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...

Bangkok, Thailand

by Annah Kim | May 28, 2010 | Thailand

If we ever actually make it to Thailand, my violin teacher gave me this awesome coupon for a free green sapphire stone?!

T-Minus 4 Days and Counting

by Calvin Sun | May 27, 2010 | Pre-travel Preparations, United States

T-minus 4 days and there are a few things left to do: - Drop off Health Forms for med school- Find places to stay in Manila- Get 4 passport pictures- Go drug store shopping to get: toilet paper, sunblock, band-aids, halls sore throat lozenges, soap cover- Finish up...

Visas, Visas, Visas

by Annah Kim | May 27, 2010 | Getting that VISA, Pre-travel Preparations, Uncategorized Stories, United States

Due to extenuating circumstances, I had to do a "one-day visa" down in NYC at the outsourcing company for Indian visas instead of via mail. Drop off paperwork at 10:20 am, come back at 5:30... Because they're an outsourcing company, they had to wait for the...

Shot Shot Shot Shot

by Calvin Sun | May 26, 2010 | Doctor in the House, Pre-travel Preparations, United States

Today I get my second booster for the Japanese B Encephalitis immunization, which those of you who haven't had the pleasure of having it yet, is one of those shots that leaves your arm sore for a whole 3 days. I'd say that's worth it since the following symptoms...

Words Of Caution

by Calvin Sun | May 25, 2010 | Pre-travel Preparations, Uncategorized Stories, United States

So the other day I get the following 10 pictures from my aunt, with the subject title.... Don't Try Bottled Drinks in these Asian Countries accompanied by the following few text messages from my mother: 5/11/10: "News Warning , do not enter...

We’re Launching!

by Calvin Sun | May 24, 2010 | Pre-travel Preparations, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, United States

Look around...the layout has changed! Thanks to Brian Foo of GiveLoop, we have a new design, so have fun exploring! I'll be working out the kinks in the meantime, but I guess with a week away from departure, we can finally give this blog a proper welcome. In the...

Celebrate In Hanoi!

by Annah Kim | May 18, 2010 | Pre-travel Preparations, The Nightlife, Vietnam

Something exciting to see! "Anniversary events begin this summer. A huge mural depicting Hanoi's history will wrap around the Temple of Literature; the ugly dike road paralleling the Red River will be renewed with colorful mosaics. Festivities climax over the ten days...

New Camera!

by Calvin Sun | May 6, 2010 | Pre-travel Preparations, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India

Got my new camera! Will be doing a review of it once I get the hang of this bad boy. In the meantime, here's a preview of the kind of pictures you can expect from the trip.

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