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

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...

Meet the Lappi Wedding Party!

by Calvin Sun | January 26, 2026 | Introductions | 0 Comments

Meet the Sundancers!

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

From a trip planned over a year ago after a bunch of friends joined me in Killington 2024, we are flying out to Park City, UT for our first time at the Sundance Film Festival for their final time in Park City, UT! Welcome back those returning with me for their...

Niger At Last: A Second Chance

by Calvin Sun | December 10, 2025 | Border Crossing, December 2025 Annex: Niger, Fail, Flying Fancy, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Layovers, Niger, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come | 1 Comment

11 months ago, I sat on the tarmac in Niger's International Airport at Niamey, watching my trip evaporate due to visa complications. The Niger Embassy in Washington D.C. had stopped issuing visas to Americans entirely. But I don't give up. In late...

Yemen Day 4: Mukalla Drive

by Calvin Sun | December 5, 2025 | December 2025: Yemen - Hadhramaut Valley, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen | 0 Comments

Al-Mukalla Pulling ourselves away from a desert mirage paradise at Haid Al-Jazil, we swapped our armed guard at another checkpoint during the 2 hour drive to Mukalla. You point that thing away from me! After a long wait at one of the...

Yemen Day 3: Where Reality Surpasses Dreams at Haid al-Jazil-lion Miles Away From Reality

by Calvin Sun | December 4, 2025 | December 2025: Yemen - Hadhramaut Valley, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Yemen | 0 Comments

Haid Al-Jazil As the afternoon began to wane, we continued onto our accommodation for the night at the Haid Al-Jazil Resort Hotel, named after what it overlooks and its location perching dramatically on a cliff overlooking the Wadi Do'an. You'll find remarkably...

Haiti’s 8th Wonder Of The World

by Calvin Sun | Jan 5, 2013 | Haiti, How Did You Do That?, January 2012: La Hispanola, Public Transportation, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

We woke up early at 7am to grab breakfast at Croissant d'Or, Cap-Haitien's best bakery (that much Lonely Planet gets right!). There we loaded up on some carbs before heading down to catch a taptap to Milot. Lonely Planet says there's a bridge going east...

From Port-Au-Prince To Cap-Haitien

by Calvin Sun | Jan 5, 2013 | Fit for Foodies, Haiti, How Did You Do That?, January 2012: La Hispanola, Public Transportation, The Nightlife

The 7 hour bus ride from Port-au-Prince is relatively straightforward, but you have to choose your poison; shall you go with the public transportation that'll cost you no more than a few dollars for a nary a bench space on a vehicle without shock absorbers? Or a...

The “Official” Warning In Haiti

by Calvin Sun | Jan 3, 2013 | Haiti, January 2012: La Hispanola, Mythbusters, Travel Warnings

First things first, the internet in Cap-Haitien barely exists. Not that I'm complaining, but it'll be hard to shoot an update out with pictures until I get into Santo Domingo probably tomorrow. So far we took a 7 hour bus ride from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien (the...

Haiti’s Independence Day

by Calvin Sun | Jan 1, 2013 | Community Service, Fit for Foodies, January 2012: La Hispanola, Serendipitous!, Travel Warnings, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Here I am! And on your Independence Day (it's January 1st) too! We're currently staying at the Trinity Lodge in Delmas, a quieter suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. I first have to give a shout out to...

New Year’s Eve In NYC

by Calvin Sun | Jan 1, 2013 | New York

After our layover in Frankfurt, we had a 2 hour layover in Ottawa, Canada. Then it was back on our return flight to NYC where we immediately got off the plane and headed to my New Year's Eve party on a rooftop in Chelsea: So far so good. Happy New...

Frolick In Frankfurt

by Calvin Sun | Jan 1, 2013 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, Germany

Remember 8 months ago when we took a detour sidetrip with our 5 hour layover in Frankfurt? Well it's deja vu all over again, this time with a different group of 16 people (with the exception of Cynthia coming again, of course)!I'll spare you the repost of photos...

A Night In Warsaw

by Calvin Sun | Jan 1, 2013 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, Poland, Walking Tours

Last moments before hopping on a 3hr bus from Krakow to Warsaw: So it's 3am and you've arrived at Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw with about 4 hours before you're flight out. What do you do? Take the N32 bus of course. The N32 bus arrives...

Auschwitz Death Camp

by Calvin Sun | Jan 1, 2013 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, Epiphanies on the Road, Poland

The feeling of bleakness startles first. Then to step inside one of the gas chambers: There's nothing more I can write about Auschwitz that hasn't already been written: It really is devastating. Like the Killing Fields and Tuong Sleng Prison of...

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