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...

From Guatemala To Belize (11 Years In The Making)

by Calvin Sun | Nov 28, 2011 | Belize, Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, Fit for Foodies, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Pre-travel Preparations, Uncategorized Stories

The first time I've heard of Belize was when I was 14 years old. I was sitting on the 7 subway train coming into Manhattan and my friend Sara Yoo was sitting across from me when she looked at me in the eye and firmly declared: "I want to visit...

Stars And Sunrises: Tikal

by Calvin Sun | Nov 27, 2011 | Guatemala, How Did You Do That?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, What Dreams May Come

Random: Did you know that Tikal is the same place George Lucas chose to film Yavin IV (the location of the Rebel base) in Star Wars IV: A New Hope? Well, our version is prettier: Panoramas of Tikal by day: But the real...

“My God, It’s Full Of Stars.”

by Calvin Sun | Nov 26, 2011 | Guatemala, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, What Dreams May Come

A picture worth (a trillion) stars: More on this picture -- and another with a shooting star -- in the rest of this entry... Although I came for the sunrise above Tikal's famous Mayan ruins, it's afternoon light is no less impressive. It's been...

From Antigua To Tikal

by Calvin Sun | Nov 26, 2011 | Guatemala, Mythbusters, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize

Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage city rich with history (and foreign tourists), is known for many things. From its defining pastel facades to quaint cobblestone streets to the fact that it survived everything from wars to natural disasters, Antigua has come a...

Chickening Our Way To Antigua

by Calvin Sun | Nov 25, 2011 | Guatemala, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Public Transportation

Not sure if this is supposed to be an exit sign for hotel patrons or Justin Bieber: What we woke up to this morning at 6am: We begun our day with an early morning boat ride across the lake to to the west, which is off the beaten trail...

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...

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