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...

The Postojna Caves: 24,000m Of Awesome

by Calvin Sun | Oct 21, 2017 | How Did You Do That?, October 2017: Slovenia, Slovenia, What Dreams May Come

What we just did today: After a morning in Lake Bled and an early afternoon at Predjama Castle, it was finally time for the big finale of our day: The Postojna Caves. Spanning 24,340m long and carved by the Pivka River over the course of 2-3 million...

Predjama Castle

by Calvin Sun | Oct 21, 2017 | October 2017: Slovenia, Slovenia, Weekend Trips

After a serene morning at Lake Bled, we drove south for about an hour and 15 minutes to reach Predjama Castle. First mentioned in the history books in the late 1200s during the Renaissance period, Predjama Castle was the seat of the knight and...

Bled Bleeds Beauty

by Calvin Sun | Oct 21, 2017 | October 2017: Slovenia, Slovenia, Weekend Trips

After yesterday's series of disasters that almost cancelled our entire weekend trip to Slovenia, it was finally time for things to go our way today. We headed to bed last night at around midnight, waking up at 7:45am to be picked up by Slovenia Explorers at...

Essentially, The Odyssey…To Ljubljana

by Calvin Sun | Oct 20, 2017 | Crisis, Fail, How Did You Do That?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, October 2017: Slovenia, Serendipitous!, Slovenia, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

"A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." - John SteinbeckEverything seemed like it was going according to plan. After all, I had a minor scare 6 days ago when I nearly missed my flight from JFK to Paris and then...

Meet The Monsooners Of Slovenia!

by Calvin Sun | Oct 16, 2017 | Introductions

As of yesterday I was resigned to the possibility of going to Slovenia alone. But as of today, I can announce there are 2 other crazies joining me on our trip to Slovenia this weekend.And guess what? We still have room so if you need a weekend...

From Jersey To Guernsey

by Calvin Sun | Oct 16, 2017 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, Guernsey, How Did You Do That?, October 2017: The Channel Islands, Weekend Trips

You're going to laugh at me, but there are some things I'm more than willing to pay for when it comes to travel, especially knowing that:It's right there.I'm probably never going to come back in a long long time.Guernsey, the other and smaller Channel...

Friends Don’t Let Friends Move To Jersey

by Calvin Sun | Oct 15, 2017 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, Jersey, October 2017: The Channel Islands, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips, What Dreams May Come

No not that Jersey. I mean Jersey...the larger of the 2 Bailiwicks/Islands that make up The Channel Islands? The self-governing Crown dependency in the Commonwealth? No?It can get pretty confusing, so let me explain: There are 2 main autonomous...

Nothing Malo About Saint Malo

by Calvin Sun | Oct 15, 2017 | Fit for Foodies, France, October 2017: The Channel Islands, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

Compared to the close call missing my flight to Paris this morning, it was relatively all gravy just chilling for an hour waiting for my train to Saint Malo at Gare Montpanarsse. I then boarded at 11:56pm, reaching the northern city of Saint Malo...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »