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

Grenada Más

by Calvin Sun | November 4, 2025 | Grenada, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End | 0 Comments

🇬🇩 190 down. 3 to go. After our 3 day stay in Dominica,, we took a long hour-and-a-half drive back to the airport from our Portsmouth lodgings, stopping for a quick photo opportunity along the way. Dominica's airport is tiny. You...

Dominica-n’t Miss This

by Calvin Sun | November 1, 2025 | Dominica, October 2025: Pirates of the Caribbean's At World's End, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

From St. Vincent, we boarded InterCaribbean Airways JY 717 at 12:20pm. Their new airport, however, was built just 8 years ago and still has some operational quirks. The staff double-printed my first leg itinerary from St. Vincent to Barbados without including...

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, Serendipitous!, 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,...

Viva Vienna

by Calvin Sun | Mar 27, 2018 | Austria, Crisis, March 2018: Central Europe Road Trip, Serendipitous!, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Yes, I've been to Vienna just so so many times. But I'm glad this time it would be through the eyes of a local and my friend Daniela.After a wonderful day in Bratislava, Keseena, Maria, Daniela and I turned in at a reasonable hour, getting somewhat a full...

The Brat Pack Reaches Bratislava

by Calvin Sun | Mar 26, 2018 | Epiphanies on the Road, Introspection, March 2018: Central Europe Road Trip, Serendipitous!, Slovakia, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

Since my first visit to Europe in the city of London in 1995, it would take me 13 years to finally conquer the continental landmass of Europe.And I wouldn't have had it any other way than the stories and people I would spend with today in Bratislava.Following a...

Buddha With The Best In Budapest

by Calvin Sun | Mar 25, 2018 | Hungary, March 2018: Central Europe Road Trip, Serendipitous!, What Dreams May Come

When I did Budapest by night 6 months ago, I made a promise I'd return with a group of monsooners. A promise made is a promise kept. It's good to be back. After flying in on a 8:40am Norwegian Air Shuttle flight from Stockholm,...

Anatomy Of A Monsoon

by Calvin Sun | Mar 24, 2018 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Layovers, March 2018: Central Europe Road Trip, Serendipitous!, Sweden

You might want to refer to this while reading ahead. A month ago I received my work schedule which revealed I would have a series of 4-5 consecutive days off from work — this usually sets in motion to create a monsoon. So for a few days I toyed...

A Montreal Monsoon

by Calvin Sun | Feb 19, 2018 | Canada, Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, Layovers, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

Lei had done a much better job at covering Montreal in much better weather, but I'll do my best to do Montreal justice myself: With 5 days off for Presidents' Day Weekend and my upcoming in-service exam next week, I decided to take a quick getaway weekend to...

Human Geographies of Conflict and Renewal, Lessons from the Old Continent

by Lei Zhao | Jan 29, 2018 | August 2017: The Balkans, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Epiphanies on the Road, Guest Posts, Hungary, Montenegro, Post-travel Reflections, The Netherlands, What Dreams May Come

I embarked on a journey this past August that would take me through a diverse set of nations, cultures, and landscapes in Europe. The heart of this trip was a segment in Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro. Holland and Hungary were other destinations along the way. It had...

You’re Going To Miss … The Down Under

by Calvin Sun | Jan 26, 2018 | Australia, Epiphanies on the Road, New Zealand, Post-travel Reflections, You're Going to Miss It...

Please take your time reading the post with the music . . . . . . it's a long song (and do listen to all of it!). “Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.” You're going to miss the moments leading up to first introductions, matching the faces...

Flying ANA Business Class From Sydney To NYC Via Tokyo

by Calvin Sun | Jan 17, 2018 | Flying Fancy, Japan, Layovers

Time to end this trip with class, business class that is -- since I'm due to work an overnight shift in the ER 4 hours after I'm scheduled to land in JFK, I might as well be as rested as possible.Transferring 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points I acquired...

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