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...

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

by Calvin Sun | Jul 14, 2011 | India, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Travel Warnings

It's all over the news in India. A series of bombs went off in 3 separate areas of the city last night during rush hour, 2 of which were in popular areas that foreigners (including myself) regularly would travel through. If we arrived in Mumbai one day earlier, this...

The Beauty Of Relevance

by Calvin Sun | Jul 12, 2011 | Epiphanies on the Road, India, Introspection, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come

I am alone. The desert gales wash my naked chest, and my bare feet burrow into the heat of the earth. I bathe in breathing moonlight. For a moment I can see God moving over the face of the sands.And I see only the desert. I feel a slight night...

The Thar

by Calvin Sun | Jul 12, 2011 | Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, India, Jordan, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Although the Thar Desert isn’t the grand sand dunes you’d think of when it comes to deserts, it does have a few bright moments of smooth stretches of wind-sculpted sand. The famous Rajasthani desert safari gig can be made flexible from a half day trip to as...

Into The Desert: Jaisalmer

by Calvin Sun | Jul 11, 2011 | Camping, Doctor in the House, Fit for Foodies, How's the weather?, India, Let me tell you a Story..., Public Transportation, Serendipitous!, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Last year I was confronted with a choice between Udaipur or Jaisalmer given my limited time. In the end I chose Udaipur due to warnings that Jaisalmer was way too hot this time of year (55 degrees celsius?!). I think I had chosen wisely, not only due to the...

How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Train

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 10, 2011 | India, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

After yesterday's stressful afternoon, I had a really great train ride to Jodhpur. My berth mates were Jean Philipe and Ritesh. and we spent 4 hours chatting about everything, from school to weddings to caste systems. It was totally relaxing and really...

Keeping My Promises

by Calvin Sun | Jul 10, 2011 | Fit for Foodies, India, Introspection, Let me tell you a Story..., Serendipitous!, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Last year I dined at Indique Restaurant, while treated to gorgeous views of Meherangar Fort in Jodhpur. The problem was, I was alone: So I promised the next time I would be back, I would bring friends. And almost exactly one year later, destiny would...

Returning To Jodhpur

by Calvin Sun | Jul 9, 2011 | Fit for Foodies, India, Public Transportation, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Saying goodbye to Dharamsala with thalis and sunsets... And 12 hours later (via overnight bus) to Delhi... And a 1hr flight to Jodhpur. It's good to be back after a year. Jodhpur is the first place that I have returned to on this...

A Stressful Afternoon

by Stephanie Quan | Jul 9, 2011 | Crisis, Fail, India, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Okay. I'm being a little dramatic. But I also haven't eaten in almost 12 hours. Those of you who know me well are probably amazed I'm not completely comatose. Recap of yesterday afternoon: I saw cremations. They were really really interesting, but I don't think I've...

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