Joe N Hawley

I have arrived back in Calgary after 207 days of living out of a backpack and the first thing I did was empty everything out and spread it all over the floor, which felt quite satisfying at the time! Tammy and Hawley are keeping the dream alive and are somewhere in Switzerland as I write this. It is nice to be home but the reality of it is slowly sinking in, getting stuck in Calgary traffic, updating my resume, daytime television.....all things I didn't miss that's for sure but all in all I am glad to be back to see my friends and family and enjoy the rest of summer. This may be the last entry unless Hawley and Tammy take over the blog, if not watch for their photo's on facebook. Thanks to everyone ... read more

Due to the keyboard in France being quite different then what I am used to, I will not be writing much! Here are our highlights from the last few weeks: Seville, Spain - biggest Catholic Church in the world, famous bullfighting ring, and a Flamenco dancer with the body of an NFL linebacker! Lagos, Portugal - Nice beaches and lots of partiers, pour hour (a meal and all you can drink within an hour) for less than 10 Euros! Day trip to Sagres for some surfing in cold water! Lisbon, Portugal - Skinny alleys that turned into night time drinking spots, day trip to Sintra to see a Moorish castle and funky Palace. My Birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe, best Nachos and BBQ Ribs since I left home! Also a more humane version of bullfighting ... read more

We are coming to an end of our time in Asia, as of May 10th we fly to Spain for our European tour. The end of our time in Thailand was a little sketchy because I got really sick, apparently with Dengue Fever. This is something I would not recommend! I spent most of our time in Phuket lying in bed, which thankfully was at a nice hotel, where we had all the amenities for about $30/night. I didn't feel too bad about this because the only thing Phuket seemed to have to offer was another nice beach and rampant sex tourism! Our next stop was in Singapore, which was a great city/country. It was very Western there, maybe even more so then Hong Kong. Everything is clean and the people are friendly and well mannered, ... read more

After several weeks in foreign land it was nice to arrive in Thailand and see some Western comforts. We took advantage of these in Chiang Mai as well as some activities that are popular in the area. We started off with another cooking class, this time learning the basics and staples of Thai cuisine such as Curries, Hot and Sour soup (Tom Yum) and of course Pad Thai. Even the "mild" dishes seem to leave one teary eyed and stinging, but the flavors are great! After a day of cooking it was time for some extreme activity, so got up at the crack of dawn and set off to the jungle for a zip-lining adventure. Once we were suited up and given a hand break (piece of bamboo with a sharp angle at the end), it ... read more

We arrived in Phnom Penh via bus from Saigon, and aside from the heat everything went smoothly. When we got there in the late afternoon the temperature seemed to be still going up! Our trip to Cambodia was defined by 2 things, the Khmer Rouge and Ancient Angkor. Phnom Penh was the central sight for one of the most violent and horrific social experiments in human history. It was a group of radicals (Khmer Rouge) attempt to make a "perfect society." This involved eradicating anyone that lived in cities, had an education, or had differing political or economic views from them. In the end it is estimated that over 3 million Cambodian's were killed, and it devastated the country. Prisoners were held at the Tuol Sleng museum (formerly Security Prison 21 or S-21, the biggest in ... read more