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...

The Grand Canyon

by Calvin Sun | Apr 10, 2015 | Arizona, California, Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, United States

Today's journey led us to the one and only Grand Canyon. But before we got there, we woke up this morning to check out more of our wigwams during the day and said farewell to 3 members of the crew: Gareth, Clay, and George,...

Return To Arizona

by Calvin Sun | Apr 9, 2015 | Arizona, Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, United States, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

3 months ago Jenn, of Map&Move, and I took a weekend trip to Arizona to do research for what was then a possible Route 66 trip. Today we've returned with a caravan of 3 RVs and 11 friends driving along Route 66 from Chicago and reaching...

The Longest Road: From Oklahoma To New Mexico

by Calvin Sun | Apr 9, 2015 | Crisis, Fail, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, United States, What Dreams May Come

After a 7am-7pm shift in the ER, I boarded a 5am flight to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to catch an 8am flight to Oklahoma City, where the rest of group stayed overnight and was waiting for me.Right on time, there they were. After a quick reunion, we hit the...

Pies, Waterfalls, Bottles, And Oklahoma

by Calvin Sun | Apr 8, 2015 | Missouri, Oklahoma, Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, Way Way Off the Beaten Path

Day #2 of the road trip, which means Day #2 that I'm still stuck in NYC working in the ER for my final shift before I can rejoin the group.:-(A few months ago one of the places I put on my Route 66 "must-do" lists was supposedly described...

Living Vicarious: Chicago To St. Louis

by Calvin Sun | Apr 7, 2015 | Fail, Illinois, Missouri, Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip

After 12 spirited hours in Chicago, I headed back home to NYC this morning to work two 12 hour shifts in the ER. Today the rest of the group continues onwards from Chicago to Springfield, IL to St. Louis, MO while I plan to rejoin the group...

“I Must Go Now, Gotham Needs Me”: Chicago, IL

by Calvin Sun | Apr 4, 2015 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Crisis, Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, Illinois, Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, United States

Route 66. Let's begin.If it's not already playing, press play. And then start reading. Despite American Airlines delaying our 6am flight to 9am and then canceling it due to unknown reasons (they literally said "we don't know...

2000 Miles To Graceland

by Calvin Sun | Apr 4, 2015 | Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, Tennessee, The Nightlife, United States, Walking Tours

I couldn't hold it back any longer, 4 days of working in NYC while a trip was going on without me was too much to bear. After an overnight 7pm-7am graveyard shift, I went straight from the hospital to LaGuardia Airport. Getting there an hour early, I...

To Nashville

by Calvin Sun | Apr 2, 2015 | Spring 2015: The Great USA Roadtrip, Tennessee

Photo credit in this post goes to Map&Move and Roza Rice. One more day working in the ER before I meet them in Memphis. Until then, the gang packed up and headed out from Knoxville to Nashville: Upon arrival into Nashville, they met up...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28