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...

What Happens In Vegas…

by Calvin Sun | Jul 24, 2016 | Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Lessons Learned, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Nevada, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, The Nightlife, United States, Walking Tours

...might not stay in Vegas. Having achieved another rare golden weekend off from work (3 days exactly!), I headed out from another overnight shift in the ER to make a Friday morning 11:10am direct 5 hour Delta Airline flight from...

Meet The Monsooners Of Southern Africa

by Calvin Sun | Jun 16, 2016 | Introductions

I present to you our newest, one of the most diverse roster of fresh (and return!) monsooners: And for 2 weeks starting July 31st, we are heading out to the...

Escaping The Bermuda Triangle: My 100th Country

by Calvin Sun | Apr 23, 2016 | Bermuda, Blitzkrieg!!!, Epiphanies on the Road, Introspection, Post-travel Reflections, Serendipitous!, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

After a day in Bermuda’s capital of Hamilton, the next morning we took a 30 minute, $40 USD cab ride to Bermuda’s other city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, St. George. We started off in King’s Square, the town’s center. The old, central Town Hall...

Lost In The Bermuda Triangle: My 100th Country

by Calvin Sun | Apr 23, 2016 | Bermuda, Blitzkrieg!!!, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

Since beginning my lonely (and not so lonely) journey 6 years ago, I decided finally to check off my 100th country today. With about 36 hours off from work and finishing my overnight shift in the ER at 7am, I headed to JFK airport where I boarded an extremely...

The D.C. Cherry Blossom Watch

by Calvin Sun | Mar 27, 2016 | District of Columbia, United States

I would not be pleased to break my recent streak of weekly travel for the past 8 weeks. Therefore, this weekend I headed to our nation's capital for the annual cherry blossom festival where the cherry blossoms are at their peak bloom. After work on a long...

A Few Hours In Zurich

by Calvin Sun | Mar 15, 2016 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Fit for Foodies, March 2016: Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

After a day in Liechtenstein, I headed back to Zurich from Sargans where I totally passed out on the train. Although it was the last stop on the train anyway, a fellow passenger had to shake me awake or else I would've headed back in the other direction. Thanks...

A Day Trip To Liechtenstein

by Calvin Sun | Mar 14, 2016 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, How Did You Do That?, Liechtenstein, March 2016: Liechtenstein, Public Transportation, Switzerland, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels, Puerto Rico, Ireland. And now Liechtenstein.Capping off a social experiment that lasted for nearly 2 months -- taking weekly international “day trips” while keeping a full time job -- I decide to finish off...

Ireland In 24 Hours: Dublin In One Night

by Calvin Sun | Mar 6, 2016 | Ireland, March 2016: Ireland, Serendipitous!, The Nightlife, Weekend Trips

(continued from Ireland In 24 Hours: The Cliffs Of Moher):After spending about 2-3 hours at the Cliffs Of Moher, we drove back and reached Abigails Hostel, by 8:40pm. Then as I was checking in, they informed me that someone had dropped me off a little...

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