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...

Moving On From Hyderabad To Hampi

by Calvin Sun | Jul 29, 2010 | Epiphanies on the Road, How Did You Do That?, India, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Took a sleeper bus direct from Hyderabad to Hospet (450 rupees for AC sleeper, regular seat), where I then boarded a public bus to Hampi (5 rupees) that morning.It was very difficult to leave. I forgot to elaborate how I stayed in a famous art gallery...

Good Company In Hyderabad

by Calvin Sun | Jul 28, 2010 | Epiphanies on the Road, India, Serendipitous!, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

I don't think I will remember Hyderabad for its beautiful sights like Charminar or the Buddha Temple. Instead, I will take with me from Hyderabad a group of amazing people and new friends, from the unceasing hospitality of Saraswati and her sister Madhurya, to...

Mozzies!

by Calvin Sun | Jul 27, 2010 | India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

So my bus to Hampi never existed and I'll be leaving tomorrow instead. Still hanging out at the Indian School of Business.BTW, what kind of mosquito manages to find a way to bite you in the butt?I'll spare you the picture.

Back On The Road…With A Lot Of Pretty Pictures

by Calvin Sun | Jul 26, 2010 | How's the weather?, India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Uncategorized Stories

So I'm back on the road, hanging out with my friend Vaibhav (the same Vaibhav that helped me book a place when I was in Calcutta a week ago) and his classmates at the Indian School of Business, which is an hour from the city center of Hyderabad. It's good to get...

The Trip Resumes Tonight!

by Calvin Sun | Jul 25, 2010 | Epiphanies on the Road, India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Nightlife

I wake up in what feels like a morning after a night of excess. Saw a seedier underbelly of this city last night. I can't write details, but just imagine a toned down version of Trainspotting in Mumbai. As a casual observer, I found it to be a...

Flashback To Mumbai 2009

by Calvin Sun | Jul 23, 2010 | India, Malaysia, Public Transportation, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Since I am just simply RELAXING in Mumbai, taking a break from city-hopping and picture taking, I feel bad for those of you who are asking me to put up pictures of what Mumbai looks like through my camera. Well, the good part is that I've been here before and...

Lazy Mumbai

by Calvin Sun | Jul 22, 2010 | How's the weather?, India, Serendipitous!, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Really nothing to update you on except I'm still reading books, saw some incoming Columbia students at a send-off event, and enjoying the 10 feet of monsoonal rains every 10 minutes. It's a good time to rest in Mumbai. . . . Below is the annual Columbia...

Finally In Mumbai

by Calvin Sun | Jul 21, 2010 | India, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Now that I'm safe and sound in the home of my college friend, Avanti Maluste, I can take my time to recuperate and rest before resuming my journey in Hyderabad. I managed to finally hunker down and read; I managed to finish Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid...

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