Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel
Inspirational Travel Stories
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Latest posts
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So Why Am I Going to Greenland?
There’s no mystery about the fact that I’ve always had a penchant for unusual destinations. But ever since mid-2025, when I began contemplating a trip to Greenland, people keep asking me why I want to go there. Just last night, my neighbor said, “I don’t know anyone who’s ever…
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Off the Beaten Track in Northern Thailand
After a few days in Bangkok, many head north to the cities of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pai. These three well-known destinations offer much to see and do. But beyond the tourist track in Northern Thailand are little-known attractions just waiting to be discovered. After many…
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Bo Sang Umbrella Festival in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand 2026
Every year in January, the village of Bo Sang in Chiang Mai Province holds the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival, one of the most interesting festivals in Thailand, which celebrates the making and selling of gorgeous hand-made, hand-painted paper umbrellas. This year’s celebration was…
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Worthwhile Things to See and Do in Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj, India
It poured almost every day I was in India. When it wasn’t raining, fog blanketed everything. It was, after all, the rainy season, but I wasn’t about to let the monsoon season deter me from visiting the many interesting things to see and do in Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj, India.…
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Serendipity in Dharamsala, India
I arrived in Dharamsala, India, a couple of days before the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday celebration and Long Life Ceremony. With total knee replacement surgery only six months in my rear view mirror, I needed to make sure I could manage the steps and find somewhere to sit during…
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The Quokkas of Rottnest Island, Australia – Cuteness Overload!
I travel to see geological sites, to attend festivals, and to experience culture. But one of my favorite reasons to travel is to see unique animals in the wild. In 2024, I added one of the cutest animals ever to my list – the Quokkas of Rottnest Island, located off the southwest…
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Perth: Australia’s Wild West is Worth a Visit
Perth may be Australia’s fourth largest city, but it is better known as “one of the most isolated big cities in the world.” It’s not true, of course. Perth’s location on the coast of Western Australia puts it more than 1,300 miles from it’s closest major Australian city,…
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The Pinnacles in Western Australia, Stunning and Mysterious
Geologists and scientists can’t agree on how The Pinnacles in Western Australia were formed. But they do agree on one thing: these astonishing stone spires that pierce the golden-red sands in Nambung National Park are mysterious and stunning. Tourists also agree. They flock to…
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The Naked Truth about Lake Ballard in Western Australia
“Lake” isn’t an accurate description of Lake Ballard in Western Australia. They say there’s water in it, somewhere in the far distance. But the shoreline where I stood was a long expanse of caked red mud that morphed into brilliant white salt flats at the horizon. Where red met…
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The Magnificent Red Lotus Lake in Udon Thani, Thailand
I squinted in the pre-dawn grayness, searching for signs of the tropical pink water lilies that carpet the surface of Nong Han Lake every winter. A few minutes earlier, my friend Anne and I had gingerly climbed into a tippy flat-bottomed wooden boat for our ride to the center of…
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Phi ta Khon Festival – Thailand’s Answer to Halloween
Picture thousands of people dressed up as monsters, roaming the streets of a tiny village in northeastern Thailand. Giant ears, huge hooked noses, and foot-long spiked teeth sprout from their masks. Their chin-to-toe costumes are sewn from scraps of cloth into a kaleidoscopic…
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Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai, Thailand – My COVID Silver Linings
There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic was a scourge on the earth, however for me there were a few silver linings amongst the lockdowns and quarantines. One of those silver linings was simply being in Thailand, where the cases were very low and the deaths even lower. To…
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Bangkok – What’s in a Name
Thai society erupted in controversy last month when the government approved a proposal to change the official name of Thailand’s capital from Bangkok to Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. While this might seem slightly bizarre to most Westerners, Thais have always referred to their capital…
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I Want to Go Out With a Bang…Literally
March answered her phone, even though it was from an unknown caller. Maybe it would be her lucky day. Perhaps it would be someone asking to see one of the properties she’d listed in Bangkok. The woman on the other end of the line apologized. “You don’t know me, but are you the…
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Fighting the Blues with Blossoms
A couple of months ago I struck up a conversation with a young man at Cozy Coffee and Bistro, my home away from home in Chiang Mai. He was surprised to learn that after 18 years of visiting Thailand and more than four years of living here, I still didn’t have a Thai nickname.…
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Dantewada “Land of Angels” Waterfall Park, the Newest Attraction in Mae Taeng, Thailand
There’s a new attraction north of Chiang Mai that only locals seem to know about. Fortunately, I am blessed to have wonderful Thai friends who invite me along on day trips around northern Thailand. Most recently they introduced me to Dantewada Land of Angels Waterfall Park, a…
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Krabi Town, Thailand – Like an Outdoor Art Gallery
Most people barely give Krabi Town a second glance. If they visit at all, they stay overnight on their way to Railay Beach, Koh Lanta, or the Phi Phi Islands. But during a recent visit to Railay Beach, I decided to stop over in the town of Krabi for three days and was pleasantly…
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Railay Beach in Krabi, Thailand – A Great Escape from Smoke Season in Chiang Mai
Every spring, when farmers burn their fields, a thick blanket of smoke descends upon my home in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Most years, I’m traveling at this time, but this year COVID-19 put a crimp in my normal schedule. I could leave, but if I did, I couldn’t come home. I thought I…
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The Ordained Dton Yaang Naa Spirit Trees of Thailand
The first time I saw the Dton Yaang Naa trees I was transfixed. I was returning from a press trip to learn about the care of Elephants in the Kingdom of Thailand, when our van driver turned down Chiang Mai-Lamphun Road. Twin rows of behemoth trees flanked the narrow, twisting…
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Artists from Around the World Sketch my Photo of a Traditional Penang Shophouse in Malaysia
Here’s something new and fun and (for me) very exciting. A few days ago I received an email from Leslie Parsons (@montrealsketcher), an artist from Montreal. “I have a strange request for you,” he said. “A popular urban sketcher from Malaysia found an image on Pinterest that he…