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Docjsh - Joel S. Hart

Hi...My name is Joel and I am about to turn 35. I have been living in Korea for the past 3.5 years and as a reward to myself, I have planned the trip of a lifetime. It will last approximately 10 months and I will travel through China, Tibet, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and finally New Zealand, with the possibility of a stop-over in Tahiti or Fiji on my way back to the States.

I hope to have a trip that is gastronomically rich, personally challenging, and generally the adventure I've hoped to have since I was 10 years old.

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Joined on: February 6th 2006
Last Login: July 27th 2009

Blog Entries: 26
Photos: 456

TB Code: [blogger=12199]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Docjsh, order by Date newest first.

By Docjsh
October 17th 2006

It's all over Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Jackie and Joel in Koh Samui

Hello Everyone, I know it's been a long time since I've updated...more than a month now that I think about it, but Jackie and I have been busy. First, unless you read through the complete blog that I last posted, you won't know that Jackie and I are getting married. Our original plan was to marry in Singapore, but due to beaurocratic regulations, we have decided to wait. The plan now looks like we'll be getting married in January, probably on the 20th. Right now, we are also planning to get married in Denver with the hope of attracting lots of [View Full Entry]

Jackie and our dive boat captain Koh Tao

By Docjsh
September 2nd 2006

Free at last Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur

Taj Mahal 6

Well, I thought it was finally time to update everyone about our time in India, especially since Jackie and I have been back in Bangkok for a week now. It's not because I've been lazy that I haven't updated my blog in nearly a month, it's just that India takes so much out of me that I didn't have the energy to update. And it's taken nearly a week to get the energy back. Now, the trip wasn't all bad. We had some great experiences, especially our time with Euan and Heather in Bangalore and on our two-day drive to Goa [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
July 31st 2006

Dark Delhi Days Asia » India » National Capital Territory » New Delhi

Humayun's Tomb 2

To begin with, I should have the photos for Thailand up by the time this comes out. Connection speed and access in general in India is a bit difficult at the best of times. Power outages and dial-up connections make it difficult to surf the internet, much less upload photos. I think India has been the trial that I was led to believe Vietnam would be, but even worse. Many people warned me that India is difficult, so I was expecting some of it, but I thought I was prepared. I wasn’t…not even close. My first impression of India is that [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
July 23rd 2006

Artwork and a Bump or two Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok

Bangkok 2

It's been quite a while since I last updated the blog and I figured I should do that now, as we leave Thailand tonight for India. For the past few weeks, Jackie and I have been in Thailand, spreading ourselves between Bangkok and the island of Koh Samet. We arrived in Bangkok on July 10th after a marathon bus ride from Siem Reap. We went from a bus that was worse than any I was ever on in China, which says a lot, and driving on a road that had 50 meters of pavement interspersed with kilometers of dusty, potholed roads. [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
July 10th 2006

Hoisting Angkor Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor

Angkor Wat 102

There are few places I've been in the world that are truly awe-inspiring...the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall are perhaps the only two. Other places are amazing, like Salisbury Cathedral or the Forbidden City, but they are places that can be described in words and the pictures taken of them can tell the whole story. The Grand Canyon, the Great Wall and now Angkor are places that are beyond my description, so I'll try to let my photos do the talking, although none of them really does justice. Jackie and I got three-day passes ($40 each) and hired a local [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
July 8th 2006

Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh 1

Jackie and I have been in Cambodia for nearly two weeks now and we’re having a good time. However, I did make a mistake in my planning…Cambodia is not as cheap as I was expecting, at least not for food. We’ve been able to find plenty of cheap lodging, not paying more than $6 a night anywhere we’ve been, which is much cheaper than we ever found in Vietnam, which averaged $10 per night. However, food in Cambodia, which always seems to be priced in U.S. dollars, as is everything, is much more expensive than Vietnam. Even at the roadside stands, [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
June 27th 2006

Dalat to the Delta Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City

Dalat - Jackie and Joel 2

This is my last blog for Vietnam…well, because we are not even in Vietnam anymore. Jackie and I are now in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and have been for a few days. So, I think the easiest way to update everyone is to go backwards from here. We arrived in Phnom Penh having taken a 3day/2 night tour of the Mekong Delta. I keep falling into the trap of taking organized tours, mainly because they don’t require as much work on my part and are usually cheaper too. The problem comes in on the corners the tour company cut to make extra [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
June 19th 2006

Halong Bay to Hue and down to Hoi An Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Hué

Halong Bay 39

Jackie and I left Hanoi early in the morning to get to Halong Bay. We had signed up for a 3 day, 2 night tour through our guest house and had a 3-hour bus ride to the coast. In a similar fashion to Chinese tours, we stopped at a souvenir shop on the way where they charged outrageous amounts for water and ugly trinkets. The heat didn’t let up as we got closer to the coast either; Just seemed to get hotter. Perhaps it was coincidence or just a lack of tours to go on, but we ended up on the [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
June 13th 2006

Hot Hanoi Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi

Hanoi 1

I was prepared for the very worst in Hanoi. No one I had met along the way in the variety of hostels had anything nice to say about Hanoi and most really disliked it. These people told me to beware of the people because they will constantly try to cheat you; most also didn’t like the food much; and almost all said that there wasn’t much to do or see. I had a pretty good time myself and didn’t have much to dislike about anything except the constant and unrelenting heat, but hey, I’m in Vietnam in June, so I have [View Full Entry]

By Docjsh
June 12th 2006

On to Vietnam Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Sapa

Sapa 2

It’s been a while now since I was in Sapa or at least it seems like it although it’s only been a week. So much has happened since getting to Hanoi. However, I want to talk about Sapa before getting on to the rest. I got up to Sapa after crossing the border from China at Lao Cai on June 1st and I spent three days just wandering around the area and getting used to Vietnam. The highlight was on the second day, when I rented a motorbike and spent the riding through the hills past water falls and small villages, [View Full Entry]

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