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

Dear Daughters,

by Calvin Sun | August 15, 2026 | Post-travel Reflections, What Dreams May Come, You're Going to Miss It... | 4 Comments

Dear daughters, In a rare moment of peace as your mom was recovering in the PACU and you were down the hall in the NICU, I found myself thinking about everyone over the years who made judgments about my lifestyle and said to my face: "Sure, you've been to every...

We Had Twins

by Calvin Sun | July 26, 2026 | Crisis, Doctor in the House, Let me tell you a Story..., Serendipitous!, United States, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come | 0 Comments

Identical twins. This was a birth by a thousand cuts. A story as old as time, for two lives as new as right now, where spontaneity gets sandwiched between a relentless tango with death. They were born after one of the hardest chapters of our lives: a rare...

Tomorrowland Babies

by Calvin Sun | July 25, 2026 | Festivals | 0 Comments

Four Tomorrowlands in, and this is the first I'll be writing about a trip I planned without having gone. What gives? It's not as if I didn't want to: Right as 40+ of my monsooners were heading off to Belgium, I was in a hospital room in Queens, meeting my...

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...

Yangon/Rangoon In Myanmar/Burma

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 26, 2011 | Fail, Myanmar, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

As for the aforementioned goals: Got some cash out and changed them to dollars [check]. Couldn't get my flight changed to the next day [not check]. (Sorry Annah!!!!) Interesting side story: I told a security guard I was looking for the flight to Burma, and he just...

Sri Lanka Vs. India

by Calvin Sun | Jul 26, 2011 | India, Mythbusters, Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

There's this unfair stereotype that while India is crazy and frenetic, just emerging on the developed world, Sri Lanka always would remain one step behind. I have friends who enjoy (playfully, nothing too serious) stereotyping Sri Lanka's "tagalong", "little brother"...

Sri Lanka-KL?-Myanmar

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 25, 2011 | Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

I have a 3 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur today. If all goes well, I'll be able to 1. get my traveller's cheques changed into american dollars (which is the only currency Myanmar accepts) 2. get my second flight changed to the next day and get to spend time with Annah...

Da-Da-Dagobas: Anuradhapura

by Calvin Sun | Jul 25, 2011 | Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Simply put, Anuradhapura is slightly more impressive than Polonnaruwa, but that's not saying much if I'm using the word "slightly." The dagobas are undeniably awesome and the ruins are less maddening (probably because there's less of them to see), but otherwise...

Poor Polonnaruwa

by Calvin Sun | Jul 24, 2011 | Let me tell you a Story..., Sri Lanka, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

If this is your first time exploring ruins, Polonnaruwa is a great introduction. But if you've already have had your fair share of ruin-rompin', Polonnaruwa can feel exhausting. Unlike the grandeur of Angkor Wat or the immaculately preserved nature of Borobudur...

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...

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