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...

Managing Managua

by Calvin Sun | Jun 25, 2013 | Border Crossing, Nicaragua, Summer 2013: Central America, Walking Tours

After spending 1.5 hours at the border between Honduras and Nicaragua (most of it waiting around as they processed our passports), we arrived into Managua via Transnica Bus at around 1pm in the afternoon. From there we did a bit of sightseeing, starting with...

Tegucig-Awe-lpa

by Calvin Sun | Jun 24, 2013 | Fit for Foodies, Honduras, How Did You Do That?, Lessons Learned, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Mythbusters, Summer 2013: Central America

"...Tegucigalpa is dangerous and the crime is palpable . . . Comayaguela, which is very rough and tumble and not a place to linger day or night. San Isidro Market is a particular hot spot for petty theft. . . . Take taxis at night. In Colonia Palmira, gangs of...

Copan Mechanism

by Calvin Sun | Jun 23, 2013 | Fit for Foodies, Honduras, Summer 2013: Central America, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

The second largest collection of Mayan ruins after Tikal, the Copan Ruinas are about a 1km walk (10min) away from the quaint little town, and quite convenient to get to. Head into the parking lot that's 1km east from the town and turn left to enter the ruins...

Getting Out Of ‘The World’s Murder Capital’: San Pedro Sula

by Calvin Sun | Jun 22, 2013 | Honduras, How Did You Do That?, Mythbusters, Public Transportation, Summer 2013: Central America

To be honest, it wasn't that bad. Not once did we ever feel unsafe driving through San Pedro Sula on our way to Copan Ruins. In fact, it looked like any other city in Central America. Our group landed in 3 separate runs: Angela arrived at noon on Friday, Erick,...

The ‘Most Dangerous Place On Earth’ & ‘Murder Capital Of The World’

by Calvin Sun | Jun 22, 2013 | Honduras, Summer 2013: Central America, Travel Warnings

To be honest, I didn't know this until after booking my tickets...but we're about to fly into the "one of the world's most violent places" a.k.a. The Murder Capital of the World: San Pedro Sula, Honduras. You might be thinking, Oh, Calvin, you CHOSE this place...

Meet The Monsooners Of Central America

by Calvin Sun | Jun 3, 2013 | Introductions

Here's to celebrating the end of my 3rd year of medical school: 4 countries and 9 cities for less than $1100 *all-inclusive* of flights, transportation, lodging and food at $20/day for 9 days from June 22nd - June 30th. From spelunking impressive Mayan ruins to...

36 hours In Austin

by Calvin Sun | Apr 12, 2013 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Fit for Foodies, Texas, United States, Walking Tours

We found one of the most beautiful places in the United States, and it would've been a shame not to mention it in our latest Monsoon Diaries adventure.The story begins a year ago when I found a photo gallery on coolhunter.net called "Amazing Places to...

Dare We Dream For 2013?

by Calvin Sun | Feb 18, 2013 | Our Next Adventure

2013 Trips APRIL: Austin, Texas JUNE: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama OCTOBER/NOVEMBER: Iceland DECEMBER: Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, ANTARCTICA I do not take credit for any of these pictures because at the time of posting, I haven't been...

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