About Barbara Weibel

My name is Barbara Weibel and I’m the owner/publisher of Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel. I’ve always envied people who love their jobs. Unlike those lucky souls, my various careers over the years (marketing, advertising, selling real estate, working in a retail store, owning a public relations firm, and selling snow cones in the largest water park in Puerto Rico, among others) were just means to an end – a way to earn money and have a comfortable lifestyle. I never loved what I did and I can’t really say I was ever really happy, but I plodded on because I was raised to be dependable, to always give 110%, and to work hard in order to be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement. All of which meant going to work every day, regardless of how much I despised my job.

Posing in front of the manicured flower beds at Princess Sirindhorn Palace in Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand
Barbara Weibel at Princess Sirindhorn Palace in Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand, 2022

I knew I wasn’t being true to myself. My inner voice constantly nagged, “Who am I, why am I here, and what is my purpose in life?” I had often heard that we should do what what we love, what makes us joyful. So I asked myself, “What makes me joyful?” But I had no answer. I knew there had to be something better out there; I just didn’t know what it was. Then I got sick. Really sick.

My health had been failing for some time but the doctors couldn’t determine what was wrong. More than once it was implied that my illness was all in my head. Finally, after five years of suffering, I was diagnosed with what had by then become chronic Lyme disease. During the initial treatment I was practically bedridden. Since I could barely drag myself from the bed to the couch (much less go to work) I had a lot of time to examine my life. I decided that things had to change. I was like a donut – a wonderful outer shell with an empty, hollow inside. I could no longer ignore the need to feel that I was living a purposeful life. I needed to fill the hole in my donut. Again I asked myself, “What brings me joy?” This time, I had some answers. Photography. Writing. And travel. I promised myself that when I recovered I would find a way of living that focused on those things that bring me joy.

As soon as I was healthy enough, I left my job, strapped on a backpack, and traveled solo around the world for six months, determined to visit the places I’d always wanted to see. I traveled without major plans, took thousands of photos along the way, and blogged about every place I visited. Upon returning to the States in September of 2007, I rented an apartment in Florida and continued to travel more than half of the time, while simultaneously pursuing freelance writing opportunities. By the end of 2009 I was traveling so much that it made no sense to maintain a home base, so I sold or gave away my remaining furniture and hit the road full time.

For the next eight years I traveled perpetually, staying long-term in many countries in order to immerse in the local culture. But with age came some new challenges. In my early sixties, I began to experience hip and knee problems that were likely effects from my long bout with Lyme disease. More and more, I found it difficult to carry a suitcase up and down the stairs of railway and Metro stations around the world. I began to worry that my traveling days were over.

Fortunately, I was able to correct my joint problems through stem cell therapy. But the mobility issues I had suffered convinced me that it was time to have a home base again. Thus, in December of 2017, I rented an apartment and became an expat in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I’m still traveling a significant amount of the time each year but now I can return to my home base whenever I need a rest, and I no longer need to carry everything with me all the time. It has made a world of difference, and I once again believe I will continue to travel well into my 70’s or even my 80’s.

Throughout my years of travel, I have continued to publish stories on Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel that feature the destinations I visit, the interesting people I meet, the crazy (and often humorous) things that happen to me along the way, and the never-ending spiritual lessons that come from travel. With its self-deprecating humor and focus on the inner journey as well as the outer, Hole In The Donut has attracted a loyal following of readers who travel with me vicariously. So grab a chair and settle in for some unique and interesting travel stories.

You may also enjoy:

How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World Full Time
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Everything You Need to Know About Booking a Round-the-World Flight
Travel Safety Tips
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335 thoughts on “About Barbara Weibel”

  1. Hi Barbara, Your page is an inspiration to all would be travellers. Its wonderful now that so many people travel and share their stories, I started planning my escape from the working world in 1999, and back then there were only a few inspirations, like Billy and Akaisha Kaderli and Paul and Vicki Terhorst. I did leave the working world in Dec 2008 at the ripe old age of 43 and I have travelled in many different ways since then with my husband, there is a change coming though as he is no longer interested in travel and I am now unfulfilled with my retirement. So I wondered if you share here somewhere what this lifestyle costs you per month as a single traveller, and I also wonder if you leave family behind? I have two young grandaughters and I must admit almost all the travellers I follow have no children, let alone grandchildren.
    Thank you for your inspiration.
    Louise
    PS your photo of Butchart Gardens is from Victoria BC Canada (my hometown), not Vancouver.

    • Hi Louise: Pardon the late reply; I am traveling at the moment and it is sometimes hard to keep up when I am moving around so quickly. Thanks so much for your comment and lovely remarks. To answer your questions, I am unmarried and have no children, so I am footloose and fancy free, as they say. I usually come back to the States at Christmas to visit my Dad and sisters, and I am also sometimes back for a few weeks in the summer, either for business or for family. Frankly, if I had no family I’d stay overseas all the time. I prefer it to being in the States. I’ve never really done the math for my travel expenses, but if I had to guess I’d say I average betwee $20-25 per day, including accommodations and food. I usually stay in hostel dorms, which run between $6-15 per day, though I occasionally splurge and go a little higher for a private room. The hostels usually include breakfast, so I really only have to pay for one additional meal each day, late in the afternoon. If I get hungry in the evening, I snack on fruit, which I buy at markets, or do the street food thing. I am able to live overseas, perpetually traveling, for less than $900 per month, including all my airfare and other transportation, which is the most expensive item. Hope that helps, and thanks for the correction about Butchart Gardens – I knew that but had a “senior moment” when I updated my site with the new slide show the other day.

  2. Hi Barbara,
    While i was reading your story, i felt like it was my own. We share the same passion for writing,traveling and photography, but somehow i am not being able to pursue all these things that i love more than anything in life. I am unemployed and struggling financially but i don’t feel like doing any other work if it doesn’t touch my heart. I’ve completely lost the zest for life, don’t feel like doing anything. Nothing interests me , i have no vision, direction,hope…nothing. I have stopped socializing and remain aloof.
    I don’t find any reason to live, life has become a burden. I used to be very energetic, creative and full of life, but now i am just a shadow of the man i used to be.
    I want to get my life back.I want to writer ,travel and take pictures.
    I don’t know what to do, i am at lost.
    Perhaps you could help me

    • Dear Pravat: It sounds to me like you’re suffering from severe depression, which can be very serious. I strongly suggest you seek professional help, immediately. You need to get back on track and when in the midst of depression, it is very hard to do on your own. Though you are struggling financially, I am sure there are agencies that would help you free of charge. Please take care of yourself.

  3. Barbara, your story resonates with so many including myself. Thank you for being an example of bravery and following your dream. I’m close to reaching the point I can let go and follow my own dream.

  4. Thank you so much Tami! I use an EOS Rebel Canon T31 – not the top of the line by any means, but I’m a firm believer that it’s not the camera body that matters but the lens. I buy the body only, without the kit lens, which is usually junk anyway, and buy separate lenses.My walk-around is an EF-S 10-22mm super wide angle. I also carry a 75-300 Tamron telephoto and a 50mm f/1.4 fixed lens for night video. I’m with you on the job thing – do it now or you may never do it. You can always get another job.

  5. I`ve always dreamt of a life like this ! So far I`ve been travelling with family or my husband round our country. We might say ,we`ve known it like an open book. That`s true, that travelling, meeting other people, learning their  wisdom, meeting different cultures are rewarding
    . I admire you that despite the illness you seized a chance. As to money, my husband always says ” money limits us and the lack of them doesn`t.” I hope, one day we`ll follow your steps. 

  6. Barbara, 
    Your story is lovely and inspirational.  I love what you’re doing.  Travel is my passion too.  I quit my teaching job and my bf, Paul Caridad, and I are currently on a road trip around the US, but we are hoping to go around the world too, once we save up enough for plane tickets.  
    Safe travels,
    Jessica 

    • Thanks Jessica. Good for you! It’s a wonderful thing to be able to travel the world and learn about other cultures – really a mind-broadening experience.

    • Hi frankie julia: Money is a constant struggle, as I’m not wealthy.I sell advertising on my site, do some freelance writing, and sell a few of my photos each year. Thinking about an ebook on Nepal and working on a novel as well. My income is limited, so I must usually stay in budget accommodations, but I’m fine with that, as long as I can keep traveling.

      • Barbara, I think that’s amazing you manage to keep going financially and why not-in the pursuit of living an authentic life-you should! Really inspiring. I have done a little travelling but lately decided to shift my life around who I really am-and even though as yet I haven’t quite got sorted enough to head off I feel I am on the right track. One life (as who you are right now)- so really live it-I say. J x

          • I love how you say that you now, after so much time truly love what you do.  I always wonder if when I make the leap, will I be happy doing that or is it more of the same mediocrity.  So it is encouraging to hear you say on one hand that nothing made you happy but that this does.  Happy travels Barbara!

            • Thanks Kelly. This is by no means an easy or glamorous life and I work as many hours as I ever did in corporate life. The difference now is that I love every minute of it!

  8. Hi Barbara,
      I get chance to see your blog from Lonely Planet, then i surf your website. i m pretty much inspired by you and your thought. Also happy to know that such inspiring person in my home land Nepal. Hope you are passing good time with Nepalese people as well as enjoying beauty of Nepal.   

  9. Hi Barbara,

    Just came across your Blog and I love what you are saying and what you are doing. I was laid off at the end of last year and have found a lot of pleasure just as you say from taking photos and writing. That you’re doing what you’re doing is a real inspiration to me. I used to live in Indonesia and have traveled extensively around Asia, so I look forward to reading more of your blog. I’m now resident in Boston and as a Brit, I love living in another country and experiencing other cultures – even if the difference at the moment is only the difference between Olde England, and New England!
    All the best to you!

    • Thanks so much Zeff. Seems we are of like minds. I appreciate you taking time to leave a comment to tell me you enjoy my blog!

  10. HUGE apology to lovely Barbara who DID reply to my comment below personally by sending an email even (how nice was that) and somehow it didn’t get received.  Live and learn, my error and this lady gets over 100 emails a day and responds to folks personally…  I hope the below gets deleted!

    If you haven’t read it, Barbara did an inteview recently on Travel Blogger Academy – has a lot of great advice for aspiring travel writers.  She was picked as one of the ‘Top 10’ travel bloggers out there.  

    Again – I am so sorry about the misunderstanding Barbara, can imagine how busy you are. 

  11. i admire your strength. it’s not very easy to come up with such a decision, and leave the stable life you’ve been living for years! i think you are a very courageous woman. i think i will be hooked to your blog. thanks for sharing your stories!

  12. Thanks so much for sharing your story and what an inspirational woman you are!  I’ll have to tell ya, I am a travel writer/professional blogger as well but started my current online biz much later (2010) and hadn’t heard of you until a couple of lovely ladies from Scotland (pretty sure that was it!) mentioned you when we were hanging out and talking about blogging in Paracas, Peru – they’d met you on the road and thought you were the cats meow…  🙂  

    If you ever have time to check out my site (will not post here but post with comment) and give me any advice feedback would be much appreciated.  Or just network a bit if that is something you do.  Best, Molly  – publisher of South America Living

    • Wow, guess my comment didn’t deserve a response back, I’m a little dumbfounded.  Maybe the competition of being another travel writer?  Oh well, best to you.

      • Molly – I DID reply, in an email, rather than online. Since you did not put your link in the original comment, I thought that might be a better route to go. Apparently that email did not make it to you – it was a different one than shown in this comment, so I will forward it to you again using this email. Really, you should not make such rash assumptions….

  13. Hello Barbara,
    I am an avid traveler who is currently in a quandry!  Hopefully you can offer some advice.  I am 50, have recently lost  both parents, am an only child and just last week left a miserable job in mgt.  Now in the US is not the best time to leave a job voluntarily.  My initial thought is to use this time to do some bucket list stuff without exhausting all my resources.   I am totally at that crossroads of feeling like if I don’t seek out that next job for income I may never work again (due to the economy & age, is 50 really old?) but if I do work again right away, I may be too old to start up the travel stuff again later for either health reasons, finances etc.   I am the only person in my circle that has been to Asia let alone some who have not even been to Mexico, so to them I am a total nut when it comes to travel “when I should be working”!  How do I explain at my age traveling and not working for an extended period of time on a resume or personal interview, and what if any advice would you give for this weird ‘male mid-life crisis I may be in?  Thanks – really enjoy your blogs and posts. 
    –Kevin H.   

    • Hi Kevin: That’s a normal fear that most people have in the States: “If I go, how do I explain the gap in my resume?” Frankly, everyone I know who has taken a career break to travel has found that upon their return, prospective employers fall into two categories: 1) those who think you are crazy (you don’t want to work for someone like this anyway), and 2) those who admire you for what you’ve done. This second group sees not a drawback, but a person who would have the kind of qualities that would be very beneficial to their firm: patience, the ability to keep your cool in difficult situations, creative thinking, a person who is a self-starter, trouble shooting, fearlessness, etc. You can turn that mid-career break into a BIG selling tool to the right person.

  14. Hi Barbara
    Gosh, your story is so similar to mine… I also worked hard, I also got sick but eventually for me it was burnout.  And yes, I was bedridden and also re-evaluated my life and also decided to travel…and write…and photograph.  I also sold all of my stuff and also don’t have an apartment 🙂  I am not a lot happier than I used to be.  I am writing a lot but still have to crack into the “get paid to write” industry but I’m working on it.  No stress – I left that behind a long time ago 🙂

    Congrats on your story and long may it continue…

    All the best.

    • Hi Colleen: So sorry to hear you are pursuing your dreams but still not feeling much happier. I’m afraid it’s pretty difficult to earn a living as a freelance writer. I make the majority of my income from advertising on my blog. If I had to live on the meager revenues I generate by the occasional freelance work I get, I’d starve. Most all of us who travel and write for a living have some other means of earning income, whether it’s writing and selling ebooks, public speaking, consulting, technical writing, etc. You might want to look for some other income stream to rely on for your needs, then use the writing as a means to joy. If you try to rely on the writing for your income, you’ll get just as stressed out as you were in your previous job and risk losing the joy.

      • Hi Barbara
        So sorry, there was a typo – that’s what I get for commenting when I’m tired. It SHOULD have read ‘I am NOW a lot happier than I used to be’.

        Oops, ANAZING how one little word can change everything 🙂 Have a great Sunday.

  16. Pingback: La vida de una viajera y blogger que nunca más se sentirá como el agujero de un donut « Movimiento Líquido

  20. Hi, Barbara. Well, what can I say? The Hindus say that when we lose our balance, we lose our power. I finally figured out the reason for my “fall from power,” which led to leaving a profitable job, moving around, finally becoming too ill to work anymore, (now disabled on S.S.), and letting others control my life in a negative way. My mom’s death from Aids in 1989. She was my balance, and things began to fall apart after that.

    Today, I’m leaving the U.S. and moving to Tequis. It’s a family town, but cheap and nice enough that I can afford to travel throughout South America and Europe. To see Palenque, for one, would transform my spiritual and emotional being as, during my six years of disability, I’ve given myself a postgraduate education in world and art history; the older the better. After visiting friends and family in Florida from mid-May thorugh June, I’m off. (I can finally afford to get much needed dental work done; first stop.)
    Your info on the little posada in Tequis is perfect for my needs, while I find a place to live. I read there’s an American living there who has an apartment building with great rents; wonder if you know his name or can make another suggestion.

    Thanks ever so much; your blog has given me even more confidence and determination in my quest.

    • Hi Gladys: Congratulations on finally making the decision to hit the road. Sounds like you’re on the right path now. Sorry I don;t now anything about the American living there who has an apartment building with great rents, but you’ll definitely enjoy the little posada I stayed in if you stay there.

  21. Wow!  Barbara, your history is really inspiring! Is necessary a great courage to take a decision like that. Thanks for showing others that taking action is the first step for a change.
    Best regards!Millie

  22. Hi Barbara,
    Great story but I had all that as an independent trucker for 37 years, would love to pick up the dialog.
    W/kind regards
    ~Louis

  23. Hi Barbara,
    Just happened to pass by on your site. Love your personal story. It is very inspiring!

  24. Hi Barbara,
    I sure can relate to your story.  Thank you for sharing.  I liked your section on using the iPhone internationally.  I am wanting to use it to take pictures and connect to wifi but am terrified of racking up charges.  I am wanting to travel more and get rid of a lot of trappings of existence that are weighing me down.  I live on Long Island and the cost of living here is insane.  I am trying to figure out how I can afford to retire in a few years, live more simply, and enjoy life more.  Congratulations on finding your bliss.  I wish I could do what you are doing.

    • Hi Gail: Thanks for your comment.Just keep envisioning your life the way you want it to be; you’ll get there!

  25. Barbara, 1st thank you for sharing your great and amazing story and much admired work… amazing courage and all that you’ve been accomplishing; I’m happy for you and wish you continued success and may you continue to enjoy life and making all your dreams come true.
    I’m a Portuguese-American Artist living in California born in Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal.
    All the best to you, Hélia Borges Sousa

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