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...

From Belgrade To Sarejevo Via Srebrenica: Memories Of A Massacre

by Calvin Sun | Aug 14, 2017 | August 2017: The Balkans, Border Crossing, Bosnia & Herzegovina, How Did You Do That?, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

I had first heard of the Srebrenica Massacre back in 2005, when I was a college freshman and busy running the first national undergraduate film festival at Columbia University (CUNUFF). One of our first film submissions was a short film and...

Beyond Belgrade

by Calvin Sun | Aug 13, 2017 | August 2017: The Balkans, Serbia, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

I was debating whether to do an extra post on Belgrade as we saw everything required in the city center yesterday, thunderstorms be damned. But then I realized there were a few other things in its outskirts that were worth mentioning.We woke up to a late...

For Whom The Belgrade Tolls

by Calvin Sun | Aug 12, 2017 | August 2017: The Balkans, Fit for Foodies, Serbia, The Nightlife, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

chrysalism. n. the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand...

6 Hours In Zagreb, Croatia

by Calvin Sun | Aug 11, 2017 | August 2017: The Balkans, Blitzkrieg!!!, Croatia, How Did You Do That?, Layovers, Walking Tours

After taking it easy on Club World business class via British Airways, I landed in Zagreb at noon, where I would have a 9 hour layover before my onward flight to Belgrade. However, the international airport at Zagreb (Croatia's capital city!) has NO left luggage...

British Airways Club World/Business Class From NYC To London

by Calvin Sun | Aug 11, 2017 | Flying Fancy, How Did You Do That?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, United Kingdom

I never thought I would be back in London so soon.Although it was 5 months ago where I was able to review my experience flying First Class on British Airways, it really feels like it was only yesterday where I was in London blogging from the...

Serendipity In Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

by Calvin Sun | Jul 20, 2017 | Epiphanies on the Road, July 2017: Saint Martin's & Surrounding Islands, Saint Martin, Serendipitous!, Sint Maarten, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

So on my last day for a few hours before my afternoon flight home, I went back to Maho Beach at around noon, parking up at a bench at Sunset Bar & Grill and getting some good studying on while catching flights landing every 20-30...

Angsty Anguilla

by Calvin Sun | Jul 20, 2017 | Anguilla, Blitzkrieg!!!, Epiphanies on the Road, How Did You Do That?, Introspection, July 2017: Saint Martin's & Surrounding Islands, Let me tell you a Story..., Post-travel Reflections, Serendipitous!, Uncategorized Stories, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Ever have the most random parts of your distant past come up when you least expect it? Or when a feeling of déjà vu actually becomes verified by a very real memory? This just happened in Anguilla. So after a whirlwind morning in Saba (which already...

Saba Rattling: The World’s Shortest (‘Scariest’) Runway Landing

by Calvin Sun | Jul 19, 2017 | Blitzkrieg!!!, How Did You Do That?, July 2017: Saint Martin's & Surrounding Islands, Saba, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

5 countries in 24 hours: how about that?! After a day trip to Saint Barthélemy yesterday, I turned in early last night to catch my 8:15am Winair flight to Saba this morning (which I booked altogether online with a roundtrip flight returning at 12:15pm...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »