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...

A Morning in Reykjavik

by Calvin Sun | Oct 31, 2013 | Fit for Foodies, Iceland, October 2013: Iceland, Walking Tours

Nothing like a beautiful morning breathing clear Northern Atlantic air in the northernmost capital city in the world. We walked southwest from our hostel (Hlemmur Square) to the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church, and had a small breakfast at the...

Yeah, We Made It.

by Calvin Sun | Oct 31, 2013 | How's the weather?, Iceland, October 2013: Iceland

Just landed in Keflavikurflugvollur, Iceland. Don't know how I beat DC rush hour traffic from a Philly train to make it to an international flight leaving from Virginia, but I guess we all made it. Even though it's already 7am here in Iceland, it's still pitch black...

“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...

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