The Monsoon Diaries: How to travel the world with no time or money -

Dead Men Tell No Layovers: St. Vincent & The Grenadines in 12 Hours

by Calvin Sun | October 29, 2025 | Layovers, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0 Comments

Fresh off a quick overnight in Grenada (courtesy of a free JetBlue voucher from last October's Welcome to Chinatown gala), we touched down at Maurice Bishop International Airport at 1:53pm. This marked the beginning of a 3-country Caribbean...

Getting Away With Robbinsville: The Akshardham Redemption

by Calvin Sun | October 6, 2025 | Camping, Layovers, New Jersey | 0 Comments

One of my more unique camping trips to have monsooned; this is what happens when you plan a camping trip months in advance just to visit a temple arguably worth seeing as a world-class destination. I was stuck at work all day Friday as Eddie took the initiative...

A Quick Halifax Check

by Calvin Sun | September 12, 2025 | Layovers, Lessons Learned, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Walking Tours | 0 Comments

After two days in Saint-Pierre (and a turbulent ferry ride to Miquelon and back), we boarded an hour-and-a-half direct Air Saint-Pierre 9am flight to Halifax, landing around 9:30am local time (Halifax runs an hour behind Saint-Pierre), Our onward...

Miquelon Impossible

by Calvin Sun | September 11, 2025 | Doctor in the House, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Sometimes the most spontaneous detours leave the strongest impressions. That morning in Saint Pierre, we hadn't planned on leaving the island. But after completing two walking tours around St. Pierre and checking the ferry schedule, we realized we could still...

48 Hours in a Little Saint-Pierre-ce of France

by Calvin Sun | September 11, 2025 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

After three days soaking in St. John's charm, we dropped off our rental car at YYT Saint John's airport to catch the rare 5pm direct flight (PH1127) via Air Saint-Pierre to Saint-Pierre & Miquelon: one of the few weekly connections between Newfoundland and...

Don’t Be Dildo-Dallying

by Calvin Sun | September 9, 2025 | Canada, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

While based in St. John's, we took a spontaneous day trip by rental car to the now-famous town of Dildo. You'll know when you arrive; they're incredibly proud of their distinctive name. Though a vocal minority has repeatedly raised referendums to...

St. John’s: The Eastern Edge of Everything Everywhere All At Once

by Calvin Sun | September 9, 2025 | Canada, September 2025: Newfoundland to Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Months ago I decided to gift myself a week off after Labor Day...simply because I could. After a year as wild as this past one, I craved actual and intentional self-prioritization to restore some balance. Finding fares under $200, I booked a morning departure:...

Singapore Airlines Business Class FRA-JFK

by Calvin Sun | August 5, 2025 | Flying Fancy, Germany, Summer 2025: The Long Road to Berlin | 0 Comments

After a slow morning walk and talking about our villain (antihero?) origin stories in Berlin, I hugged Daniela and Gabe goodbye, hopped on the tram for a few stops, went underground for the metro, and made it back to the hostel in time for a 1:30pm check out. Nisha,...

When You’ve Never Been to Berlin

by Calvin Sun | August 4, 2025 | Let me tell you a Story..., Serendipitous!, Summer 2025: The Long Road to Berlin, The Nightlife, Walking Tours | 0 Comments

If it's not already playing, press play. And then start reading. After 3 days in Amsterdam, Nisha, Sujay, Priscilla, Kenny, and myself boarded a 2pm direct train bound for Berlin. It was a 7.5-hour journey that gave us just enough time to reflect...

I Amsterdand We’re Back in Amsterdam!

by Calvin Sun | July 31, 2025 | How Did You Do That?, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2025: The Long Road to Berlin, The Netherlands | 0 Comments

From Tomorrowland, because apparently we still weren’t done, 7 of us rerouted north for one last hurrah in Amsterdam, linking up with Anthony Lui and his Dutch crew. While most of the group boarded planes home to brave the dreaded post-festival blues, we...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 7 – Rico Shuaab-ey

by Calvin Sun | Nov 26, 2019 | November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen

All things must come to an end. On our last official day in Socotra and from our campsites at Detwah, we woke up to take a 2 long rocky boat trip to Shuaab. The waves were rough, as we almost capsized more times I would have wanted to...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 6 – A Monsooner Always Pays Their Detwah!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 25, 2019 | November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen

After breakfast we took a stroll through the village this morning, including visit to the local garden where they plant new Dragon’s Blood trees. Then from Dixsam we took an early morning drive west, passing by a few abandoned Soviet tanks from...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 5 – Always Up to Nogud!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 24, 2019 | November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen

This morning we woke up to a glorious morning on Dixsam Plateau: After breakfast and accompanied by our new local friends, we drove a bumpy ride down to Wadi Derhur, a former famous camping spot before a major storm destroyed everything at the...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 4 – Where There May Be Dragons In Dixsam

by Calvin Sun | Nov 23, 2019 | November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen

On day 4 we woke up at 7am for breakfast and rainy Habido: ...where the spotty WiFi is best caught on the rooftop: ...and where the goats love to eat our paper... After breakfast, we made a detour to Ayhaft National Park to...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 3 – Life On Mars In Hoq Cave

by Calvin Sun | Nov 22, 2019 | November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen

I woke up the next morning at 5am to a lazy sunrise over the beach. After a perfunctory breakfast, about half the group set off for the steep, rocky, and arduous 2 hour hike up to Hoq’s Cave. This cave is one of the most important...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 2 – Arher Ahoy!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 21, 2019 | November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Yemen

The next morning we woke up to this lovely town of Habido. Next door we packed up our gear and had an atmospheric morning breakfast taking it all in outside: Then we began our drive along the northeastern coast: We then headed...

Socotra-pped On An Island Paradise: Day 1 – Hadibo Do Be Dooo

by Calvin Sun | Nov 20, 2019 | Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, November 2019: Socotra Island, Socotra Island, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen

So after a 6 week hiatus from nearly a year of monthly travels, it's time to hit the road again. With 85,000 miles I booked the Lufthansa LH 401 flights on business class from JFK to FRA to CAI all for $60 USD. The experience began with the quick...

Socotra-pped On An Island!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 19, 2019 | Camping, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Lessons Learned, Mythbusters, November 2019: Socotra Island, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Socotra Island, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Yemen

Special thanks goes to our Young Pioneer Tours guide Pier-André Doyon for the blogpost title. 240km east of the coast of Somalia and 380km south of the Arabian Peninsula lies a 132 km x 49.7km island called Socotra: a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to...

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