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...

Avenging Dallas

by Calvin Sun | Nov 8, 2015 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Serendipitous!, Texas, United States, Walking Tours

Almost 10 months ago, I charged a 30 hour blitzkrieg in Dallas and got to do almost everything. So when I found a $63 American Airlines flight for a 2 day trip to Dallas, I jumped at the chance to avenge what I had last...

48 Hours in Montreal

by Lei Zhao | Aug 28, 2015 | Canada, The Nightlife, Walking Tours, Weekend Trips

I'd always heard nothing but praise about the city of Montreal. I simply never got around to visiting the place until now. 48 hours in this unique city, which is an eclectic mix of modern and historic, European and American, French and English, have...

You’re Going To Miss … The Baltic Crescent

by Calvin Sun | Aug 27, 2015 | Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Post-travel Reflections, Sweden, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, You're Going to Miss It...

If it's not already playing, press play. And then start reading. “A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles.” – Tim Cahill You're going to miss the first impressions, the first handshakes, the polite offers to cover taxi rides to the airport,...

BelaRushing: 7 Hours In Minsk

by Calvin Sun | Aug 25, 2015 | August 2015: The Baltic Circle, Belarus, Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, Crisis, Fail, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, Lessons Learned, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Serendipitous!, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

One of my favorite cities to have monsooned. Today has emblematic of a classic monsoon. Although the trip officially ended yesterday, 5 of us continued onwards for the optional extension into forbidden Belarus (or aka "Europe's last...

I Trakai So Hard, And Got So Far

by Calvin Sun | Aug 23, 2015 | August 2015: The Baltic Circle, Fail, How Did You Do That?, Lessons Learned, Lithuania, Public Transportation, Uncategorized Stories

Today we had a late morning once again, with some of us checking out flea markets and wrapping up the last Vilnius' old town. At 2:30pm we left for the bus station (a 10min walk away) for the 20min bus for Trakai. This is where things got testy....

Vilnius: We Have A Gun Problem

by Calvin Sun | Aug 22, 2015 | August 2015: The Baltic Circle, Lithuania, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

Our group once again took advantage of Eastern Europe's relatively laxer gun range laws and spent a whopping 3 hours shooting things we would never have a shot at -- no pun intended -- back in the USA. But more on that later... We woke up to a beautiful late...

The Hill Of Crosses

by Calvin Sun | Aug 21, 2015 | August 2015: The Baltic Circle, Border Crossing, How Did You Do That?, Latvia, Lithuania, Public Transportation, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

After an eventful night and saying goodbye to Teresa and Vivian early this morning, we packed our bags and planned for our most ambitious day yet: Take an international bus from Riga, Latvia to Siauliai, Lithuania to visit the Hill Of Crosses, before heading...

Getting Real In Riga: Paris Of The North

by Calvin Sun | Aug 20, 2015 | August 2015: The Baltic Circle, Crisis, Fit for Foodies, Latvia, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, The Nightlife, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

We enjoyed a lazy morning in beautiful Riga today, as the group congregated late for a 1pm free walking tour of the capital city's quaint little old town: We first tried to make wishes come true by touching the noses of all 4 animals at this...

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