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...

…But but but, “Vanuatu”-leave Port-Vila!

by Calvin Sun | Jan 9, 2019 | Fit for Foodies, Public Transportation, The Nightlife, Vanuatu, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2018: The Edge Of The World / Least Visited Countries

Oh Vanuatu, how I "Vanuatu-leave" this place. I know it's quite a stretch of a pun, but my blogpost title is meant to be read out loud! Let's begin. After 2 days in The Solomon Islands, we headed boarded a 3:05pm flight out for Port Vila,...

I Found My Honi-ara In The Solomon Islands

by Calvin Sun | Jan 7, 2019 | Fit for Foodies, Solomon Islands, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2018: The Edge Of The World / Least Visited Countries

Finishing up our 3rd day in Kiribati, in the late morning we headed to Tarawa's Bonriki International Airport to catch our flight out to The Solomon Islands. Let's just say the Bonriki International Airport is still a work in progress.This was the...

Kiribati: Land Of The First Dawn

by Calvin Sun | Jan 5, 2019 | Kiribati, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2018: The Edge Of The World / Least Visited Countries

After 6 days in Nauru, the world’s least visited country, we forced ourselves up early at 3:00am for a 5:15am Nauru Airlines flight to currently the world's 3rd least visited country: Kiribati (pronounced "Kiri-bahs"). We wanted to head in pretty early...

Nauru, AKA The Marooned Diaries – New Year’s Eve In The #1 Least Visited Country In The World

by Calvin Sun | Jan 3, 2019 | Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Mythbusters, Nauru, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Winter 2018: The Edge Of The World / Least Visited Countries

Above cover photo credit: Mikhael Chai -- thanks for that unplanned shot of me standing on the top of Nauru! I've already had my fair share of New Year's Eve celebrations in far flung corners of the globe:2010 in Cairo, Egypt2011 in Tijuana,...

The Marshall Islands: Home of Godzilla & Spongebob

by Calvin Sun | Dec 29, 2018 | How Did You Do That?, March 2024: The Pacific Island Hopper, Marshall Islands, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Winter 2018: The Edge Of The World / Least Visited Countries

Another journey of a lifetime begins today: I head from one lonely part of the world to another.After a week of working overnight shifts at an isolated rural hospital in Rome, NY (about an hour out from Syracuse in upstate NY), I had an Uber pick me up...

Meet The Czechmates!

by Calvin Sun | Dec 24, 2018 | Introductions

Ann Wen, 7 time monsooner who first came along for Luxembourg, Australia, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, asked if I would be free after my Dec 27-Jan 16 trip to the least visited countries in the world. Since she's never let me down, how could I? For "If you...

Meet The Monsooners Who Are Willing To Go Completely Off The Map!

by Calvin Sun | Dec 16, 2018 | Introductions, Winter 2018: The Edge Of The World / Least Visited Countries

I'm so blessed to be part of a community where if I ever find myself in even the most remote and least traveled countries in the world (yes including the #1 least visited at only 160 tourists a year, which is where we're celebrating New Year's in 2 weeks!),...

Happy Thans-Kyiv-ing!

by Calvin Sun | Nov 19, 2018 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Epiphanies on the Road, Fit for Foodies, Layovers, Post-travel Reflections, The Nightlife, Ukraine, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips, You're Going to Miss It...

Thanks Fanny for the pun of a title!I realized that whenever people ask for advice for what to see in Kiev and I look through my blog to rev up my memory again, all I have on Kiev is a crazy night out that began at the infamous Palata no. 6 (aka...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »