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...

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...

Winter 2012: History Comes Alive

by Calvin Sun | Oct 4, 2012 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, Introspection, Our Next Adventure, Pre-travel Preparations

"We cannot bear to regard ourselves simply as playthings of blind chance, we cannot admit to feeling ourselves abandoned." - Ugo Betti. History comes alive this winter. How many of us dare to consider ourselves as part of some greater context, placing our everyday...

Mt Whitney

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 13, 2012 | Our Next Adventure

In a little less than 6 hours, I'll be leaving to climb Mt. Whitney, aka the highest peak in the continental US. 14,479ft. You may be thinking, "This sounds really tough.What have you done to prepare for this?" Answer: Aside from pack warm clothes...nothing. As...

Why You Should Go To Iran II (In October)

by Calvin Sun | May 19, 2012 | Iran

In the same vein as my previous post to Why You Should Come With Us to Iran, here's your second chance to "go epic." Although I won't be coming along for a second trip -- maybe that'll be a perk? (jerks!) -- this is your chance to relive what I saw in Iran last month;...

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