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...

Love In The Time Of Corona/COVID-19 — Lockdowns & Phase Two

by Calvin Sun | Jun 24, 2020 | Crisis, Introspection, New York

Phase 2 of our reopening has begun, and with our infection rates continuing to decline here in NYC, the irony is not lost on me that profound changes happened to us even when we were trapped in stasis. During the past 3 months since March 20th — the country’s...

Love In The Time Of Corona/COVID-19 — Phase One

by Calvin Sun | Jun 8, 2020 | New York

“Ships are safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.”After 78 days of a lockdown and 100 days since our first confirmed case of COVID-19, NYC begins Phase 1 of reopening today. What felt like a COVID tornado outside our harbor in April has...

Love In the Time of Corona/COVID-19 – The Step Outside

by Calvin Sun | May 25, 2020 | Pre-travel Preparations

As we mourn those that we've lost, so must we make efforts looking forward without dishonoring the sacrifices made. The world does not wait. It’s been nearly 2 weeks since I wrote about deciding when it would be prudent to begin heading outside more...

Announcing the World Premiere of our Short Film on Egypt 2019!

by Calvin Sun | May 21, 2020 | Egypt, Post-travel Reflections, You're Going to Miss It...

TLDR: The Monsoon Diaries has always been at the intersection of ethical healthcare + travel for a global community. As we continue to provide updates on the ground for COVID-19, we also must take steps to rebuilding a future and life of responsible and affordable...

Love In the Time of Corona/COVID-19 — Going On Offense & Silent Hypoxia

by Calvin Sun | May 14, 2020 | Crisis, Doctor in the House, New York

PSA: It's time to play offense on COVID-19 About 9 weeks ago I had written how in the middle of the tsunami of the first wave, the safest assumption (with the relative little information we had) at the time was that one should come to the ER only if they had a life...

Love In The Time Of Corona/COVID-19 — The End Of The First Wave

by Calvin Sun | May 7, 2020 | Crisis, Epiphanies on the Road, Introspection, New York, Post-travel Reflections

Stepped outside in the middle of my ER shift on Monday, April 13th to take a moment to myself when a passerby with a camera happened to be at the right place at the right time:I needed to breathe. I needed to know if I was still alive.A few weeks later and...

Love In The Time Of Corona/COVID-19 – The Plateau

by Calvin Sun | Apr 9, 2020 | Crisis, Doctor in the House

A PSA on what "Plateau'ing" really means for us. (TLDR: things seem to be calmer this week in the ER, but #dontfuckitup and #keepstayingthefuckhome) That things are getting "better" is a relative statement: You put sugar on poop, it's still poop...

Love In The Time Of Corona/COVID-19: Testing

by Calvin Sun | Mar 18, 2020 | Crisis, Doctor in the House

My PSA on COVID-19 testing: UNLESS it’s a life or limb threatening emergency (eg you need oxygen or ventilatory support), DO NOT GO TO, OR GET ROUTINE COVID-19 TESTING IN AN ER!!! What a week it’s been — I’ve worked the past 10 days in 7 different ERs in NYC....

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