by Calvin Sun | Dec 17, 2012 | Hawaii, Serendipitous!
17 months ago I attended a wedding in Srinagar, India hosted by the Dar family. And 17 hours ago I attended another wedding in Honolulu, Hawaii hosted by another Dar family. Both unforgettable days. The view from my balcony "They’re not jokes. They’re...
by Jan Ferrer | Dec 13, 2012 | Epiphanies on the Road, Pre-travel Preparations, Serendipitous!
I am fully preparing to jump into a monsoon in two weeks’ time. That is to say that I will be traveling with sixteen fellow backpackers and one Calvin Sun, whose rousing story and headstrong travel philosophy – “monsooning” – were recently featured in USA...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 23, 2012 | April 2012: Iran, Iran, Mythbusters, Post-travel Reflections, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Travel Warnings, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
I had said in a previous entry how “normal” everything seemed when I was in Iran last week, but about a week since I’ve returned I’ve noted some exceptions. Of course, some of these are via word of mouth through our interpreter, but this...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 19, 2012 | April 2012: Iran, Blitzkrieg!!!, How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Public Transportation, Serendipitous!, Switzerland, The Nightlife, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come
One of the last moments of the trip After 5 hours in Frankfurt, we landed in Geneva, Switzerland where we had a whopping 20 hours to kill. Our options were: Stay in Geneva, meet a friend, and rest up before heading back home Head to Berne, meet a friend, and...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 14, 2012 | April 2012: Iran, How Did You Do That?, Iran, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
As Americans, you’re not allowed to wander around Iran alone. You’re supposed to be guarded by an MFA-approved tour agency at all times following a strict itinerary. But that was not the case today. In true Monsooning fashion, we decided to skirt...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 14, 2012 | April 2012: Iran, Iran, Mythbusters, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
We approach the mauseoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini with caution. If there’s anything I learned when I visited the mauseoleum of Kim Il-Sung in North Korea, it’s that you do not screw around when it comes to visiting the grave of the...
by Calvin Sun | Apr 12, 2012 | April 2012: Iran, Epiphanies on the Road, Iran, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come
He was a youth in 1979, toppling the statue of Reza Khan in defiance of the Shah. And as one of the many emerging activists of 1979 , he supported the historic regime change that led to the era of Ayatollah Khomeini. But before he was to bear witness to the...
by Calvin Sun | Jan 4, 2012 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fail, Morocco, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
They say that 1st time is happenstance, 2nd time is coincidence… Let it be known that after our first run-in — and now definitely after this second coincidental run-in, Gerard Butler now reads this blog, and I quote from June (left in...
by Calvin Sun | Jan 2, 2012 | December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fit for Foodies, Morocco, Serendipitous!, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come
Usually I would resort to these titles to grab your attention, but if you look at the picture above, you’ll see it’s more than a gimmick. It’s for real: 5 minutes ago we ran into Gerard Butler in the maze of souks within the Marrakech medina. Being...
by Calvin Sun | Dec 29, 2011 | Crisis, December 2011: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Fail, How's the weather?, Lessons Learned, Morocco, Public Transportation
The good news is that we accomplished the challenge of making it to 3 countries/sovereignties in a single day. We got in and out of Gibraltar and got to see the Rock, we made it to the Algeciras ferry to Morocco, and we caught the 9:35pm train to Fez 5 minutes...
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