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,...

From Philadelphia Through The Deserts Of Jordan

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

This morning we explored the handful of sights in what was formerly known as the ancient city of Philadelphia, which housed one of the largest public forums and theaters of the Roman Empire. Now Philadelphia has become downtown Amman, where the sights (King...

Understanding a Moment In Amman

by Calvin Sun | Jun 19, 2011 | Epiphanies on the Road, Introspection, Jordan, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come

We are the only two foreigners. Scratch that -- the only two Asians in a sea of local Jordanians and other Arabians. In a balcony cafe awash with the perfumed smoke of nargile, we overlook the quiet chaos of downtown Amman. For a moment, everything seems...

The Palestinian Refugee Camps

by Calvin Sun | Jun 19, 2011 | Introspection, Lebanon, Mythbusters, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

It's semantics. In India, poorer neighborhoods where Indians live are called "slums." In Lebanon, poorer neighborhoods where Palestinians live are called "refugee camps." Yet I saw no evidence of what the media conjures up for us: there we no tents in the...

From Beirut To The Deserts Of Amman

by Calvin Sun | Jun 19, 2011 | Jordan, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Some leftover from our last hours in Beirut: After an uneventful flight from Beirut to Amman, and the standard passport etiquette (20 JOD for a visa on arriva, which is $28.71 USD!), we decided to save some money by taking the airport shuttle (3...

Beirut, Baalbek, And Hezbollah

by Calvin Sun | Jun 18, 2011 | Lebanon, Let me tell you a Story..., Mythbusters, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come

Beirut: A cosmopolitan city policed by carbine-armed soldiers, where Ferraris and BMWs park next to armored tanks, and where glass-paned high-end boutique shops neighbor derelict husks of concrete bombed out by a 10 year old conflict. There are military...

Airport FUN

by Stephanie Quan | Jun 18, 2011 | Crisis, Fail, Lebanon, Lessons Learned, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea

Now that I'm in Lebanon, I can tell you about entering. Upon arriving in Beirut, I was asked to fill out the visa information. Not knowing the address of the hotel, (Calvin had made the reservations and was coming in on a later flight) I left that part blank. Passport...

Entering Lebanon

by Calvin Sun | Jun 17, 2011 | Lebanon, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, The Nightlife

"Sir, have you ever visited Israel?" "Never." "OK, go." I know this routine. I've heard about it ever since I started traveling. The rule is that if you ever been to Israel and show evidence of it with a stamp in your passport, you're assumed to believe that Israel is...

My Favorite Person In Istanbul

by Stephanie Quan | Jun 17, 2011 | Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Türkiye (Turkey)

Meet Ahmet! He's 7 months old and just too cute. His mother (in the background) rigged up a camera battery charger for me from another type of charger. Brilliant! And amazing in a touristy area where most people will just try to sell you a charger for way too...

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