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The VIP Lounge | Jonny Sun

The VIP Lounge with Jonny Sun

Jonny SunWesley Taylor

Jonny Sun is a Canadian humorist, author, and illustrator whose latest collaboration is with “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. The two became friends after initially connecting on Twitter and recently released “Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You,” a book based on a selection of tweeted-out affirmations from Miranda, with accompanying illustrations by Sun. “I learned so much from him,” Sun said of the Broadway icon. “It was really, really cool working with him.” Sun, 28, has lived in Cambridge and on Beacon Hill, and is currently a PhD candidate (studying social media communities) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Last month, he created an immersive project at the Cambridge Public Library called “The Laughing Room,” which, the Globe’s Steve Annear wrote, examined “the intersection of art, technology, and privacy.” We caught up with the Toronto resident to talk about all things travel.

Favorite vacation destination? I still feel too young and untraveled to have a favorite. I haven’t really been able to go to any vacation places more than once yet.

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Favorite food or drink while vacationing? I always will want anything I can get there that I can’t get at home . . . whatever the locals are making and having. I love the dives and the street food and the hole-in-the-wall places.

Where would you like to travel to but haven’t? Japan — for the food. Or literally anywhere for the food.

One item you can’t leave home without when traveling? Whatever my current sketchbook is.

Aisle or window? Window if I plan to catch up on sleep and aisle if I plan to work and write on my laptop. I’m either always working or sleeping, I feel.

Favorite childhood travel memory? My parents used to take my brother and me with them to their work conferences in the summer and they’d drive for three-day-long road trips to get places. I don’t really remember the destinations or the scenery, but I’ve always loved the road trip part of it . . . sitting in the car and the feeling of constantly moving and the excitement of going “somewhere.” That always felt more exciting than the actual destination.

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Guilty pleasure when traveling? Eating and spending too much on food.

Best travel tip? Just walk around. Choose a cool starting point or neighborhood that interests you and just walk around and explore. Dip into places you find interesting, and follow the roads that draw you in. You are your best tour guide because you know what interests you better than anyone else. Explore. I always find that the things I fall in love with by wandering through a city are the things that you can never find on any of the tourist guides or lists.