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,...

Sainte-Anne-versary

by Calvin Sun | Jan 9, 2022 | January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Martinique

If I’m in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo. It’s our last day but that doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of it! After a night off and following morning at Pigeon Island,...

Landed Like a Pigeon Island

by Calvin Sun | Jan 8, 2022 | January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia

If I’m in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo. Today we rested up at Pigeon Island, an islet located in Gros Islet in the northern region of Saint Lucia. Once...

Find a Pot of “Marigot” At The End of the Rainbow

by Calvin Sun | Jan 7, 2022 | January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia

After a day by the Pitons, we set sails later in the evening for Marigot Bay, often described as 'the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean'. A historic landmark, Marigot Bay has been the site of a number of battles between the French and the British...

No “Soufriere”-ing By The Pitons

by Calvin Sun | Jan 6, 2022 | January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia, What Dreams May Come

If I’m in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo. Survivors of the reckoning. This morning we cruised down the west coast of St Lucia towards Soufriere, home to the famous...

Saint Lu”cia-l Away” to Rodney Bay

by Calvin Sun | Jan 5, 2022 | January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia

If I’m in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo.Despite the shenanigans of our comedy of errors of traveling in the middle of Omicron, we still woke up to beautiful mornings. Even Umbi, who...

Ad-“Marin” du View

by Calvin Sun | Jan 3, 2022 | Crisis, Doctor in the House, January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Martinique

If I'm in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo.We had expected that similar to our last time with them in Sardinia it would involve a frenzy of check-ins, security deposits, last minute provisional...

Getting Out of Omicron City to Fort-de-France, Martinique

by Calvin Sun | Jan 2, 2022 | Doctor in the House, Fail, January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Martinique

If I'm in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo.It's time for another joint journey with The Yacht Week on our second collaboration together, this time for a much smaller excursion to visit Martinique...

“Cayman,” What Are You Waiting For?

by Calvin Sun | Dec 10, 2021 | Cayman Islands, December 2021: Cayman Islands

I need to use the last of these before they expire! #firstworldproblems As the Cayman Islands were beginning to allow foreign visitors again for its Phase 4 of reopening during the pandemic, I wanted to get in before the high season began in mid...

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