The Monsoon Diaries: How to travel the world with no time or money -

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...

The Coolest Hotel in Lapland (Literally)

by Calvin Sun | February 7, 2026 | February 2026: Lapland, Finland, How's the weather?, Lapland, What Dreams May Come | 0 Comments

After sneaking in some sugar donuts just in time before Kahvila Lohihovi Oy closed at 5pm, we continued our 2 hour drive south from Ylläs to the Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos, about 30 minutes north of Rovaniemi on the shores of Lake Lehtojärvi....

Ylläs Hear Me Out

by Calvin Sun | February 6, 2026 | February 2026: Lapland, Finland, How's the weather?, Lapland, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

How This Trip Happened On September 30, 2025, a monsooner named Yuhan — who's been on many trips with me — randomly invited me to watch her favorite anime that had a surprise 2-week return to theaters: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, originally released in 2006. I...

Sundance’s Last Dance: Park City, UT

by Calvin Sun | January 27, 2026 | How's the weather?, United States, Utah | 0 Comments

Once again we're gathering friends across time zones and milestones; some have flown in from Philly, others from NYC, one flying over from Dallas just for the weekend to make new friends, all converging together this week on a mountain town for a week of...

Gua-Wh-yaquil Always Travel

by Calvin Sun | Nov 8, 2022 | Ecuador, Fit for Foodies, Galápagos Islands, Layovers, Walking Tours

So what's life like after publishing your first book? Staying grounded for an abnormally long 3 months (it's not often you get a book out in the world!), I took the edge off with 2 weekends of camping. However, very little else...

Mykines: A Puffin Disney World

by Calvin Sun | Aug 27, 2022 | August 2023: The Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

As Bruce was leaving a day earlier, we took that as an opportunity to not only drop him off with a free ride to the airport on Vagar island and then continue onwards for 10:45am Ferry #36 at Sørvágur. Bruce's flight departure, however, was then delayed an hour,...

“Suðuroy” For a Day Trip To Beinisvørð

by Calvin Sun | Aug 27, 2022 | August 2023: The Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands

This morning we headed out for our 10:00am Ferry from Tórshavn to Tvøroyri. For a group size of 10 or more, we recommend booking ahead of time (at least 2 weeks) by emailing bilegging@ssl.fo for an inquiry. Because we had 7 folks in 2 cars, we booked online on...

No Time To Kalsoy

by Calvin Sun | Aug 25, 2022 | August 2023: The Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

Our road trip around the Faroe Islands continues! This morning we set off for the 40 minutes' drive to the village of Klaksvík on the island of Borðoy. On the way you'll drive through the world's first underwater roundabout of Eysturoyartunnilin -- ...

From West to “East”-uroy

by Calvin Sun | Aug 24, 2022 | August 2023: The Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands, What Dreams May Come

After a morning driving around Streymoy and from the city of Tjørnuvík, we turned back into the island of Eysturoy for 45 minute drive towards Gjógv, a village located on the northeast tip of the island and one of the best natural harbors in the Faroes. ...

Don’t “Strey”-moy Too Far Away!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 24, 2022 | August 2023: The Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands, What Dreams May Come

Good morning Tórshavn! From the capital city of Tórshavn, we set out at 10am after breakfast for the 15 minute drive up to the gorgeous mountain pass of Norðadalsskarð: We spent a good 10 minutes admiring this epic view before...

Vágar-bounds in Tórshavn

by Calvin Sun | Aug 23, 2022 | August 2023: The Faroe Islands, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Fit for Foodies, Flying Fancy, How Did You Do That?, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Apparently I can't just get enough of the Scandinavia hygge life after Svalbard. I'm now back on another lesser-visited Scandinavian island autonomous territory, during one of the most popular times to visit in the year when the weather stays (relatively)...

Meet the Faroese!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 18, 2022 | Introductions

No postponing this one; this one is actually coming earlier than I had originally anticipated. I came up with this trip idea only 2 and a half months ago et voila! 8 have signed up to join on a trip that I had been planning to save for retirement: The Faroe...

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