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...

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...

“Why So Cerros?” Verde National Park

by Calvin Sun | Nov 21, 2021 | El Salvador, November 2021: El Salvador, Weekend Trips

Sunsets and volcanoes: I'm a sucker for any variation of the combination.Today we began with a lazy morning taking turns obtaining negative test results for COVID-19 so we could return home. In lieu of visiting local clinics, I packed 7 BinaxNOW home test kits I...

Santa Ana Over To Tazumal

by Calvin Sun | Nov 20, 2021 | El Salvador, November 2021: El Salvador, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

After an early breakfast at 8am and disappointigly finding out that Joya de Ceren -- the Pompeii of El Salvador -- was temporarily closed for renovations, we instead set off for San Andres: a pre-Columbian site in El Salvador beginning in 900 BC and abandoned...

I Have So Much San Salvador-ation Right Now

by Calvin Sun | Nov 19, 2021 | El Salvador, Fit for Foodies, November 2021: El Salvador, Weekend Trips

El Salvador: a country long elusive from my grasp. Despite multiple layovers here on my voyages to and from South America, I never really ventured far beyond the airport and THAT DOES NOT COUNT as a visit. Now I'm setting things right again and making it a...

Meet the Monsooners to El Salvador!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 16, 2021 | Introductions

I made the announcement last week and within less than that, at least 6 monsooners will join me for a last minute arranged monsoon to my final country in Central America: El Salvador! Here are our next generation of monsooners: ...

Meet The Monsooners to St. Lucia & Martinique!

by Calvin Sun | Oct 18, 2021 | Introductions

After the enormous success of our first partnered trip with The Yacht Week last September, we return less than 4 months later with TYW for the Caribbean: Saint Lucia & Martinique. Umbi "Pretty Reasonable Skipper" Genovese: Returning again as our skipper after...

Mecca Wasn’t “Ta’if” on Us!

by Calvin Sun | Oct 14, 2021 | How Did You Do That?, October 2021: Saudi Arabia, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Saudi Arabia, Travel Warnings, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

Ta’if About a 2 hours’ drive north of Jeddah lies Ta’if. Located within the Mecca region and one of the oldest towns in Saudi Arabia, it has been famous for its rose production and views over Mecca itself: Along the way we stopped to say hi to the...

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