The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Ever been on a yoga retreat in an exotic destination or considered a meditation vacation? On Episode 127 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast we are talking yoga and meditation travel - where's a good place to go for a yoga holiday, what are the benefits of spending some of your travel time meditating, and much more! My first guest is Meagan Hurst who is my total go-to-gal for all things yoga - and she comes through with some great discussion of yoga teacher training in Nicaragua and also the idea of "DIY yoga retreats", for the budget-conscious yoga traveller. After that I chat to Kate Manser who accidentally went on a multi-year yoga and meditation world tour! She has lots of interesting tips on destinations across Asia and some interesting tales too. Finally, I talk with Queen D Michele who recently moved to live in Mexico, in the Lake Chipala area, which as it turns out is a bit of a hotspot for meditation and yoga and has quite drastically changed the way Queen lives. Links: Thanks to Awesome Maps https:

Some people feel that language difficulties can be a reason not to travel, but trying to get by in a country where I don't speak the language is actually one of the (many) reasons I love travelling - the challenge and the fun of it are wonderful and mind-broadening! In Episode 126 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, we cover some of the many difficulties that can arise when there's a language barrier on your travels, along with confessing to some of the funnier language moments my guests, my listeners and I have experienced. A special thank you to members of the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group who offered up some of their funny language experiences! First up, I chat with Dean O'Shea who, amongst his many other trips, spent four months travelling around to different parts of China. He explains with some funny examples how "speaking Chinese" is just not a thing: he tried to learn different dialects and languages throughout his trip but was constantly thwarted by language barriers.  Next I talk to Joanne K

Do you dream about spending years living abroad? I've done it, and so have all my guests today, and we are all here to tell you that if you ever get the chance to try - grab it!  Living in another country is a very special experience and quite different from just taking a trip somewhere. And if you can live in several other countries (or more!) like the first guest in this episode, Kelly Dunning, then so much the better. When I spoke to Kelly last year she was living in Tbilisi in Georgia, and we chat in this episode about how she ended up spending the best part of a decade living abroad. Next I talk to Erin Holmes who left Australia with her two young kids planning to travel in Asia for six months ... and didn't come home until five years later. I can relate to that - I left for a year in Japan and spent five and a half years living in three different countries - and we talk about how this can happen! Finally, I talk to Greg Seymour who was a bit more deliberate in his plans to spend years abroad in Costa

You know I love slow travel and if you're travelling on foot that's one of the slowest forms of travel there is - hence my love for the topic of hiking, which is what this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about! I start off the episode talking with highly experienced hiker Greg Seymour, who has through-hiked the Appalachian Trail (amongst other hiking experiences) and we chat about some of the wonderful benefits of being out there in nature. Next I talk with Eva Westerling who, despite considering herself something of a non-hiker when she was younger, has gone on to do some amazing hikes on her travels, particularly in Morocco and Oman. Lasty I chat with Talon Windwalker about his hiking experiences with his daughter both in the United States and in Europe, and how you don't have to be out in the vast wilderness to experience benefits from going for a hike. Links: Book your travel photos with Flytographer - https://www.flytographer.com/ - and get $50 off a shoot by using the code AMANDA50 

Getting to know the cultural differences between different countries and nationalalities is one of the most fascinating parts of travelling, I think. In Episode 123 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three travellers who've experienced cultural differences in countries like China, South Korea and Spain, and I learn a whole lot in the process! First up, I talk with Jacky Lamenzo who spent a year teaching in China with another American friend. They discovered all sorts of interesting things about being obviously foreign looking in a new country. Next, Lindsay and Marshall who are currently living in Barcelona with their young son talk about some of the key differences between life in Spain and life back in the United States. Finally, Sandra Muller who is an Aussie like meexplains some of what she's learnt about South Korean cultural differences over the years, as she's lived and worked there several times and is married to a Korean guy, too! Links: Flytographer - https://www.flytographer.com/ - an

Easily one of my favourite and most rewarding things to do when I travel is find the chance to talk to locals. I don't want to just see the sights: I want to know what it's like to live there! Especially after living in three different countries to my own (and each quite different from the other), I'm utterly fascinated by local customs, thoughts and ways of life and so Episode 122 is all about talking to locals when you travel. The first guest is Eva Westerling, who recently went on a long trip to Morocco (prompted by this podcast - she heard previous guest Anna Kwiecinska speaking of trekking in Morocco, got in touch, and off they went together!). During this trip, Eva had the chance to get to know her two Moroccan guides really well and she tells us what she learnt from them. Following Eva, we stay in Morocco but chat to Talon Windwalker. He spent some time housesitting in Morocco and got to know a local very well - to the point where they could have conversations about some really tricky topics, which p

Travelling in cold places is absolutely not my speciality - so Episode 121 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is a useful one for me personally! I chat with three travellers about their experiences in cold places like Iceland, Finland and Canada; the result is a good reminder that I shouldn't ignore a destination just because the temperatures are low! First up I chat to Lucas Peters who recently took a trip to Iceland. Now, Iceland will always be one of my favourite destinations, but it definitely fits the cold bill - I visited during mid-summer and still needed all the warm clothes I could find!! Tamara Gruber then tells me about her experience visiting Quebec City for their Winter Carnival. It sounds realy, really cold - and yet really awesome, too. Finally, I talk to Erin Holmes who grew up in Western Australia like me, and therefore wasn't quite prepared for the crazy cold temperatures she and her kids experienced in northern Finland one Christmas. Fortunately, it was all worth it. Links: Flytographer -

This year has been nuts! In a good way, thankfully. Episode 120 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is a fun summary of 2018 both in terms of my travel, everything I've learnt from that travel, everything I've learnt from all of you amazing listeners, and what the podcast has done this year. Listen in and you'll hear about what looking back on travel in Japan, Fiji, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam has taught me - and find out the odd combination of destinations I have ready to head to in 2019. I'm so grateful to my listeners and the members of the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group for all the amazing conversations and friendships over the year. Just last weekend I spent a massive two and a half hours chatting with a friend I've made because she was a guest on the podcast - these opportunities are so special to me, and the people connected to the podcast are the main reason I keep doing it - so thank you all! Links: Travel Journal School - No more boring travel diaries! - https://traveljournalschool.com/p/no

Travel can be utterly life-altering in so many ways and this episode's three guests have brilliant stories to illustrate exactly that!  First I speak with Natascha Mirosch, with her story about a trip to a Greek Island which resulted in a completely life-changing event ... though you'll have to listen to find out what, no spoilers here! I then chat to Talon Windwalker, who brought tears to my eyes telling the story of spending six years travelling with his adopted daughter and the bonds this developed - listen out for his "Forever Day" story. Finally, Kate Toon rounds out the life-altering travel moments with a quick but amazing story about what happened when she and her friend were travelling in Thailand ... until suddenly they werent!   Links: Travel Journal School - No more boring travel diaries! - https://traveljournalschool.com/p/no-more-boring-travel-diaries   Use the discount code EARLY20   Natascha’s website - https://www.nataschamirosch.com  Natascha’s new ExtraVirgin Podcast - https://extravirg

They might be buzz words at the moment, but ecotourism and responsible travel are nonetheless super-important and that's why Episode 118 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about how to travel without causing any harm (and maybe even doing some good).  First up, I chat with my lovely friend Meagan of Malas With A Mission, who is one of my favourite people to talk to about the issue of responsible travel. She has a great attitude to it and is able to educate people about issues like ecotourism, sustainable travel and voluntourism without sounding at all preachy, which is really good skill!  Next I talk with Deborah Regen who runs a site collating eco-friendly tour operators, a great resource for researching a your responsible trips. Deborah has always loved nature and now wants to help ensure it's there for everyone to enjoy for a long time into the future. Finally, I discuss responsible animal tourism with Christine Knight, and particularly the issue of riding elephants. It's one of those issues which

Learning should never stop just because you're not at school and in Episode 117 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast we talk about taking classes when you travel - because of just countless benefits that come with them! First up I chat with Tiana Templeman who is a bit of a pro at finding a class whenever she travels, regardless of the topic. She thinks it's a fantastic way to get a different experience on a trip and chats about classes she's taken in Australia, Bangkok and Japan. I then talk with Cheri Shanti, who's basically the podcast's resident expert on Cuba (every time I listen to her I desperately want to go!) and in this episode she shares her experiences of taking drumming classes in Cuba. Finally I discuss the topic of taking classes with Eva Westerling, who has a fabulous example of a cooking class she took in Jordan - but a rather special one indeed. Links: Travel Journal School journal writing course in January 2019 - sign up to get info first at https://notaballerina.com/journal  Airbnb sign up

How do you choose your next destination? In Episode 116 I chat with four travellers about the different ways they decide where they're going to travel next and between them we discover a multitude of reasons people choose their destinations - and there are no doubt still more! First up I chat with Tamara Gruber who takes some trips alone with her school-aged daughter and is clever at tying in some of their destinations to connect up with what her daughter's been learning at school (I love this!). Meagan Hurst is next and follows a method I often use too: where can she get a bargain airfare to! I have quite often visited a pretty random place just because it was cheap to get there, and sometimes those places turn out to be unexpected gems. My Cambodian friend Cham Peou has put quite some thought into how he chooses his destations and I love his approach. Finally, I chat with Greg Seymour who has a really great philosophy about choosing destinations - and making sure he and his wife go outside their comfort

I’m always fascinated by cultural differences and if you’re travelling in Muslim countries there can be quite a lot of customs that are different to my home country of Australia. In Episode 115 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I’m bringing together stories of travelling in various Muslim countries from three guests who’ve all had interesting experiences. First up, I talk again with Eva Westerling, who talks about experiences she’s had in three different places - Zanzibar, Morocco and Oman. It’s interesting to hear about what she’s done to fit in while she’s travelling in Muslim countries and how she’s found this strategy to work for her. Following Eva, I chat with Kate Toon, who has an interesting angle as she’s travelled in Tunisia accompanied by her Tunisian husband. You’ll have to listen to find out some particularly surprising reactions! Finally, I’m joined by Margarita Pas who discusses her experiences in Tunisia and in the Maldives, and she has plenty of tips for how people can look and behave respe

I've had lots of special travel experiences in my life but my recent week in Cambodia with Hands On Journeys easily rates as one of the most special of all, so I'm really excited to share these chats with three of my fellow travellers in Cambodia - well, to be precise, two travellers and our one-and-only tour guide extraordinaire, Cham. First up, I chat with Meagan Hurst from California, who has previously travelled several times with Hands On Journeys but was still really impacted by our time in Cambodia. She talks about some of our her favourite experiences, especially our visit to a village near Siem Reap. Next I chat to Aimee Jackson of London, a very special guest because she heard about Hands On Journeys from this podcast and then joined a trip with us - it was very exciting to meet her! Her favourite part of the trip was our village visit near Phnom Penh and I loved hearing her memories of it. FInally, a very special guest is my favourite tour guide ever, Cham, who was our local guide in Cambodia. B

Anyone who's lived an expat life of some sort tends to be a good traveller, right? (Actually, I have a friend who's an exception to this, but it's rare.) In Episode 113 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three people who are currently living as expats - a Polish woman in the United States, a Swede in Australia and an Australian in South Korea, just to have a good mix! - about their expat travels and life in general. I love hearing about the kinds of expat lives people live and my first guest, Sandra, has an expat history a little similar to mine - in fact we both nearly taught in Japan at exactly the same time, but she took a little detour and went to South Korea instead, which proved to be a very important move. My second guest is a Perth local but she didn't start out that way - born in Sweden, Stina has now lived abroad, in various places, longer than she lived in Sweden when growing up. Margarita Pas, my final guest, has lived in a diverse range of European countries, including Bulgaria, Spai

Wellness travel is a fast-growing industry, but it's a part of travel that I haven't taken much part in to date. I'm intrigued, though, I was happy to speak to three guests for Episode 112 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast who have had a whole spectrum of wellness experiences as part of their travels. First up I chat with Cheri Shanti, who has had some really interesting experiences in central America in the wellness sphere. Of everyone in this episode, it's Cheri's interesting approach to wellness activities that I most want to test out! Following this I chat to Erin Holmes who has only recently had her first experience of wellness travel, spending some time at an ayurvedic retreat in Bali, which actually does sound rather nice! Finally I talk to Lisa Scott whose take on wellness is one that I'm not sure I'll ever to convert to - running - but since I know a lot of people out there love running, I'm sure you'll love to hear about Lisa's take on how running and travel can intersect. Links: Cheri’s site The

Exploring the lesser-known parts of Thailand was something I was lucky to do recently following the annual Australian Society of Travel Writers convention in Bangkok. With a small group of delightful travel writers I explored the towns of Phrae and Nan in the north-east of Thailand and being such an "off the beaten path" pair of destinations, I just had to share something about them with you for Episode 111 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. First up I chat with Natascha Mirosch, one of my fellow travellers, who loved it just as much as I did and talks about the fun we had making our own dyed indigo fabric and that time she met a Thai monk who's become her Facebook and Instagram friend! I then chat with Caroline Gladstone, another lovely member of our group, and she reminisces about one of my favourite experiences - getting up early to give alms to the monks in Nan. We also talk about the food - which, you won't be surprised to hear, was delicious - and a particularly fun evening when we rode the disco bus!

I didn't start off being all thoughtful about travel and I also know I still have so much to learn - and that'll continue to need to learn - about many of the ways we can approach our travelling in a more thoughtful way. But in this special episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Episode 110, I've put together a list of ten thoughts I've been thinking about thoughtful travel in the past little while. You'll have to listen to find out what these ten thoughts are but let me preface them by saying that some of them are deep and meaningful things I've thought about a lot; some are topics I have only scratched the surface on and know I need to learn a heap more about; and some are simple things that I ponder when I travel. Thanks to the members of the wonderful Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group, I also include a chat about some of the thoughts they've been having about travelling lately, too. I love hearing from the group members and also learning a lot from them.  Links: The Peace Tourism Credo - http://p

When you travel, you take pictures. When you travel a lot, you take lots of pictures, and you start to want them to be good pictures! That's one reason why Episode 109 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast features three travel-lovers who've become interested in photography. First up, I chat with Jim Jones who got his first DSLR camera when he took a big trip through Europe by train - and has gone from strength to strength since. Next I chat with Erin Gustafson who, with an art background, has developed a beautiful eye for photography on her travels and we chat about some of what she's learnt and some of the amazing pictures she takes, especially in her current home of Copenhagen. FInally I talk with Lucas Peters who considered himself largely only a writer until a guidebook publisher wanted him to take photos too - and that's now become something he's rather talented at! He also has some great tips for travellers taking their good cameras with them ... particularly in the desert! Links: Jim’s blog Travel Sto

My beautiful home country of Australia is a diverse place when it comes to nature, from the outback desert to tropical rainforest and everything in between. In Episode 108 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat to three travellers who have enjoyed different parts of the country while they've been exploring nature in Australia. I talk first with Kati Craythorn. She grew up in Berln but has since become quite the Australia-addict, and lives in Queensland. We chat about her recent trip to the Northern Territory and it reminds me that I need to get back to see more of that very unique part of Australia. Secondly I chat with Italian travel-lover Michela Fantinel. She has a real passion for Australia and comes back for extended trips from Europe every year. I loved hearing about all that Australia has taught her over the last decade and a half! Finally, Leah Smileski tells me about her wonderful experiences in Tasmania, which also happens to be one of my very favourite parts of Australia, especially when it com