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...

Odessa

by Calvin Sun | Dec 26, 2012 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, How Did You Do That?, Serendipitous!, Ukraine

And then there were 5... ...reunited with 10 more at none other than the famous Potemkin Steps. At a first impression, Odessa combines a snapshot of former Soviet glory with the modernizing influences of the Western world: It's a city...

…And They’re Off!

by Calvin Sun | Dec 24, 2012 | United States

Godspeed y'all; see you in Odessa in 48 hours.

“Don’t Invade Eastern Europe In The Winter.”

by Calvin Sun | Dec 23, 2012 | Pre-travel Preparations, United States

It's about to begin again. This will be our largest group of travelers to our coldest itinerary with 6 days in single digit Fahrenheit weather (uhm, 18 people died last week in Ukraine's cold snap) through the most depressing sights in Ukraine and Poland. They...

Why I Move (Pt 2)

by Cynthia Koo | Dec 18, 2012 | Cambodia, India, Introductions, Introspection, Iran, Post-travel Reflections

I've been to more places in the last year than I have been in my entire life. And in another seven days, I will board a plane for my fourth Monsoon in the last year, this time to Eastern Europe, as a third-time veteran of The Monsoon Diaries' family--and with newly...

A Wedding In Hawaii

by Calvin Sun | Dec 17, 2012 | Hawaii, Serendipitous!

17 months ago I attended a wedding in Srinagar, India hosted by the Dar family. And 17 hours ago I attended another wedding in Honolulu, Hawaii hosted by another Dar family. Both unforgettable days.

Monsoon Watch

by Jan Ferrer | Dec 13, 2012 | Epiphanies on the Road, Pre-travel Preparations, Serendipitous!

I am fully preparing to jump into a monsoon in two weeks’ time. That is to say that I will be traveling with sixteen fellow backpackers and one Calvin Sun, whose rousing story and headstrong travel philosophy – “monsooning” – were recently featured in USA...

Sorta Like Deja Vu

by Calvin Sun | Dec 10, 2012 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, Hawaii

It would appear that fate like to play games with my travels. Two Julys ago I had been given a last-minute invitation to attend (i.e. I crashed ) a wedding, which was hosted by a well-known Dar family in Srinagar. Last May I had been given a...

Meet the Trainspotters

by Calvin Sun | Nov 23, 2012 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, Introductions, Pre-travel Preparations

This is the true story... of 16 strangers... picked to live on a backpack...travel together and have their lives blogged... To find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting monsoonal... ...The Monsoon Diaries The last...

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