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,...

Kathmandu. Holy Crap.

by Stephanie Quan | Jun 24, 2011 | Nepal, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

In a shisha bar listening to a band cover Pink Floyd. It may be low tourist season, but I'm having a ball. Momos, monkey temples, monsoon rains...pictures to come.

Cared for By Dubai, Winded By Kathmandu

by Calvin Sun | Jun 23, 2011 | Nepal, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, United Arab Emirates, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

Our 16 hours in Dubai was no less than magical. It completely reaffirmed my belief in humanity; that there are people in the world who trust in the goodness of others and will help each other in realizing their personal legends. Our 16 hours here demonstrated...

Dubai: “Because We Can.”

by Stephanie Quan | Jun 23, 2011 | Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, United Arab Emirates

"If there is one thing I want you take away from this trip", Calvin's friend Mona said leaning around the taxi passenger seat, "it is that there are beautiful soulful people here. People who want to create and do good." Having spent the hour and a half getting...

Syria, Arab Spring, And Dubai

by Calvin Sun | Jun 22, 2011 | Jordan, Lessons Learned, Let me tell you a Story..., Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Mythbusters, Serendipitous!, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Travel Warnings, United Arab Emirates

Syria: Not gonna happen. They're not gonna let visa-less Americans through the border, and they won't be issuing any new visas at the embassy for a few weeks. I tried. I failed. Wop Wop. Maybe next time. I ended up stopping by a protest, however, while on the...

The Bedouin

by Stephanie Quan | Jun 22, 2011 | Jordan, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

While taking pictures of the Monestary, I heard clop clop behind me. I turned around to find Abobad, a Bedouin selling donkey rides. Even though he was wearing a cowboy hat with a fringed leather jacket, he was somehow not the most eccentric Bedouin I had...

Petra By Day

by Calvin Sun | Jun 21, 2011 | Crisis, How's the weather?, Jordan, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

Can't help but contextualize this entry with this classic scene from a classic movie: As if last night's awe-inspiring moment wasn't enough, guess what the Treasury at Petra looks like by day: The road through Petra by day is unlike the quiet,...

Aicha

by Calvin Sun | Jun 21, 2011 | Introspection, Jordan, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

When I first heard Cheb Khaled's "Aisha," I had promised myself I would listen to it again whenver I reached the deserts of the Middle East. I always keep my promises. Comme si j'n'existais pas Elle est passee a cote de moi Sans un regard, Reine de Sabbat J'ai...

Where Do Dreams Come From? Petra

by Calvin Sun | Jun 20, 2011 | Jordan, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come

My turn: If an experience is unwriteable, how about a place? Or how about a place at a specific moment of the day? Far far from a tourist trap, Petra by Night is something everyone has to do at least once in their lives. You take one of the most beautiful...

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