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...

You’re Going to Miss … Martinique, Saint Lucia & Guadeloupe

by Calvin Sun | Jan 20, 2022 | Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, You're Going to Miss It...

If the photo is really really professional looking, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo.PRESS play and read the post with the music . . . “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A....

The Pointe-Á-Pitre is to Guade”loupe” You In

by Calvin Sun | Jan 10, 2022 | Guadeloupe, January 2022: Martinique, St. Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

If I’m in the photo or the photo is really really professional, then the photography credit goes to Paul Woo. After 7 days on the water, we settled back in readjusting our sea legs onto our first bed on land. After checking out and saying our goodbyes to...

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...

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