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...

The “Cabin-da” Woods: “We Are Not Ready For Tourism” | Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Cabinda!

by Calvin Sun | Mar 6, 2020 | Angola, Border Crossing, Cabinda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Doctor in the House, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, How Did You Do That?, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Unrecognized Territories, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Primer on CabindaFormerly known as "Portuguese Congo" and no larger than the state of Delaware, Cabinda is a curious little region sandwiched between the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Having endured a 30 year long struggle...

“Namibe”-tter Duo, I’ll Wait. Otherwise You Gotta “Lubango!”

by Calvin Sun | Mar 3, 2020 | Angola, Crisis, Epiphanies on the Road, Fail, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After some uneven back-and-forth kind of travel in the outskirts of Luanda yesterday, we "slept in" this morning until 8am before starting out day with a drive to Cacuaco for a stroll around a local fishing village. My gut feeling here was that since...

We Wanted To Go On A Safari, But Then They Told Us To “Kiss-ama” Ass!

by Calvin Sun | Feb 29, 2020 | Angola, Fail, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Not all travel days are going to be as perfect. After returning last night to Luanda, this morning we woke up bright and early at 6:30am for a drive to Kissama National Park, arriving there at 9am. Here in the park you supposedly can go on a...

“Andongo” Breakin’ My Heart In Pungo Andongo

by Calvin Sun | Feb 28, 2020 | Angola, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After an overnight stay by Calandula Falls and before beginning our return to the capital, we quickly took a morning dip at the local natural springs by the falls. After our dip, we then began our return drive back to the capital of...

A “Malanje” Of Memories: Calandula/Kalandula Falls & Kwanza Rapids

by Calvin Sun | Feb 27, 2020 | Angola, Doctor in the House, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

A little video I just quickly edited in of what we saw the past 48 hours: How did we get here? Well we began our journey yesterday morning, waking up early from Luanda at 4:30am for the slow 6am train heading towards the province of Malanje. We...

So We “Luanda”-ed Off: Shipwreck Beach (Praia do Sarico) & Angola Carnival!

by Calvin Sun | Feb 25, 2020 | Angola, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, Fit for Foodies, The Nightlife, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After our first day exploring and acclimating to Angola's capital of Luanda, this morning we woke up early at 6:30am and headed off to Shipwreck Beach (Praia do Sarico), the final resting place of long lost forgotten ships from all over the world. ...

Not All Who “Luanda” Are Lost . . .

by Calvin Sun | Feb 24, 2020 | Angola, Fail, February 2020: Angola & Cabinda, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Walking Tours

Angola: Once a Portuguese overseas territory from the 16th century to 1975, the country became infamous for becoming the staging ground for a brutal civil war (between the Soviets and an alliance of Western nations that ironically also included China...one of...

Meet The Monsooners To Syria!

by Calvin Sun | Feb 11, 2020 | 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, a wonderful group of great people would join me. What is life when 16 exceptional, self-actualized, forward thinking, culturally competent, and...

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