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...

An Early Halloween At Dracula’s Castle

by Calvin Sun | Oct 22, 2016 | How Did You Do That?, October 2016: Romania, Public Transportation, Romania, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

Another weekend off, another weekend away. And what more fitting than a visit to Dracula's castle in Transylvania a week before Halloween?Finding a remarkable $450 round trip flight from NYC to Romania and getting off at work at 4pm Thursday...

The Russian & Belarus Visa Requirements For U.S. Citizens

by Calvin Sun | Sep 30, 2016 | Belarus, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Russia

Make no bones about it, Russia and the USA have not always been the best of friends, which means getting into Russia as a USA citizen can be a bit of an ordeal. I just got mine, and it wasn't very straightforward.FYI, the process to enter Russia is very similar...

Feeling Stupid In Barcelona

by Calvin Sun | Sep 13, 2016 | Fail, Fit for Foodies, September 2016: Andorra, Serendipitous!, Spain, The Nightlife, Weekend Trips

SO I SCREWED UP.2 days ago after arriving into Barcelona, I ranted how sad I was to have discovered that what I thought was one of my favorite restaurants, La Xampanyeria, was closed the night before the Catalan Independence Day. It had...

20 Hours In Andorra

by Calvin Sun | Sep 11, 2016 | Andorra, Border Crossing, How Did You Do That?, September 2016: Andorra, Spain, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

Getting some much-needed rest after a Barcelona Sants Station to

Reunited In Barcelona, 5 Years Later

by Calvin Sun | Sep 11, 2016 | Fail, Fit for Foodies, September 2016: Andorra, Spain, The Nightlife, Weekend Trips

Oh Barcelona: It's been 5 years! That trip was special -- it was the first trip I ever done with a large group (and look how far we've come!).And now I'm back. While 4 of us would meet in Barcelona tonight to begin our weekend trip to Andorra, our...

Meet The Monsooners Of Andorra!

by Calvin Sun | Sep 4, 2016 | Introductions

Who would be crazy enough to go on an international weekend trip to Barcelona & Andorra out of the blue? Why, these 4! Although they've never met one another (or know one another), all are weirdly/fatefully connected to each other in some way -- 3 are...

You’re Going To Miss … Southern Africa

by Calvin Sun | Aug 18, 2016 | August 2016: Southern Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Post-travel Reflections, South Africa, You're Going to Miss It..., Zambia, Zimbabwe

Dear Calvin, I hope this finds you doing well. I came across your site via CU Class Notes. I am CC 2010. I have been inspired by your story and website, and as a fellow lover of travel and medical student, would definitely be keen on learning more about...

Denouement In Windhoek To Free Emirates Business Class Upgrade!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 15, 2016 | August 2016: Southern Africa, Flying Fancy, Namibia, United Arab Emirates, Walking Tours

Uh..there's really no contest in trying to even bother following up to the last post; a post that describes a place where I watched the sun rise over the world's oldest desert, or where I took some of my favorite photos at the most surreal landscapes I've...

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