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

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...

Meet the Lappi Wedding Party!

by Calvin Sun | January 26, 2026 | Introductions | 0 Comments

Meet the Sundancers!

by Calvin Sun | January 2, 2026 | Introductions | 0 Comments

From a trip planned over a year ago after a bunch of friends joined me in Killington 2024, we are flying out to Park City, UT for our first time at the Sundance Film Festival for their final time in Park City, UT! Welcome back those returning with me for their...

Niger At Last: A Second Chance

by Calvin Sun | December 10, 2025 | Border Crossing, December 2025 Annex: Niger, Fail, Flying Fancy, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Layovers, Niger, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come | 1 Comment

11 months ago, I sat on the tarmac in Niger's International Airport at Niamey, watching my trip evaporate due to visa complications. The Niger Embassy in Washington D.C. had stopped issuing visas to Americans entirely. But I don't give up. In late...

Yemen Day 4: Mukalla Drive

by Calvin Sun | December 5, 2025 | December 2025: Yemen - Hadhramaut Valley, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Yemen | 0 Comments

Al-Mukalla Pulling ourselves away from a desert mirage paradise at Haid Al-Jazil, we swapped our armed guard at another checkpoint during the 2 hour drive to Mukalla. You point that thing away from me! After a long wait at one of the...

Yemen Day 3: Where Reality Surpasses Dreams at Haid al-Jazil-lion Miles Away From Reality

by Calvin Sun | December 4, 2025 | December 2025: Yemen - Hadhramaut Valley, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Yemen | 0 Comments

Haid Al-Jazil As the afternoon began to wane, we continued onto our accommodation for the night at the Haid Al-Jazil Resort Hotel, named after what it overlooks and its location perching dramatically on a cliff overlooking the Wadi Do'an. You'll find remarkably...

O Mayotte! (Comoros -> Mayotte -> Madagascar)

by Calvin Sun | Aug 25, 2019 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Fail, Getting that VISA, Layovers, Mayotte, Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After our day in Comoros -- the #10-#12 least visited country in the world (depending who you ask) -- let's get even more off the beaten track: Mayotte, a French island in the Indian Ocean off East Africa between Madagascar and Mozambique that ceded to...

Don’t Be a Moron-i, Comoros and Have a Good Time!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 24, 2019 | Comoros, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After our last night with Ravi, Bryan, and Brandon in Dar es Salaam, the 7 of us remaining now we go from most traveled to one of the 10 least traveled: Comoros. Having endured 20 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in...

Truth or Dar es Salaam?

by Calvin Sun | Aug 24, 2019 | Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Tanzania, Walking Tours

Let's face it, Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, is often a necessary stop on the way to or from Zanzibar, a safari in the north (which we're coming back from) or home. So don't set your expectations anywhere to the level that you would for Zanzibar or the...

The Tanzanian Safar(i) So Good Epic: The Ngorongoro Crater

by Calvin Sun | Aug 22, 2019 | Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Tanzania, What Dreams May Come

Live fast, die young Bad girls do it well Live fast, die young Bad girls do it well My chain hits my chest When I'm bangin' on the dashboard My chain hits my chest When I'm bangin' on the radio Get back, get down Pull me closer if you think you can hang Hands up,...

The Tanzanian “Safar(i) So Good” Epic: The Serengeti Serenade

by Calvin Sun | Aug 21, 2019 | Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Tanzania, What Dreams May Come

After an 8am breakfast this morning, we headed out at 9am for the famed Serengeti National Park for another game drive. While waiting for our papers to clear at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area entrance, a weird human attacked...

The Tanzanian Safari Epic: Lake Manyara National Park

by Calvin Sun | Aug 20, 2019 | Flying Fancy, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Tanzania

For our 3rd day in Zanzibar, we took it easy and spent it on massages, lounging at the Park Hyatt, shopping, and essentially making the long wait before heading over for our 8:40pm Air Tanzania flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). There we...

Nungwi Go To The Beach!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 18, 2019 | Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar

After pushing ourselves to stay awake until 10pm last night in one of the best starts to a monsoon, we all got in a good 8 hours in of sleep and all woke up at around 6:30am. Since most breakfast spots in Stone Town opened at 8am, we got hungry and had no...

“I’m Not Gonna Cook It, But I’ll Order It From ZANZIBAR!”

by Calvin Sun | Aug 17, 2019 | Summer 2019: Off The Eastern Coast Of Africa, Tanzania, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come, Zanzibar

What's your favorite posishThat's cool with me it's not my favorite but I'll do it for youWhat's your favorite dishI'm not gonna cook it, but I'll order it from ZANZIBAR! - Tenacious D We just arrived in Zanzibar! Cathy, Bryan and I had a 9...

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