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...

Being Sore For Mysore: 3rd Sex’es, History, And Bollywood Gardens

by Calvin Sun | Aug 5, 2010 | India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Took an early morning bus to Mysore yesterday, which ended up being a long daytrip to Srirangapatnam (if you're a history buff, you'd recognize it) and Brindavan Gardens (if you're a Bollywood fan, you'd recognize it) as well. Got back at midnight and I'm pretty...

Fate: A Summary Of Traveling In India

by Calvin Sun | Aug 3, 2010 | Epiphanies on the Road, India, Serendipitous!, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Nightlife, Uncategorized Stories

Is it weird or a coincidence or simply fate that 2 strangers you meet in Hampi by accident (simply by asking "is that temple closed?" end up heading in the same direction as you to Goa via the same train and staying at the same hotel with you for the next 5...

Goa-nd Get Outta Town!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 3, 2010 | How's the weather?, India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Uncategorized Stories

So I'm hanging out by the pool at Cavala Hotel in Baga, and the following, very weird exchange takes place between me and this Indian girl from Delhi (she's in a weird hybrid one-piece/two-piece bikini with a glass of Long Island Iced Tea in her hand...probably...

Monsoonal Goa

by Calvin Sun | Aug 2, 2010 | How's the weather?, India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, What Dreams May Come

They always ask: "You've been to India? Did you go to Goa?" and I always say "no." In fact, I wasn't planning to go to Goa on this trip until 4 days ago when I met an Indian family on my train to Hyderabad. They urged me to go. So while I was in Hampi, my...

Still in Goa

by Calvin Sun | Aug 1, 2010 | India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Internet won't let me upload photos...but I've seen some of the most gorgeous sceneries of nature since Indonesia...or Vietnam...or...the hundreds of other places I've set my eyes upon this trip. Check back tomorrow for images of monsoonal clouds by the beach,...

Goa

by Calvin Sun | Jul 31, 2010 | How's the weather?, India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Goa, I'm finally here.

Magical Hampi

by Calvin Sun | Jul 30, 2010 | How's the weather?, India, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Public Transportation, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, What Dreams May Come

Hampi is a place that should be described visually, not with words. Or with music:Press play. And then start reading. I brought you something close to me,Left for something you see though your here.You haunt my dreamsThere's nothing to do but...

Blessed By Lakshmi The Elephant; Mugged By Rahul The Monkey

by Calvin Sun | Jul 29, 2010 | How Did You Do That?, India, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Public Transportation, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, What Dreams May Come

Hampi's not quite direct to reach. I had to take a grueling overnight mosquito-ridden 11 hour bus to Hospet from Hyderabad (450 rupees), a 10 minute auto-rickshaw to the bus stand (5 rupees if you get in the early morning), and then a 45 minute public bus ride...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »