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...

The Oldest Restaurant in the World

by Calvin Sun | Dec 27, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fit for Foodies, Spain

This one's for the foodies: eating at the oldest restaurant in the world, Sobrino de Botin, founded in 1725. We first whet our appetite by pregaming at one of Hemingway's favorite bars: Cervicheria Alemana. And then we walk over to sample the staying...

Witnessing Guernica

by Calvin Sun | Dec 26, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Epiphanies on the Road, Spain, What Dreams May Come

Breaking stereotypes with an "Asian Firing Squad" (while having a highly recommended tapas brunch at Vinos Gonzalez): 2 items off the bucket list in one day and 2 more tomorrow; we are really cramming superlatives into a short amount of time. Despite...

Christmas In Madrid

by Calvin Sun | Dec 25, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fit for Foodies, Lessons Learned, Spain, What Dreams May Come

It's nothing less of magical: Madrid during Christmas. Although we hit a snafu with the museums, we could not have picked a better time to see Spain's cultured capital. After reuniting with the rest of the group at the hostel, we were hit with the...

From Barcelona To Madrid

by Calvin Sun | Dec 25, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, How Did You Do That?, Lessons Learned, Spain

The original plan: get to Madrid from Barcelona on an affordable overnight bus, saving one night's cash on our hostel (they're relatively more expensive here: ~$15-$20 USD a night!). Unfortunately, I learned the hard way (in other words, almost at the last minute)...

It’s Art & Lovely In Barcelona

by Calvin Sun | Dec 24, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fail, Lessons Learned, Spain

With every passing minute in Barcelona, beauty unravels before us. Except that the word "beautiful" doesn't really aptly describe it. "Beautiful" connotes a fleeting idea, a word which doesn't challenge one to look beyond a surface. I would say Barcelona is lovely....

Game Changers: Food In Barcelona

by Go Yang Park | Dec 24, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Spain

- The dinner last night was amazing and changed the way I feel about food. I'm not much of a foodie; I'll eat pretty much anything in an effort to not be hungry. I dunno if it was the champagne (Spanish sparkling wine), the happiness of finding Ines after...

“Why Is This Food SO Good?!”

by Calvin Sun | Dec 24, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, How Did You Do That?, Spain, The Nightlife

So this is how last night started: And how it ended: At jam-packed local favorite (and hole in the wall..which is exactly what I was in the mood for!), El Xampanyet, the meal started off with delicious Spanish sparkling wine...

Sagrada Barcelona

by Calvin Sun | Dec 23, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Public Transportation, Spain, What Dreams May Come

The Sagrada Familia of Barcelona is without a doubt the crown jewel of Iberia; the last great masterpiece of the artistic genius Antoni Gaudi. The only thing that I can compare it to is the Hagia Sophia of Istanbul, but we can't really compare the two just yet...

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