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...

Barcelona Romance Fail

by Calvin Sun | Dec 23, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fail, Serendipitous!, Spain, Uncategorized Stories, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

My dad always wanted to come here. He had this idea that I would use my high school level Spanish to show the family around Spain and it would be a grand old time. Even though he never lived long enough to realize that dream, it's a nice full circle to be here...

Small Sad, Tiny Tragedy, Little Losses

by Go Yang Park | Dec 23, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fail, Lessons Learned

Ahh, the tragedy of hubris. I got my Frederic Fekkai shampoo and conditioner taken away from me at Newark...and now, like Superman to Kryptonite, my powers have been stripped. How will I gain access to extra treats on the plane, cutting in line, and...

The Calm Before The Storm…

by Calvin Sun | Dec 23, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Portugal

I know this isn't really considered "backpacking" at the moment but with all the frequent flyer miles/perks I've accumulated over the years, you just can't say no to free access to first class lounges...I admit it. I`m mortal and I caved. In Porto,...

Starting Off With Some “Good Luck”

by Calvin Sun | Dec 22, 2011 | Fail, Lessons Learned, Pre-travel Preparations

Currently at the airport and we've already had our first mini crisis. The other Calvin had his father buy his ticket for him a few months ago. Unfortunately, however, TAP Portugal airlines requires that in order for check-in, his father had to be present to produce...

Pack Attack

by Go Yang Park | Dec 22, 2011 | How Did You Do That?, Pre-travel Preparations, Spain, What to Pack

So this is how I packed for roughly 12 days in Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, and Morocco. The temperature ranges from 35 (F, at might) to 65 (F, during the day). I think I packed appropriately...

Beginner’s Luck

by Go Yang Park | Dec 21, 2011 | Pre-travel Preparations, United States

You know what I thought of the other day? If Calvin married a lady friend with the last name Moon (some Koreans have this surname) and she decided that she wanted to have both names registered as her surnames, she would be ***** Moon Sun. Or if she kept her...

Meet the Spanish Inquisition; This Trip Could Be The End Of Me

by Calvin Sun | Dec 17, 2011 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Introductions, Pre-travel Preparations

This is the true story... of 7 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. This is as...

The Kindness of Strangers: Belize

by Calvin Sun | Nov 29, 2011 | Belize, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Post-travel Reflections, Serendipitous!

No other country has left such a positive impression on our departure than Belize. I woke up this morning realizing for the very first time in my life, I could possibly miss a flight. Let me break down the math for you: It was about 7:45am and our flight...

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