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...

26 Take Off!

by Calvin Sun | Aug 7, 2015 | New York

Today the majority of our group of 26 depart for Scandinavia. 3 of us are already waiting for the rest of the group in Copenhagen, and 20 should be arriving in within the next 12 hours. To make things more interesting, a mom-and-daughter couple just signed up today on...

Meet The Nords

by Calvin Sun | Jun 25, 2015 | Introductions

Please welcome the following monsooners as they embark on our upcoming trip to Scandinavia & The Baltic States:[gallery size="medium"...

Staycation

by Calvin Sun | May 5, 2015 | How Did You Do That?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, New York, United States, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come

What better way to recover from a grueling 1 week road trip across the USA followed by 1 week shlepping it across Venezuela and the Great Guyanas, with a free night at the Park Hyatt, New York? If you spend $1000 or more within 3 months of signing up...

One Day In Trinidad & Tobago

by Calvin Sun | Apr 21, 2015 | April 2015: Extreme South America, Blitzkrieg!!!, Lessons Learned, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Walking Tours

In leaving Paramaribo for the airport, I had the choice of choosing a private taxi for 40 euros that would pick me up at 7am or a shared airport shuttle taxi service for 15 euros that would pick me up at 6am. I chose the latter. What ended up was that I not...

The Road To Cayenne

by Lei Zhao | Apr 21, 2015 | April 2015: Extreme South America, Border Crossing, French Guiana, How Did You Do That?, Public Transportation, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

The road to Cayenne, French Guiana (Guyane Doyen) from Paramaribo, Suriname was arduous, but almost a cakewalk when compared to the journey from Georgetown, Guyana to Paramaribo. For starters, there wasn’t a four-hour waiting period to cross the border. Our...

Paramaribo By Day

by Calvin Sun | Apr 20, 2015 | April 2015: Extreme South America, Fit for Foodies, Suriname, Walking Tours

We woke up this morning and found out the hard way that almost everything is closed on Sundays in the capital city of Paramaribo, Suriname. Luckily, it was still early enough to at least make it to the Sunday markets located on the city outskirts, which opens...

From Guyana To Suriname

by Calvin Sun | Apr 18, 2015 | April 2015: Extreme South America, Border Crossing, Crisis, Doctor in the House, Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, Suriname, The Nightlife, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

After a few drinks at Georgetown, Guyana's Hibiscus Restaurant & Lounge across the street from our guesthouse, the group turned in at around 1am in preparation for a 4am, 4-5 hour bus ride to the Monroe Creek border between Guyana and Suriname. The goal was...

Curious George-Town

by Calvin Sun | Apr 17, 2015 | April 2015: Extreme South America, Getting that VISA, Guyana, How Did You Do That?, Walking Tours

Today we woke up at around 8am and headed straight to the Surinamese Embassy as our first oder of business. Since our group were mostly USA and UK nationals, we needed a visa before heading into Suriname the next day by bus (unfortunately visas on arrival were...

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