The Monsoon Diaries: How to travel the world with no time or money -

Grenada Más

by Calvin Sun | November 4, 2025 | Grenada, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End | 0 Comments

🇬🇩 190 down. 3 to go. After our 3 day stay in Dominica, we took a long hour-and-a-half drive back to the airport from our Portsmouth lodgings, stopping for a quick photo opportunity along the way. Dominica's airport is tiny. You...

Dominica-n’t Miss This

by Calvin Sun | November 1, 2025 | Dominica, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

From St. Vincent, we boarded InterCaribbean Airways JY 717 at 12:20pm. Their new airport, however, was built just 8 years ago and still has some operational quirks. The staff double-printed my first leg itinerary from St. Vincent to Barbados without including...

Dead Men Tell No Layovers: St. Vincent & The Grenadines in 12 Hours

by Calvin Sun | October 29, 2025 | Layovers, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0 Comments

Fresh off a quick overnight in Grenada (courtesy of a free JetBlue voucher from last October's Welcome to Chinatown gala), we touched down at Maurice Bishop International Airport at 1:53pm. This marked the beginning of a 3-country Caribbean...

Getting Away With Robbinsville: The Akshardham Redemption

by Calvin Sun | October 6, 2025 | Camping, Layovers, New Jersey, October 2025: Camping in Robbinsville | 0 Comments

One of my more unique camping trips to have monsooned; this is what happens when you plan a camping trip months in advance just to visit a temple arguably worth seeing as a world-class destination. I was stuck at work all day Friday as Eddie took the initiative...

A Quick Halifax Check

by Calvin Sun | September 12, 2025 | Layovers, Lessons Learned, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Walking Tours | 0 Comments

After two days in Saint-Pierre (and a turbulent ferry ride to Miquelon and back), we boarded an hour-and-a-half direct Air Saint-Pierre 9am flight to Halifax, landing around 9:30am local time (Halifax runs an hour behind Saint-Pierre), Our onward...

Miquelon Impossible

by Calvin Sun | September 11, 2025 | Doctor in the House, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Sometimes the most spontaneous detours leave the strongest impressions. That morning in Saint Pierre, we hadn't planned on leaving the island. But after completing two walking tours around St. Pierre and checking the ferry schedule, we realized we could still...

48 Hours in a Little Saint-Pierre-ce of France

by Calvin Sun | September 11, 2025 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

After three days soaking in St. John's charm, we dropped off our rental car at YYT Saint John's airport to catch the rare 5pm direct flight (PH1127) via Air Saint-Pierre to Saint-Pierre & Miquelon: one of the few weekly connections between Newfoundland and...

Don’t Be Dildo-Dallying

by Calvin Sun | September 9, 2025 | Canada, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

While based in St. John's, we took a spontaneous day trip by rental car to the now-famous town of Dildo. You'll know when you arrive; they're incredibly proud of their distinctive name. Though a vocal minority has repeatedly raised referendums to...

St. John’s: The Eastern Edge of Everything Everywhere All At Once

by Calvin Sun | September 9, 2025 | Canada, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Months ago I decided to gift myself a week off after Labor Day...simply because I could. After a year as wild as this past one, I craved actual and intentional self-prioritization to restore some balance. Finding fares under $200, I booked a morning departure:...

Singapore Airlines Business Class FRA-JFK

by Calvin Sun | August 5, 2025 | Flying Fancy, Germany, Summer 2025: The Long Road to Berlin | 0 Comments

After a slow morning walk and talking about our villain (antihero?) origin stories in Berlin, I hugged Daniela and Gabe goodbye, hopped on the tram for a few stops, went underground for the metro, and made it back to the hostel in time for a 1:30pm check out. Nisha,...

Climbing The Lion: Sigiriya

by Calvin Sun | Jul 24, 2011 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Colombia, How Did You Do That?, Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come

No, not quite I meant! Today we attempted to hit 3 out of 4 of the cultural triangle "greats":Dambulla - for its cave templesSigiriya - for its foreboding magma rock from an extinct volcano.Polonnaruwa - for its archaelogical ruins of a former royal...

Sri Lanka

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 23, 2011 | Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

...is really pretty. That's all. Please look at Calvin's photos below for proof. Okay I need to expound a little. The landscape here looks untouched. The greens and yellows are vibrant. The red clay provides a great contrast. The skies are just the most perfect blue....

Sweet As Kandy

by Calvin Sun | Jul 22, 2011 | How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Let me tell you a Story..., Public Transportation, Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Walking Tours

Today we took a lazy early afternoon bus from Colombo to Kandy (121 Sri Lankan rupees), which although advertised to be 2.5 hours, actually took 4 hours. It was pretty uneventful, given that by now we're very used to cramped seats, smog, traffic, and open...

The Commando

by Calvin Sun | Jul 21, 2011 | Introspection, Let me tell you a Story..., Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Travel Warnings, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

He seemed stern at first. Upright posture, concentrating on the world around him without giving too much away. He is a special forces commando from the Sri Lankan military. "We're not allowed to talk about what we do, not even to our wives." I understand what he...

Nostalgic In Chennai & Colombo

by Calvin Sun | Jul 20, 2011 | Epiphanies on the Road, India, Introspection, Lessons Learned, Let me tell you a Story..., Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Serendipitous!, Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, The Nightlife

My last few hours in one of my favorite countries has been a riot. It seems fitting that India wouldn't let me down. Stephanie and I booked a flight out from Chennai to Sri Lanka at 10am the next morning, while Karen was flying out of Chennai to Kochin around...

South India In 2 Days & Auroville

by Calvin Sun | Jul 19, 2011 | Crisis, India, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Travel Warnings

Back on the road: literally hit the ground running. Stephanie, having no interest in seeing Madurai, stayed behind Mumbai an extra few hours while Karen and I headed to Madurai in the morning. After a stopover in Bangalore, we arrived at the "Taj Mahal of...

Pondicherry/Pondichery/Punducherry/Puducherry

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 19, 2011 | India, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

In an attempt to slow down, I decided to skip out on Calvin and Karen's Madurai adventure. Instead, I took a flight yesterday to Chennai and then a bus to Pondicherry. Woke up in Pondicherry this morning to a blackout. With no internet and no way to contact Calvin and...

The Dharavi Slum

by Calvin Sun | Jul 17, 2011 | Crisis, India, Introspection, Mythbusters, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

I learned today that in India, the word "slum" has an official definition where the land is owned by the government, and the property is owned by the people. Back when Mumbai was a port city and textile industry magnet, swaths of open land...

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