Around The World | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Meeting Up With Old and New Friends While Traveling ‘Round the World

Published October 15, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

I met Dr. Fauziah Ahmad in 2007, during my first ever round-the-world trip. We happened to be on the same city tour of Hanoi, Vietnam, and bonded when we had to fight to get a portion of our money back because the tour operator failed to deliver on promises to take us to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We later attended a performance at the Water Puppet Theater, followed by dinner, at the end of which we exchanged contact information and she invited me to visit her in Penang, should I ever make it to Malaysia.

Dr. Fauziah Ahmad and husband, Ahmad Shukri Yahaya

Over the years we’d exchanged a few emails, but hadn’t been in regular contact, so I held off contacting her until I knew for sure my arrival dates. Once I had arrived and recovered from my horrible experience in China, I emailed to let her know I was in Penang. Realizing it was short notice, I told her I’d understand if she didn’t have time to get together, but I underestimated the bonds of friendship made during travel.

The following week, Fauziah arrived at my guest house and whisked me away to her home for the night, where she set me up in her guest room and introduced me to her lovely family. But that was only the beginning; she had plans for me…

Sitting in on student's practice presentation to Dr. Fauziah Ahmad

Fauziah is a geotechnical engineer specializing in soil stability, landslides, and ground improvement, and a full professor at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malaysia University of Science). She had timed my visit to coincide with the Hari Raya Adilfitri, one of the high Muslim Continue reading →

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Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, bloggers, Blogging, cultural travel, culture, Friends, Malaysia, Penang, round the world travel, Travel, tribe |

14 Comments

Eat, Pray, Love In Real Life – How My Career Break Led to a Life of Travel

Published September 1, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

I went to see the new movie Eat, Pray, Love a couple of weeks ago. The movie wasn’t fabulous, it wasn’t even as good as the book, but it threw me into reminiscing. Nearly four years ago, like the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, I too made the decision to abandon my existing life and job to travel around the world for six months in pursuit of my true passions of travel, photography, and writing. The book had just been released at that time and I read it from cover to cover during the 36 hours and three layovers required to get to Vietnam. I remember being intrigued by the fact that I had previously visited India and would be going to Italy and Bali on that trip, meaning I would be retracing the steps of the author.

My situation wasn’t exactly the same as Gilbert’s. I wasn’t coming out of a divorce or a bad relationship. But I was spiritually bereft. I had built numerous successful careers in corporate environments, only to abandon them to search for something that would make me happy. I knew deep down that corporate life, with its appurtenant stress and soul-sucking politics was not for me, but I kept returning to it because it paid the bills. By the time I’d turned 50 I was a lost soul. I didn’t know who I was, but I knew I had to find a way to make myself happy, to escape from the endlessness of it all.

At the conclusion of my six months on the road I decided to recreate myself as a travel writer and photographer which, frankly, were the only things I’d ever really wanted to do. Now, four years later, I’ve accomplished that goal. I travel 9-10 months per year and have no permanent home. Although I do not suggest that this life is for everyone, one part of my process – the six month career break – was a valuable tool that can benefit anyone. It is not uncommon for Europeans and Australians to take mid-career breaks; employers in these countries seem to understand that employees return to the workplace renewed and brimming with new ideas following such a hiatus. Unfortunately, in the U.S. the mid-career break is not an accepted part of our culture, but there is now a movement afoot to change all that.

Join us and find out how to take a mid-career break

Two weeks from today, on September 14th, the developers of the website Briefcase to Backpack will hold a FREE series of events in major cities across the U.S.and in Canada, titled “Meet, Plan, Go!” With the goal of Continue reading →

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Tagged Around The World, briefcase to backpack, career breaks, gap year travel, long term travel, Meet Plan Go, Michaela Potter, round the world, RTW, sabbaticals, Sherry Ott |

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Striking Places Off My Bucket List

Published February 16, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

El Chepe - the train that runs through Mexico's Copper Canyon.

It’s time to reveal my tentative travel itinerary. I say tentative because I never really know what my route will be. Some places, I definitely want to visit; others are potential destinations and still others are only “if I have time.” I generally have a hotel or hostel reserved for the first few nights, but after that I just go where the wind blows me and figure out travel arrangements as I go.

Sites that are high on my priority list this time around are taking the train through Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) to spend time among the Tarahumara Indians and visiting the Yucatan capital of Merida, both in Mexico, as well as hiking the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu in Peru, and visiting the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.

Several of my fellow digital nomads will simultaneously be doing long-term travel in South America and/or Central America and I hope to cross paths with some of them along the way; there’s even talk of a meet-up at Macchu Pichu. Since my plans are fluid, I’m open to any suggestions you may have for places along the way that are worth investigating or should not be missed, or any comments with regard to my schedule (if, for instance, a particular plan to go from one place to Continue reading →

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Posted in Central America travel, Mexico travel, South America travel |

Tagged Around The World, backpacking, Baja, belize, bucket list, Cancun, Copper Canyon, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, guatemala, independent, La Paz, long term, Macchu Pichu, Mazatlan, Mexico, peru, round the world, RTW, Travel, Yucatan |

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Have Backpack, Will Travel – Time to Hit the Road Again

Published February 14, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

I let my shadow lug around my backpack while I relaxed on the beach in Byron Bay, Australia

Some people have itchy fingers. I have itchy travel feet. Since returning from my six-month round-the-world (RTW) trip in 2007 I’ve continued to travel in the U.S., staying on the road more than 50% of the time. I’ve been longing to strap on my backpack and head back out for another round of international travel but the timing just didn’t seem right. Last year was especially difficult; I finally had to tell the bank to take back a property I still owned in North Carolina, because I could no longer pay the mortgage. It was a gut-wrenching decision, fraught with irrational fears. After a lifetime of building up sterling credit, how would I live once it was ruined? Could I ever obtain another credit card or qualify for a car loan? Would bad credit keep a potential employer from hiring me? What if I settled down in one place – would I be able to rent an apartment? Even worse, I felt like a bad person, a lowlife, a loser. I had never even paid a bill late, much less default on a loan contract.

Things got worse. The bank decided to sue me rather than foreclose on the property. I won’t bore you with the gory details, other than to say my attorney is still battling this in court, but the whole experience has elicited yet another shift in my ever-evolving view of life. It all began in December of 2006, when I walked away from a successful career. For the previous ten years I had been selling real estate. I had no passion for the job, quite the opposite: even though I was a very talented Broker, I hated going to work every day. Deep down I knew I was selling my soul, yet I plodded along because it paid the bills and gave me the resources to travel a month each year. I never considered that it took every last day of those month-long vacations to regain my sanity, and that with each ensuing year my Continue reading →

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Tagged Around The World, backpacking, central america, couchsurfing, hostels, independent, long term travel, luxury resorts, Mexico, on the road, round the world, RTW, South America, Travel |

106 Comments

My Around-The-World Trip Featured on Indie Travel Podcast

Published July 2, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Michaela Potter in the Galapagos. Photo courtesy of BriefcaseToBackpack.com.

A while back I wrote that Hole In The Donut was featured on the Briefcase to Backpack website.Â The founders of the site, Michaela Potter and Sherry Ott, both took a mid-career break to travel around the world and in so doing discovered an interesting fact: although Brits, Aussies and many other cultures accept the value of such a break, the concept is virtually unknown in the U.S. Having benefited in many ways from their travels, the duo wanted to â€œinspire others to take a cultural career break and gain insightful lessons on life.” Thus Briefcase To Backpack was born, and my around the world trip was one of the first to be featured on their site.

Sherry Ott in India. Photo courtesy of BriefcaseToBackpack.com.

After my initial phone interview with Michaela, she asked if I would be willing to have a follow-up conversation where she would record my comments for a future podcast. Although I had no idea how they intended to use the audio, I was delighted when, just a few days ago, I discovered Michaela and Sherry had incorporated my comments into a podcast now appearing on the immensely popular Indie Travel Podcast. The site is run by Craig and Linda, full-time travelers who bring you tips and topics from the world of independent travel. They provide regular travel advice, review products and services they have found useful, or bring you an interview from someone theyâ€™ve met along the way.

I must admit to being somewhat surprised by the sound of my own voice – do I really sound like that???? But I was otherwise blown away when I listened to it. Perhaps half of the 21-minute podcast was devoted to my phone interview. I sounded articulate, humorous, engaged, energized…all I can say is, somebody must have some mighty fine editing skills! I subsequently realized that the Continue reading →

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5 Comments

On My Way Home

Published September 5, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

I am sitting at the airport in Lisbon, Portugal, waiting to board my plane. This trip has been a wonderful adventure for me over the past six months. I don’t know why I was so driven to do it; I only know that it was extremely important for me. Perhaps I was feeling my mortality and wanted to make this trip while I thought I still was capable of doing so. Perhaps I just needed to go look for my true path in life. I can’t say that I’ve found my path along the way – yet. But I feel I am close.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I never made it back into Lisbon, nor did I get to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Sintra, just 30 minutes from where I was staying. Frankly, I needed a rest, so I gave myself permission to just lie on the beach for nine days instead of playing tourist right up to the last possible moment and wearing myself to a frazzle. I did, however, have an amazing experience in Portugal. Several days ago Continue reading →