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...

Lake Atitlan

by Calvin Sun | Nov 25, 2011 | Fit for Foodies, Guatemala, How Did You Do That?, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Public Transportation, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

About a month ago I was still debating where I wanted to go for Thanksgiving weekend. To make a long story short, it was seeing a picture of Guatemala's Lake Atitlan that helped me decide. Consistently rated as one of the top 2 things to see in all of Central...

An “Alternative” Layover In Miami

by Calvin Sun | Nov 24, 2011 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Fit for Foodies, Florida, Layovers, The Nightlife

First hour in Miami: Skipped the line to get inside Miami's legendary Mansion nightclub. And it just happened to be on the same night as famous world DJ and music producer Steve Aoki's 34th birthday. You bet it was a layover to remember: ...

Meet The Turkeys; To Central America!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 23, 2011 | Introductions, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Pre-travel Preparations

After the obligatory medical school exam or two (k the one I took today was pretty rough), I'm once again off to the airport for our next blitzkrieg: Guatemala and Belize in 5 days. Freedom has never tasted sweeter. Before we begin, please welcome our 3 new...

“The World’s Most Dangerous Countries”

by Calvin Sun | Nov 18, 2011 | Mythbusters, Post-travel Reflections, Pre-travel Preparations, Publicity, Travel Warnings

Travel and Leisure came out with a list of 15 of the world's "most dangerous countries." Out of that list, we've already recently been to 3 of them, dallied on the border of 2 others and are planning to go to 2-3 more within the year. In our experience, some of them...

Last Minute Trip For Thanksgiving!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 8, 2011 | November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Our Next Adventure, Pre-travel Preparations, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

The original plan was to do Spain, Morocco, and Portugal this winter as my next trip. But not so; the travel bug bites again. And we have new travel partners joining us this time! What I'm doing in 5 days:

Our Interview On Radio Freedom!

by Calvin Sun | Oct 26, 2011 | Publicity, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Does this make us famous? We go on at the 64:00 and the interview lasts about an hour. We talk about how we pay for our travel, where my favorite places are, and of course getting into North Korea as an American.

A Plane Crash In Nepal

by Calvin Sun | Sep 25, 2011 | Crisis, Nepal, Post-travel Reflections

About 2 months ago I was extolling the wonders of seeing Mount Everest with my own eyes. I woke up today to read that the same Beechcraft 1900D turboprop airplane I had been on just crashed a few hours ago, killing all onboard: 2 Americans, 10 Indians, 6 Nepalese, and...

So What’s After North Korea?

by Calvin Sun | Sep 18, 2011 | Our Next Adventure, Pre-travel Preparations

It's hard to live up to the stunts we pulled in North Korea. But that doesn't mean we're going to quit while we're ahead! What we're planning for the next year (FYI, I didn't take these photos, because...well...I haven't gone there yet):

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