The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

It's Christmas time again - it comes so fast! - and I'm replaying this Christmas episode of the podcast from the early years, which I know many people won't have heard. It's full of both fun and poignancy, and even includes a guest appearance from the Easter Bunny. At this time of year, when I've mostly wound down from work for the year and am spending lots of extra time with my son, who's on holidays from school for six whole weeks, I have lots of time to reflect and one of those reflections is just how much I love creating The Thoughtful Travel Podcast and how grateful I am for my fabulous audience and community. So, if you celebrate Christmas, I hope it's a fabulously merry one. And delicious, too. In this episode, I chat with Annalicia Lynn who had an interesting Christmas in Taiwan while she was teaching English there. We talk about the cultural differences between many Asian countries and English-speaking nations and she has one of my very favourite stories about how her Taiwanese colleagues tried to

2019 is coming to an end - and it's been another big year for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. You can hear about some of our travels in Episodes 150 (Thoughtful Travel in Denmark) and 160 (Cairns and Queensland), and in this episode I'll tell you some of the statistics from this year (including in how many countries The Thoughtful Travel Podcast has been downloaded in ... it's quite a lot!). I also answer some great listener questions which include topics like what I think the next hot destinations will be, how I will get out of my comfort zone in 2020, how to balance thoughtful travel with kids and a great question about how to answer "what is your favourite country?" when, as is the case with most of us, we definitely can't narrow that down to one (and it kind of defeats the purpose of travelling to do so, too!). Thanks to all my fabulous guests and listeners over 2019 - I literally couldn't make this show with you and your excellent input! Links: Thoughtful Travel in Denmark - notaballerina.com/150 Cai

You never want to need your travel insurance ... but you should always have it. Episode 165 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is a mix of trips gone wrong (but yippee - travel insurance was there!) and some expert advice from people in the insurance industry. Let's just say - I learnt a lot! First up, I chat with Shelley Winkel who had cause to use her travel insurance after an injury far from any hospital or medical help in Patagonia - pretty much the last place in the world you want to have an accident! Next, I speak with Lisa Kable from the Insurance Council of Australia. I've known Lisa for a couple of years and have figured out that she knows everything that needs to be known about insurance - she definitely taught me a thing or two in this chat! Finally, I talk with Anthony Bianco about some of his experience in the travel insurance industry and allow him to tell the worst joke in the podcast's existence to date!! Links: Shelley Winkel from Tourism and Events Queensland - https://teq.queensland.com 

I might be a little bit obsessive about this topic - although it's been a long time since an episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast has covered it - but I really passionately feel that taking your kids travelling is so very beneficial for them (and you, too!). In Episode 164 I chat with some great guests who feel as strongly about why you should travel with your children as I do. First up, I chat with Nicci O'Mara who impressed me no end with some of the great ideas she has about how to help kids get the most out of their travels. I thought I was good, but Nicci is next level! I then speak with AJ and Natasha who travelled the world with their young son, and intended to do it again in a few years. We discussed how there are a lot of great lessons for parents when travelling with kids, too. Finally, I talk to Suzanne, an American who lives in a fairly remote part of Japan with her Japanese husband and biracial kids. She has lots of important reasons to take her children travelling and it was great to chat

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Tony Wheeler, most famed for being the co-founder, along with his wife Maureen, of the Lonely Planet guide book empire. He gave a keynote address at the conference attended for the Australian Society of Travel Writers and I had the chance to chat with him later that day, and asked him if he'd like to be a special guest on The Thoughtful Travel Podcast - and luckily for all of us he said yes! In this conversation we talk about all kinds of travel-related stories, some fun and some serious. I ask Tony what he's learnt from his travels over the years, whether his children also have the travel bug and all about his keen interest in modes of transport. We also talk about two of his book projects including his most recent one, Islands of Australia. The wonderful members of the Thoughtful Travellers group on Facebook also chimed in with some questions, which led Tony and I to chat about why he mentioned the Maldives as a place he wouldn't return to, and we also discussed the

Have you ever thought about living abroad? I've done it - in Japan, Slovakia and Germany - but it all just kind of happened, and I never had the intention of moving there for the foreseeable future. That's why Episode 162 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is particularly interesting to me - my guests have all travelled with the intention of finding a place to live abroad permanently or for at least a fair few years. First up I chat with Liz Green who explains how she and her husband decided to trial living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was mind-blowing enough for me to learn that lots of FIFO (fly in, fly out) workers in Australian mine sites actually fly to south-east Asia for their home base, and then I was interested to hear about how Liz and her husband scoped out whether Chiang Mai could be for them or not. I then chat with Ann Mortimore and Ian Crabtree who left the United States with the express purpose of finding a new home. Their search is narrowing and it was fascinating to hear about the pros and co

Ever thought about cycling around the whole world? I sure haven’t - but today’s two guests in Episode 161 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast have both spent years and thousands of kilometres exploring the globe by bicycle and despite what you might assume, they seem quite normal! First up I chat with Alastair Humphreys who spent four years on his bike, covering five continents and learning a lot both about cycling and its benefits, and about himself. I then speak with Brett Seychell who set out on a whim one day to cycle from London to Paris, which turned out to be the start of something much bigger! In fact - it's not an exaggeration to say that it changed his whole life. Links: Alastair Humphreys - https://www.alastairhumphreys.com/  Brett from Social Cycles - https://www.social-cycles.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/161 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for something different for Episode 160 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast: you can listen in on my diary! I've just spent a week in Cairns, Queensland, and after many requests to do this, I actually recorded a podcast diary on my trip. Well, most days - it was a very busy trip! The first part of my trip saw me explore Cairns, the Nerada Tea plantation and taking the Skyrail to Kuranda on my own - all lots of fun and I especially enjoyed the chance to be a solo traveller for just a couple of days again. That's a rare pleasure for me at this phase in life. For the second half of my trip, a hundred and fifty or so of my friends joined me!! In fact I was attending the annual convention of the Australian Society of Travel Writers, so I got to visit Fitzroy Island with a small group of them, and then spend two days together talking and celebrating all things travel writing, travel PR and travel influencing. It's such a fun event and also really got my mind ticking over with a billion new ideas for the podcast

Travelling in foreign countries is only half the fun when we know the language, right? Plenty of intrigue and hilarity ensues when you're trying to communicate in a language you only know a few phrases of, and that's a big joy when I travel - picking up little pieces of a new language and learning how it all fits together! In Episode 159 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three travellers about this very topic and they find it just as interesting as I do. First up I talk to Denise who spent some time in Spain learning flamenco dancing - and learnt just as much about the Spanish language and culture, too. Next I chat with Kendall about how fortunate we are - in some ways! - to be native English speakers, and other issues related to languages and travel. Finally, I speak with Dan Johnston who's tackled one of the more complex European languages, Czech, and found it rather tricky! We talk about how language ability can change your personality in some ways, too. Links: Denise Tham - Spas of the Wor

Getting around on your travels is not always smooth sailing and things do go wrong. Does that mean your trip is a disaster? I think not! If my three guests in Episode 158 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast are anything to go by, a travel mishap is purely fodder for a great story to tell later. In this episode I chat first with Nate Hake. He tells the tale of visiting Bolivia and running into some trouble when protestors basically shut down the town of Uyuni shortly before he landed there Next, I talk to Justin Watson. He had a visa to get through China ... or did he? Finally, I speak with Natasha and AJ of the 2 Idiots Abroad blog ... about a time in Bangkok when possibly, they nearly lived up to the name of their blog! Links: Nate at Travel Lemming - https://travellemming.com/  Justin Watson - blog at Justin’s World http://www.justins.world  Natasha and AJ - 2 Idiots Travel Blog https://www.2idiotstravel.com/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultrav

Visiting places that not many people go to is a special joy for me - I love not knowing much about a place and honestly, I feel a bit proud to tell people if I've been somewhere uncommon. I'm probably not alone in that feeling! In Episode 157 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three travellers who've spent time in more uncommon destinations recently and loved their experiences. First I speak with Liz Green who found herself visiting Kazakhstan when her son moved there for a stint with his job. From not knowing much at all about it to absolutely loving the experience, Liz's story has definitely convinced me to visit! Next, I talk with Eva Westerling who has spent time in perhaps one of the least commonly visited countries at the moment - Iraq. Eva didn't go there for a tourist visit but rather as part of her job, but she still managed to do a little sightseeing around Erbil in the Kurdish area and has some interesting tales to tell about it.  Finally, I chat with Justin Watson who has visited qu

Travel can stretch your comfort zone in a multitude of ways, and the fact that it does is one of the biggest benefits of travel, I think. You can stretch a comfort zone at home too, but pushing the boundaries of what you feel comfortable with is so much easier in a new place, and there are usually a lot more opportunities too. In Episode 156 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I start off talking to Ann Mortimore and Ian Crabtree who took a giant leap by deciding to pack up their life in the United States and start exploring the world full-time. Their first stop, Guatemala, provided quite a few comfort-zone-stretching moments. (Spoiler alert: it was all worth it!) Next up I chat with Michela Fantinel who I personally think is an expert in stretching her comfort zone. I admire how she's built up her experience of solo travel over the years and done particularly some amazing trips around Australia. Finally, I speak to Alastair Humphreys who is no stranger to smashing his comfort zone, being a veteran of numerou

India is one of those countries that people seem to visit and then rave about for the rest of their lives. In fact, it's really the only place I can think of that I hear so much deep love for. I've never really understood the pull to India that many people have, but after speaking with the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I'm keen to go and see it for myself. I first speak to Seng Mah, a photographer who found his first trip to India utterly life-changing and continues to return, including taking tour groups of photographers there knowing that their lives will be changed too. Seng explains the magic of India to me better than anyone ever else has. Next, I chat with Whitney Taylor who, like me, hadn't been particularly drawn to visiting India but found herself on a trip there. She was so amazed by it all and would go back in a heartbeat. Finally, Marilyn Murphy tells me a little about her first experience of India, and a more recent and contrasting one. Suffice to say, India wa

Taking a dancing class when I'm travelling or specifically taking a trip to learn to dance is not something that I've ever done - but hearing about all the fun that my guests on Episode 154 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast have had makes me begin to wonder if it might be in my future! I start off chatting to Clare who has had several tango-related holidays. Clare describes her tango trips to Spain and Argentina and we also chat about how that interacts with learning and practising a language when you travel. Next, I talk with Denise who spent a month in Spain specifically to learn more flamenco. She really immersed herself in all things flamenco and while I'd say she worked pretty hard there, she definitely had an amazing experience. Finally I chat to Cheri who has taken music and dance classes in many places - and we agree that it is an amazing way to get to know a culture, something that goes beyond language. She describes a dance experience she had in Ghana which sounded pretty incredible. See, I'm near

It seems that the number of people who love to travel AND who love to read makes up quite a high proportion of my listeners so I'm excited that Episode 153 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast can be all about reading books to inspire travel. I'm constantly reading books because they're set somewhere I'm about to visit, or alternatively I've booked a number of trips because of places I've read about in books! For me, they are completely intertwined - and the guests on this episode seem to feel the same way. First up I chat with Kendall Simmons who is a voracious reader of all kinds of books and believes that reading before you travel somewhere really enriches your understanding of a place.  Next I talk to Lesley West who is an even more voracious reader and is very devoted to reading books set in a destination before she travels there. (A woman after my own heart!) Finally, Alastair Humphreys and I talk about how reading books about people's travel experiences can actually give you an experience and perspecti

Because travel has changed my life in so many varied ways, I know that it's transformative; when I talk to three other people who believe this, like for this Episode 152 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I'm even more sure about how transformative travel can be. If you're able to rearrange your budget to get travelling then go and do it! In this episode I start off speaking with Dean O'Shea who runs a business devising trips for mostly corporate professionals with the hope that they'll be transformational - and it sounds like it's working. Dean gives me a couple of examples of people he's already helped to have some major life transformations as a result of particular travel experiences. I then chat with Nate Hake who used to be a trial lawyer in the United States. These days he's travelling the world - he was about to head to Tblisi, Georgia when we spoke - and his own life has been substantially transformed through his travel experiences. As an Aussie I'm proud to say there were Australians involved in th

Scuba travel has never been high on my wishlist but after talking to my three guests on Episode 151 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast about their diving trips all around the world, I'm beginning to think otherwise! Scuba diving holidays are special - and my first guest Ella Loeffler should know as in the short few years since she first learnt scuba diving, she's tried it out in quite a number of places around the world. Liveaboard diving sounds especially good to me - kind of like a separate trip within a trip where you get to hang out with like minded travellers and locals. After Ella I chat with Deborah Dickson-Smith who loves diving so much she bought a scuba diving travel agency! She's got a long list of great dive experiences but also some wishlist ideas to experience the best scuba diving in the world sometime. Finally, I talk with Talon Windwalker, who has done work as a dive instructor and has done many special diving trips with his daughter. He also emphasises the many-faceted benefits of combining

Before I travelled to Denmark a couple of months back, I recorded Episode 140 with all my thoughts ahead of that trip. In particular, I wanted to be a more intentionally thoughtful traveller on that trip and in this special Episode 150 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I'm following up on how that all went. It turns out - quick spoiler - that being more intentional really helped me to have an even better experience in Copenhagen and rural Denmark. But you'll have to listen to the podcast to find out why! A special bonus in this special episode is that my son, now Mr9, has made a return visit - the last time he was here, he was only Mr6! He answers some questions asked by the lovely members of the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group - thanks everyone! Links: My pre-Denmark thoughts in Episode 140 - https://notaballerina.com/140  Easy Travel Speak free lesson -  https://www.nomadingabout.com/free-easy-travel-speak-lesson/ Use discount code AMANDA for 40% off Easy Travel Speak - https://www.nomadingabout.

We who get to travel the world are a very privileged lot - right? If we're going to be good, thoughtful travellers, I think that considering issues of class and privilege when we travel is an important part of it. In Episode 149 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I talk with three guests who articulate some really interesting thoughts on this topic and I'm so pleased to bring them to you, and hope they give everyone some food for thought. First up, I speak with Ella Loeffler, a recently graduated ecologist who has been spending time volunteering on a sea turtle project in Malaysia. She might be young, but she has given this topic a lot of thought already and it was great to hear how she has handled it so far. I then chat to Nate Hake, a former lawyer who now travels the world as a digital nomad and has written about issues like passport privilege in the past. Finally, I talk to Chris Haag who actually proposed this whole topic in the first place. Chris is cycling the Americas from north to south and when we

Solo travelling is one of those things that you might fear before you try it: but if you take the plunge you will find that the life of a solo traveller is insanely rewarding. In Episode 148 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I talk to three people who have done a lot of solo travel in all kinds of parts of the world and they all agree that including some solo travelling in the mix is absolutely worthwhile. My first guest is Alastair Humphreys who has done some very adventurous solo travel and finds it both soul-searching and rewarding. We talk in particular about one of his solo trips walking across India. Next up I chat with Justin Watson who, like me, thought at first that solo travel might be difficult; when he finally tried he was very glad he did. Finally, I speak with Michela Fantinel about one of her first solo travel experiences in New York City - since then she has gone on to do numerous solo trips and would thoroughly recommend it. Links: Alastair Humphreys - https://www.alastairhumphreys.com/  A