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...

Meet The Monsooners To Iraq, Jordan, & Egypt!

by Calvin Sun | Feb 28, 2022 | Introductions

No matter what happens, I am grateful to know I live in a world where even if I'm heading to a place like Syria or Iraq, a wonderful group of great people would join me.Due to the security clearances for USA passport holders taking longer than we had expected, I...

Meet The Monsooners to French Polynesia, Tahiti, & Bora Bora!

by Calvin Sun | Feb 12, 2022 | Introductions

We're doing it again. After the enormous success of our first partnered trip with The Yacht Week last September, and then less than 4 months later with TYW for Saint Lucia & Martinique, we return with TYW to Tahiti in 2 months.Our return...

The New Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge at New Istanbul Airport

by Calvin Sun | Feb 7, 2022 | Belgium, December 2025 Annex: Niger, Flying Fancy, Layovers, Serendipitous!, Türkiye (Turkey)

I like full circles. So 10 and a half years ago I took this photo: This week I'm back: And unlike 28 hours in its airport, I decided to spend 28 hours outside of it to see how my feelings of Istanbul may have changed. Nothing to...

Refa-Mali-arizing Ourselves with Bamako

by Calvin Sun | Feb 2, 2022 | Camping, Fail, February 2022: Mali, Mali, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After breakfast in Segou, we made an early start back to the capital of Bamako. Mali is one of the few places I know of that requires a negative PCR test for COVID-19 to leave the country (within 72 hours of departure). So in preparation for our...

I Dream Of Djénné

by Calvin Sun | Jan 31, 2022 | February 2022: Mali, Mali, What Dreams May Come

You need to wake up at 6am for a day like this. After an early breakfast in San this morning, we began a long 3 hour drive to Djenne – known as the ‘capital of mud’. After crossing a few military checkpoints getting into Djenne,...

“San”-yonara Segou!

by Calvin Sun | Jan 30, 2022 | February 2022: Mali, Mali

After a late 10am breakfast at our hotel in Segou, we further explored a Somono neighbourhood – a place filled with adobe mud brick buildings, a traditional architectural style house found mostly in Segou that help keep the family inside cool during intense...

Gone in 60 “Segou”-nds

by Calvin Sun | Jan 29, 2022 | February 2022: Mali, Mali

After minimal sleep getting in last night, we tried to enjoy an 8am breakfast at our hotel in Bamako where everyone finally got to meet for the first time. By 8:30 am we began our 4 hour drive to Segou, a town built on the banks of the Niger...

28 Hours in IST Airport for Bamako, Mali

by Calvin Sun | Jan 28, 2022 | Border Crossing, February 2022: Mali, Flying Fancy, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Layovers, Mali, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

It was a surprisingly easy visa acquisition last week at the local consulate to Mali in the Upper East Side of NYC. They didn’t even ask for my flight itinerary or a copy of yellow fever vaccine as suggested on their website. All I had needed to drop off...

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