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,...

Thailand In A Nutshell

by Calvin Sun | Jun 27, 2010 | Doctor in the House, Fit for Foodies, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand

Thailand. Consider it famous, consider it infamous: It's the dream tourist capital of Southeast Asia. From the quieter "Rose of the North" in Chiang Mai to the cramped hustlin' n' bustlin' of Bangkok, Thailand has something for everyone.One day you're trekking along...

Some Special Taxi Experiences

by Annah Kim | Jun 27, 2010 | Fail, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand, Uncategorized Stories, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Before I begin, this photo was too good to pass up. I know that it may not be the most sensitive or politically correct item to post - but I'm here to share my experiences and not all of them turn out to be 100% politically sensitive. So, Bangkok is...

30 hours In Bangkok

by Calvin Sun | Jun 27, 2010 | Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand, The Nightlife

Just very quickly: We're about to board a plane to Penang, Malaysia after only 30 hours in Bangkok. Despite the short time spent here, we got a very good idea of the city: Big giant buddhas, traffic congestion, supreme mass of humanity, huge wats, upscale really...

Quick Update: Night In Bangkok

by Annah Kim | Jun 26, 2010 | Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand

So- it's after 3am and I'm pretty exhausted. I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning to give a full run-down with videos of today's activities, but I just wanted to let you know that we successfully had a full night in Bangkok. We started at the Mandarin Hotel -...

In Bangkok

by Calvin Sun | Jun 26, 2010 | Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand

We're in Bangkok now. Our worried parents would send to us images of riots and burning cars when we arrived . . . But we saw none of that.

Surviving Myanmar/Burma

by Calvin Sun | Jun 25, 2010 | Epiphanies on the Road, How Did You Do That?, Myanmar, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand

So we did it. Any concerned mommy and daddy of the Western world would wag their finger at their little 'uns for even entertaining the idea of a trip into Myanmar. Why? It's one of the most secluded police states in the world, run by a military junta, and simply...

A Few Hours In Burma

by Annah Kim | Jun 25, 2010 | Myanmar, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

You can obtain a day-pass into the Burmese town of Myareddy from the Thailand Mae Sot, Tak border for 600 Thai Bhat. We made an early trip over and here are a few videos from the excursion. Crossing the Border: Burmese Neighborhood: Burmese School:

The Thing About Squat Toilets

by Calvin Sun | Jun 24, 2010 | Fail, Myanmar, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Thailand, Uncategorized Stories

I had been a little worried that so far during this trip, we haven't been able to share some particularly embarrassing stories. But earlier this afternoon I had a terrible experience with a squat toilet that can be nominated for the stupid award. Set up: At...

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