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...

From Den Haag (The Hague)/Amsterdam Via United Polaris Business Class

by Calvin Sun | Mar 29, 2018 | Flying Fancy, How Did You Do That?, March 2018: Central Europe Road Trip, The Netherlands

Yesterday afternoon I took Austrian Airlines' Business Class from Vienna to Amsterdam where I got in a great 2 hour nap and try some of the best food you can get within the Star Alliance network: I landed in Amsterdam at around 7:30pm, from where...

Lovely Little Linz

by Calvin Sun | Mar 28, 2018 | Austria, March 2018: Central Europe Road Trip, Public Transportation, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

I can't really explain why my life has been so full of coincidences, (and no it's not because it would "make sense" that extroverts would have an easier time running into other extroverts...my coincidences include the most skeptical of introverts as well!) but...

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...

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