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,...

Dreaming Of Batad

by Calvin Sun | Jun 5, 2010 | Epiphanies on the Road, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Philippines, What Dreams May Come

I once dreamt of being in Batad, only to be awoken by the din of NYC traffic outside my window.2 months later I'm waking up in Batad, looking out a window into the rice terraces that stretch like a stairway to heaven. To dream a dream created by...

Manila’s Chinese Cemetery

by Calvin Sun | Jun 3, 2010 | Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Philippines

Today we trekked to the Chinese Cemetery, which has to be one of my favorite places so far in Manila. Other than the fact it was completely serene and separated from mayhem of Manila, there was nobody around except the 3 of us and a few dogs. Plus, a light...

Review On Filipino Food

by Annah Kim | Jun 3, 2010 | Fit for Foodies, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Walked 7.2 miles today according to my pedometer Adobos: a classic Filipino dish of chicken and pork, in our case just chicken, cooked with garlic and rice. Pretty tasty but nothing too exceptional. Halo-Halo: This fantastic Filipino dessert with ube ice cream (taro),...

Fail Again.

by Calvin Sun | Jun 2, 2010 | Fail, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Philippines

Before I begin, thanks to Nilam Patel, I was unaware that the pictures in the last entry only linked to its own thumbnail instead of the full size. That problem has now been fixed. So check out my favorite pictures such as: BADASS GIRL and CHILDREN.I also...

Late Night And Calvin’s Fail

by Annah Kim | Jun 2, 2010 | Fail, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Nightlife, The Philippines

After the epic journey across and throughout Manila, we had a change of scenery and socioeconomic environments and went out with a friend of Calvin's - Shyama - who took us around to her favorite bars and clubs. At Pier 1, this bar that used to be shaped like a boat,...

Food & Drinks In Manila

by Calvin Sun | Jun 2, 2010 | Fit for Foodies, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Philippines

Some thoughts on the food I had in Manila.Chicken Adobo - Aristocrat Restaurant; Roxas Blvd & Mabini RoadThe famous "Chicken Adobo" of the Philippines attempted at one of the most popular restaurants in the city. I have to say, despite a very full flavor, it was...

Manila In One Day

by Calvin Sun | Jun 2, 2010 | Lessons Learned, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Philippines

ENTRY UPDATED: Pictures now link to full size....So today after 12.26 (we got a pedometer!) miles of walking, we managed to hit up: Rizal Park, the Site of Rizal's execution, Intramuros, Casa Manila, San Augustin Church, Fort Santiago, Rizal Shrine, Manila...

Long Day 2 In Manila

by Annah Kim | Jun 2, 2010 | Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, The Philippines

Day 2 in the Philippines: After my pickpocketing issue this morning, I came to this wonderful Internet cafe to email my mother and contact my cousin. My cousin's response was an immediate burst into hysterical laughter and then an inquiry into what exactly the...

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