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...

Ireland In 24 Hours: The Burren & The Cliffs Of Moher

by Calvin Sun | Mar 6, 2016 | Blitzkrieg!!!, How Did You Do That?, Ireland, March 2016: Ireland, Serendipitous!, The Nightlife, Weekend Trips

Once again I press on with my social experiment of doing day trips around the world on a budget, while sharing the experience with my frugal readers. This weekend, 7 of us did Ireland in 24 hours.To preface, my...

Meet The Leprechauns

by Calvin Sun | Feb 26, 2016 | Introductions

When I first announced my upcoming weekend trip to Ireland (day trip, really) on Facebook, I didn't expect a strong showing. But 7 people proved me wrong!Therefore, I present to you our newest class of fresh (and...

Viejo San Juan

by Calvin Sun | Feb 18, 2016 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Crisis, Doctor in the House, February 2016: Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

After a day in Vieques and Fajardo, it was time to explore the heart of Puerto Rico's capital city, Old San Juan. From our hostel, Posada San Francisco, I started with this gorgeous view of Plaza Colón from our 5th floor open balcony: Northeast of...

Veni, Vidi, Vieques!

by Calvin Sun | Feb 16, 2016 | Doctor in the House, February 2016: Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, Serendipitous!, United States, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips

Anticipating 2 days off of work and finding direct flights to Puerto Rico from NYC about 2/3 cheaper than its usual fare, I jumped at the chance to visit my potentially 98th country (although it being a U.S. territory that's still up for debate).But about 8...

5 Years Later

by Calvin Sun | Feb 3, 2016 | Epiphanies on the Road, India, Introspection, Post-travel Reflections, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, You're Going to Miss It...

Press Play: Remember her? 5 years ago, we met by chance and spent 36 hours together in Hyderabad that ended before sunrise. We parted at a rickshaw stand, not knowing if or how we would ever meet again.The next morning, rubbing my eyes open...

The Capital Of The EU Just Got Served: Brussels

by Calvin Sun | Jan 21, 2016 | Belgium, Blitzkrieg!!!, January 2016: Amsterdam & Belgium, Public Transportation, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Walking Tours

Starting around 10am in Bruges, I hopped on the hourly train to Brussels for 9 euros, arriving at around 11am. Then I took Tram 82 for 2.10 euros to get to my hostel at Meininger Hotel & Hostel, dropped off my stuff (since check-in wasn't until...

In Bruges

by Calvin Sun | Jan 20, 2016 | Belgium, Blitzkrieg!!!, Fail, January 2016: Amsterdam & Belgium, Public Transportation, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come

I have to admit, the first time I ever heard of Bruges was when I saw the trailer to Colin Farrell's dark comedy "In Bruges" back in 2008. A little context for the post's title... The film makes fun of Bruges as a place "no one has ever heard of" but also...

The Monsoon Meets Amsterdam: An Unlikely Union

by Calvin Sun | Jan 20, 2016 | Blitzkrieg!!!, January 2016: Amsterdam & Belgium, Serendipitous!, The Netherlands, Turkmenistan, Walking Tours

I'm not gonna lie, I really liked Amsterdam. Despite finding a love for off-the-beaten-path locales like Venezuela & The Guyanas, North Korea, Iran, and Antarctica, every now and then travel can surprise you. One of those surprises...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »