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

Where Do You Go When You’ve Already Been Everywhere?

by Calvin Sun | May 17, 2026 | Camping, Epiphanies on the Road, Fit for Foodies, May 2026: Bobo's Farm, New York, Post-travel Reflections | 0 Comments

Where does one of the youngest most traveled person in the world still travel to after they've been to nearly every country in the world? Home, of course. I've hitchhiked onboard trains through the endless expanse of The Sahel, slept in guesthouses in...

It Zermatt-ers A Lot You Followed Through!

by Calvin Sun | April 3, 2026 | Border Crossing, Crisis, Fit for Foodies, Flying Fancy, How's the weather?, Serendipitous!, Spring 2026: French & Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Weekend Trips, What Dreams May Come | 0 Comments

Any normal person would have headed home after 4 consecutive days of 6+ hours of skiing black diamond powder at 3,330 meters followed by six hours of raving in a blizzard. But I am not a normal person. Unlike most people, I don't procrastinate on fulfilling...

Alpe “d’Huez” in Charge Here? We Couldn’t Wait Until Tomorrow, for Tomorrowland Winter

by Calvin Sun | March 28, 2026 | Festivals, France, How's the weather?, Spring 2026: French & Swiss Alps, The Nightlife | 0 Comments

We made it to a Tomorrowland Aftermovie! Click on the YouTube video below where it starts right where you see us dancing to Alok; me on the left, and Patricia right in the center in her lavender hoodie as the video slows in on her/us (well, really just her)....

Why Not “Disfrutar”?

by Calvin Sun | March 23, 2026 | Fit for Foodies, Flying Fancy, France, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Introspection, Layovers, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Serendipitous!, Spain, Spring 2026: French & Swiss Alps | 0 Comments

We got a lot going on in the world right now: There's now a war in Iran, the funding bill for our DHS still hasn't passed, and the entirety of the TSA has been working without a paycheck for the past month. With the war, I'd imagine both the region and Emirates...

Meet the Tomorrowland Winter Monsooners!

by Calvin Sun | March 2, 2026 | Introductions | 0 Comments

Why do Tomorrowland just once a year when you can do it twice AND ski/snowboard at the same time? Introducing the following returning monsooners for this iteration of our favorite annual festival. Welcome back those returning with me for their 2nd, 3rd, or even...

All Aboard the Santa Claus Express!

by Calvin Sun | February 10, 2026 | February 2026: Lapland, Finland, Fit for Foodies, Flying Fancy, Lapland, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

I woke up to an Arctic sunrise again, this time to send Mel off on her early flight back at 7:30am; she had to return a day before the rest of us. After she left in an Uber to the airport, I cooked the last of what was left in the fridge at the Airbnb and saw...

For Richer, For Polar

by Calvin Sun | February 9, 2026 | February 2026: Lapland, Finland, Fit for Foodies, How's the weather?, Lapland, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

I just woke up to this Arctic sunrise before everyone else in the Airbnb. I took the time to make some scrambled eggs for breakfast, brewed the coffee, and leisurely sat down to write this blog post as I waited for the rest of the group to come to life. What a...

The Coolest Hotel in Lapland (Literally)

by Calvin Sun | February 7, 2026 | February 2026: Lapland, Finland, How's the weather?, Lapland, What Dreams May Come | 0 Comments

After sneaking in some sugar donuts just in time before Kahvila Lohihovi Oy closed at 5pm, we continued our 2 hour drive south from Ylläs to the Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos, about 30 minutes north of Rovaniemi on the shores of Lake Lehtojärvi....

Ylläs Hear Me Out

by Calvin Sun | February 6, 2026 | February 2026: Lapland, Finland, How's the weather?, Lapland, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

How This Trip Happened On September 30, 2025, a monsooner named Yuhan — who's been on many trips with me — randomly invited me to watch her favorite anime that had a surprise 2-week return to theaters: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, originally released in 2006. I...

Sundance’s Last Dance: Park City, UT

by Calvin Sun | January 27, 2026 | How's the weather?, United States, Utah | 0 Comments

Once again we're gathering friends across time zones and milestones; some have flown in from Philly, others from NYC, one flying over from Dallas just for the weekend to make new friends, all converging together this week on a mountain town for a week of...

Crossing The Drake Passage For Antarctica

by Calvin Sun | Dec 22, 2013 | Antarctica, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

Don't get too seasick watching this! An epic wave occurs around the 0:26 mark: Today we boarded for Antarctica by sailing through what has been known as the most dangerous seas on Earth, The Drake Passage.My group first gathered at 4:10pm at the...

The Fate That Binds Us To Antarctica

by Calvin Sun | Dec 13, 2013 | Antarctica, Argentina, Serendipitous!, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

We sail in less than 3 hours. Anyone worried that it's also the Friday the 13th? As we wait for our ship to be prepped, I look back on 3 years of travel and coincidences, how we got this trip off the ground and how at the age of 27 and within 3 years since my...

At The Southern Edge Of Civilization: Tierra Del Fuego

by Calvin Sun | Dec 12, 2013 | Argentina, Fit for Foodies, How's the weather?, The Nightlife, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

All roads end here. Just 1 month ago we were in Reykjavik, the northernmost capital city in the world, and now we're in Ushuaia of Tierra Del Fuego, the southernmost city in the world. I've been dreaming all my life about coming to Tierra del Fuego since...

The Argentine Air Travel Hack Still Works

by Calvin Sun | Dec 12, 2013 | Argentina, How Did You Do That?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

I'm not going to take credit for this in any means, but this well-known "Hacking Argentine Air Travel: Flying for Cheap in Argentina" still works. I just tried it out for myself and no shats were given when I boarded. How I pulled it off: when you book online...

The Case For Traveling Solo?

by Calvin Sun | Dec 11, 2013 | Argentina, Epiphanies on the Road, Fit for Foodies, Serendipitous!, The Nightlife, Travel Warnings, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

For those of you who have been following me for a long time now, you're familiar with how I do a balance/mixture of traveling both solo and in groups. There are perks and downsides to both. When you're in a group you tend to save more money (group discounts for...

A Buenos Aires Afternoon On Human Rights Day

by Calvin Sun | Dec 10, 2013 | Argentina, Blitzkrieg!!!, Fit for Foodies, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

Buenos Aires is no joke. It's huge, it's loud, it's lively, it's fast, it's dynamic, and it just so happens that I arrived on December 10th, which is Argentina's annual Human Rights Day. Imagine streets filled with passionate throngs of people, all carrying banners...

From Uruguay To Argentina By Boat

by Calvin Sun | Dec 10, 2013 | Argentina, Border Crossing, How Did You Do That?, Public Transportation, Uruguay, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

This one's easy. Once you're done with exploring Colonia, head southwest (about a 10min walk from the old city) towards the ferry dock along Rivera Ave. You'll see the ferry station there; it's quite obvious: It's also very nice inside. There's a...

Colonia “In 30 Minutes”

by Calvin Sun | Dec 10, 2013 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Uruguay, Walking Tours, Winter 2013: Antarctica to Pakistan

To give you an idea how small Colonia is, I went out to explore Colonia at around 7:30am and by 8am I was back at my hostel, having felt like I saw everything, twiceover. Even my hostel buddies told me I wasn't delusional; it also took them "only a half an hour to see...

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