as the one I just did today from Costa Rica to Panama. This is probably as bad as it gets but today was probably way out of the ordinary and we were simply unlucky to get...

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