by Calvin Sun | Dec 28, 2012 | December 2012: Eastern Europe, The Nightlife, Ukraine, Uncategorized Stories, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
So it’s Ruchika’s 22nd birthday today… Welcome to Ukraine, where the underground bars are just out of this world. This is Palata #6: wtf? Panorama of our underground hospital themed bar (click to enlarge). I’m not judging...
by Calvin Sun | Nov 28, 2011 | Belize, Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, Fit for Foodies, November 2011: Guatemala & Belize, Pre-travel Preparations, Uncategorized Stories
The first time I’ve heard of Belize was when I was 14 years old. I was sitting on the 7 subway train coming into Manhattan and my friend Sara Yoo was sitting across from me when she looked at me in the eye and firmly declared: “I want to...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 3, 2011 | April 2011: Peru & Colombia, Colombia, Serendipitous!, Uncategorized Stories
What an oddly perfect way to conclude this trip. In Monsoon Diaries tradition, every excursion requires a serendipitous coincidence to round it off. And this one is no different: Kseniya and I had parted ways earlier this morning; she was to take an early flight to...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 1, 2011 | April 2011: Peru & Colombia, Colombia, Fit for Foodies, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Public Transportation, Uncategorized Stories, What Dreams May Come
I remember watching Y Tu Mama Tambien for the very first time, when the two friends fabricate the existence of a beach in an attempt to seduce Luisa. As they travel throughout the film, they discover in fact that the beach is real, and it just so happens to be...
by Calvin Sun | Mar 27, 2011 | April 2011: Peru & Colombia, Doctor in the House, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Peru, Public Transportation, Uncategorized Stories, What Dreams May Come
Nausea. Dizziness. Headaches. Fainting. Vomiting. Death. All serious complications of Altitude Sickness where Lonely Planet says: “Altitude sickness is not a joke. It doesn’t matter how fit you are; some people will get it and some people...
by Calvin Sun | Mar 27, 2011 | April 2011: Peru & Colombia, Epiphanies on the Road, Fail, How's the weather?, Peru, Uncategorized Stories
Before I know it, I’m already fast packed to another trip across the border. What’s different this time is that out of all the inhabitable continents of the world (sorry Antartica, unless global warming happens, you don’t count), only South America...
by Calvin Sun | Dec 29, 2010 | December 2010: A Clinic in Mexico, How's the weather?, Mexico, One Small House, Uncategorized Stories
Today we were hit by pretty bad rain so we took only a skeleton crew to work at the clinic site, where we worked on insulation and shielding the roof with tarp. The construction pace on the clinic nevertheless decelerated and some of us were sent off to other sites to...
by Calvin Sun | Dec 17, 2010 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Hong Kong, Uncategorized Stories
Well this is a first for me. Currently at a technical stop in Vancouver, Canada where I’m one of maybe 5 passengers who have remained on the plane for the subsequent flight to Hong Kong. I was awoken by a flurry of attendants engaged in a frantic buzz in tidying...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 13, 2010 | *Countries, Epiphanies on the Road, Summer 2010: Southeast Asia & India, Uncategorized Stories, What Dreams May Come
Press play. And then start reading. The echoes of Jeff Buckley. An autorickshaw roars by an airport runway. I came in as a stranger, left as a friend. I came in unsure what I was looking for, I left knowing what I needed to search for. It’s not about sights...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 11, 2010 | China, Lessons Learned, Serendipitous!, Uncategorized Stories, United States
As if I didn’t have enough coincidences and run-ins already from my travels in India and Singapore, I asked myself while getting on the plane to NYC: “wouldn’t it be funny if I also run into someone I know on this flight?” …and...
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