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...

Turkish Airlines First Class & “Lounge Istanbul”: Best Airline Lounge In The World?

by Calvin Sun | Jun 2, 2017 | Flying Fancy, How Did You Do That?, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Türkiye (Turkey), Way Way Off the Beaten Path

As a frequent traveler, I have heard a lot about the supremacy of Turkish Airlines' Lounge Istanbul at the Ataturk Intenrational Airport as one of, if not the BEST airline lounge in the world.So after a week traveling with 10 wonderful strangers, I was able...

Finding Carthage

by Calvin Sun | Jun 1, 2017 | How Did You Do That?, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Tunisia, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After a brief detour in Sidi Bou Said (and head to that post if you want information on the public transportation we took to get there from Tunis), we walked 10 minutes south along Rue du Maroc towards Carthage: the historic capital city of the ancient...

Detour To Sidi Bou Said

by Calvin Sun | Jun 1, 2017 | How Did You Do That?, Public Transportation, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Tunisia, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

To further prove how safe and tourist-friendly Tunis has remained, we booked a long session at the hammam at nearby Palais Bayram this morning. For a Turkish baths, mud scrub, and 30 minute massage, we got a great deal at about 120 dinars per...

Tuned Into Tunis, The Ramadan Edition

by Calvin Sun | May 31, 2017 | Crisis, Fail, How Did You Do That?, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Travel Warnings, Tunisia, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

This morning was time to say goodbye to Malta. ...And hello to Tunisia via a TunisAir Express flight! Except for myself and Samin, this is everyone's first time in Africa! The recent travel warnings in Tunisia have been minimal at...

Gozo A Gogo

by Calvin Sun | May 30, 2017 | Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, Malta, Public Transportation, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After an hour playing the Game of Thrones at Mdina, we had our cab drivers meet us back at Mdina's city gates from where we drove over another 25 minutes north to the Cirkewwa Ferry Terminal. For about 4.5 euros each, we took the ferry to Malta's...

Landing At King’s Landing: Mdina

by Calvin Sun | May 30, 2017 | Malta, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After a day exploring Valletta, we woke up early to see the way overrated "The Malta Experience" and nearby Saint Elmo's fort before heading to the Bus Terminal and hiting a 20 minute cab ride to Mdina for 20 euros.Why Mdina? Well, have you seen Game Of...

Valletta, Malta: Winter Ain’t Coming

by Calvin Sun | May 30, 2017 | Malta, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

This morning was time to say goodbye to Ann, Joseph, and Mihaela in Luxembourg: The 6 of us remaining boarded a 10am, 1 hour flight from Luxembourg and had about an hour's layover in Munich before catching our connecting 2 hour flight to...

Keep Calm And ReLuxembourg

by Calvin Sun | May 28, 2017 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, Luxembourg, Spring 2017: Italy & Microstates, France, Luxembourg, Malta, & Tunisia, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

After a night in Paris, Ann, Joseph and I woke up at 7am to catch the 7:40am direct train from Paris Gare De L'Est to Luxembourg. Luxembourg boasts to be one of the world's smallest countries covering only 2500 sq km (about the size of Rhode...

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