The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

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

Travelling as a teenager or with a teenager is eye-opening in many ways, and Episode 107 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about trips and holidays with teenagers. My son is a still a few years away from the teen years but I'm ready to learn about how to make travelling with teens as enjoyable as possibile! My first guest in this episode is Erin Gustafson who regularly travels with her three teenagers. She has a huge array of useful tips that I'm holding on to dearly for future years! I then chat with Tamara Gruber who has a young teenage daughter and I loved hearing about how they plan their mother and daughter adventures. Finally, I talk to Cheri Shanti about her first travel experiences which, of course, happened to her as a teenager. I think she was a very brave 15-year-old who figured out a way to spend six months on the other side of the world! Links: Erin’s blog Oregon Girl Around the World - https://oregongirlaroundtheworld.com/  Tamara’s podcast Vacation Mavens - http://vacationmavens.com/

Sometimes food is the whole reason for a trip, but other times, like what we'll hear about in Episode 106 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, it's the unusual food experiences (planned or unplanned) that are what you remember. In this episode I chat first with Eva Westerling, who had some particularly unusual eating experiences while on a ten-day hike in the desert in Oman. Some parts of this chat are not for the squeamish! Next up I talk with Jacky Lamenzo about comfort food when we travel and about her experiences of eating like the locals when she was a teacher in China. Finally, I talk with Matt and Marilyn from Words With Winos about some of the more unusual foods they have tasted on their travels around the world, particularly in Asia - and if you don't like creepy-crawlies, you may not want to imitate them!  Links: My tasty sponsor Bokksu –  https://bokksu.com/ - remember to use THOUGHT5 to get $5 off any order of amazing Japanese snacks Eva’s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - http://www.notscaredofth

Lots of people enjoy visiting art galleries on their travels - I didn't start out that way but I'm definitely a convert now. In Episode 105 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three art lovers who have some great tips and ideas about art gallery sightseeing around the world. To start with I chat with Christine Knight, a fellow Aussie who spent a few year living in New York City - arguably one of the best places in the world to explore art galleries, and she definitely made the most of it. After that I talk to Erin Gustafson, who has a background in art history and is really passionate about it. She currently lives in Copenhagen and has some great tips on her favourite galleries in Europe. Finally I talk with Anna Kwiencinska, very much an art lover and former art gallery owner, too. She has lots of interesting art experiences along with some fabulous art plans for the future, too.  Links: Thanks to The Boy Who Draws  https://www.theboywhodraws.com/— use AMANDA10 for 10% discount on any City Serie

As promised, I wanted to tell a bit more about some of the experiences we had on our recent Fiji trip, and I asked some of the friends I made on tour to join me for a chat - so Episode 104 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about Fiji and Empowerment Tourism.  I actually asked my friends Whitney and Luana to tell me about their favourite part and, like me, they both decided it was our day in the village where Hands On Journeys have set up an empowerment tourism project. Whitney chats with me about all the different things we did on our day in Nailaga village in Ba province, western Fiji, and I learnt quite a lot - she and her partner got to chat with different locals and learn more about their life and culture there. It was also great to chat with Luana, who was visiting Nailaga for the second time. She also had a different perspective as she and her husband are from Brazil, and found some similarities between the Fijian and Brazilian cultures.  Links: Hands On Journeys - https://handsonjourneys.com

As a fairly hard-core extrovert, tackling the topic of “introvert travel” is something I have definitely had to leave to my guests, but Episode 103 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about their experiences of travelling as an introvert and I found it all fascinating! First up, I chat with Samantha Fisher who surprised me by saying she’s an introvert - she’s from the US but I met her when she attended my travel writing course here in Perth and seemed far from introverted. Our chat reveals just why that is and it was fascinating. Next I talk to Michela Fantinel, an Italian friend of mine who has done a lot of solo travel, especially around Australia. As an introvert travelling alone most of the time, Michela has some really interesting observations about how people treat her. Finally, Lindsay and Marshall from the Tumble podcast discuss their differing approaches as introverts moving to a foreign country. You definitely have to listen to find out the strategy of an “aggressive friend-making policy”! L

Are certain places better - or perhaps easier, and more fun - take your children travelling? In Episode 102 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast we talk about child-friendly cultures for travellers, a topic that came up after I started hearing from my interviewees about some particular countries and cultures where kids were especially welcome. First up, I chat for the first time with Lindsay and Marshall of Tumble Travels. They moved from Austin, Texas to Barcelona, Spain with their young son and have been thrilled by how much the locals embrace kids - I particularly love the story of the soccer ball! Then I chat to Lucas Peters who has spent a lot of time in Morocco. He feels that Moroccans really bend over backwards to help with kids when you are travelling with them; we also segue into a bit of a chat on one of my favourite topics, which is just how much travelling can benefit children. Finally, I talk with Sandra Muller about her experiences with her young son in both South Korea and Japan, quite different

Which destination would you love to return to? In Episode 101 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I’ve asked some of my guests about the destinations they keep returning to. Mine, for the record, is Japan - I lived there for two years, and have been back twice since, but want to go as many more times as is humanly possible! My first guest on this episode is Lucas Peters, who currently lives in Paris - which used to be a destination he wanted to keep returning to - but he chats with me about a Moroccan town named Asilah. Next, I talk with Jim Jones about two popular tourist destinations that he likes returning to for many different reasons - Las Vegas, and Paris. I’m with him on Paris but I’ve never been to Vegas - I think he convinces me I need to try, though. Finally, fellow West Aussie Erin Holmes and I talk about the place virtually every Perth person has been to: Bali. Erin has been there many times and has plenty of good reasons as to why she keeps returning. Links: Sponsor - Hands On Journeys https://h

I asked in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group for some ideas for celebrating the milestone of releasing Episode 100 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast and Emma came up with the fabulous idea of going behind the scenes. Thanks to everyone who pitched in with more questions and especially to Kati Craythorn who offered to interview me. This episode is a chat with Kati asking me those questions and it was so much fun to talk about the origins of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, some of the technical behind the scenes stuff, what I like and dislike about creating the podcast and how it's changed me. It was just wonderful to talk to Kati about all these topics and I hope you all enjoy listening to it too. Links: Hands On Journeys/Thoughtful Travel Meet Up - 27th June 2018 - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hands-on-journeys-thoughtful-travel-meet-up-tickets-46836956598 "Arigatou" to sponsor Bokksu - http://bokksu.com - use the code THOUGHT5 to get $5 off your Japanese snack box order (do it - they're delicious!) Th

Travel safety is often a concern and I'm sure I'm not the only one who checks government safety advisory messages (often with a grain of salt, it must be said) before I travel to a new destination. But honestly, crazy things can happen whether you're at home or abroad and I tend to agree with Pam Lynch, one of the guests in Episode 99 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, when she talks about the sentiment that either it was meant to be your time or it wasn't. In this episode, I start by talking to Pam about her experience of the Nepal earthquake of 2015. I know Pam well and have heard her speak about this close call many times, and yet every time she tells the tale I end up with goose bumps down my arms and shivers down my spine. You just never know what's around the corner, and Pam tells the tale in a way that will make you think. My second guest is Margarita Pas, a Polish globetrotter now based in the United States, who tells me about a trip she took to Namibia. It's a great warning tale about being prepared

Ever got lost when you've been travelling? In my experience getting lost usually means you have a fun story to tell and that is definitely the case with the guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast.  First up I chat with Kelly from Global Goose who had a bit of an incident following a hiking trail in the jungle in Borneo. All worked out well, of course, because Kelly lived to tell the tale on my podcast!! Next I talk to Erin from Oregon Girl Around the World who has a hilarious tale to tell of a family trip in Latvia. Let's just say that Erin will be a lot more careful with her Latvian place names in the future! Finally, I chat to Sandra Muller who has a particularly interesting perspective on getting lost when she travels (and one I wish I could adopt myself!). Links: My tasty sponsor Bokksu - https://bokksu.com - remember to use THOUGHT5 to get $5 off any order of amazing Japanese snacks Kelly’s site Global Goose - http://www.global-goose.com Erin at Oregon Girl Around the World - http://

If you ever get the chance to choose to live in another country (perhaps for study or work, or many other reasons) then you're very lucky because it's a special experience indeed. In Episode 97 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I talk with three lovely guests about their experiences of living in other countries for work or as part of their studies and we truly traverse the world, talking about Thailand, Tanzania and China. First up, I speak with Clare Harris who spent several years living in Thailand and teaching English to people from bordering countries. She had an amazing experience and we chat about how she learnt what it was like to be illiterate, because the Thai language confounded her! I then chat with Eva Westerling, who needed to complete an internship as part of her studies at medical school and fairly randomly ended up working in a hospital in Zanzibar! We also talk about our desire to live in many more places around the world if we can! Finally I talk with Jacky Lamenzo, a teaching graduate in

Africa is one of those most amazing destinations, and of course it's not a single destination but countless different countries and regions which are all so different to each other - yet we tend to lump them in together, probably because many of us haven't got to exploring too much of Africa yet. I start Episode 96 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast chatting with Linda Schlencker, who has spent many, many months guiding small self-drive groups around various parts of Africa so really knows what she's talking about. We discuss some of the fears that people have that might prevent them coming on such a trip, too, and I have to admit that wildlife passing right by my tent at night is something I'm not entirely comfortable with either! I then chat with Anna Kwiecinska who has fallen in love with Morocco and spent some long stretches of time there in recent years. She tells in particular of her romantic vision of heading out into the Sahara - and what the reality was like. (Fortunately - still good!) Links: Huge

Mishaps and misjudgments are part of the fun when we travel - right? Well, at least that's what my guests and I decide in Episode 95 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. I start off chatting with Matt and Marilyn from the Words with Winos podcast, who managed to make a bit of a misjudgment when they very first set out on their long travelling journey ... but of course, they recovered from it and I'm glad they did (I love following their travels!). Following on from that I talk to Samantha Fisher who ponders the idea that perhaps there are no mistakes when we travel. She has some examples of what's happened to her when she's made what we might call a travel mistake - and perhaps it's not all bad. Finally, I have a fun talk with Elizabeth and Jeff Newcamp, who have had all kinds of travelling adventures over the years and have rather a long list of mishaps to tell about - and definitely prove that mistakes often make the best travel stories. Links: Huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, travel writer Alistair M

As parents, we have so many choices on the way we influence our kids. In Episode 94 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, the influence we talk about is - of course! - travel. I love the way my son's habits, attitudes and personality reflect his many experiences of travel (and yes, he's very privileged, even though we are usually in the budget traveller category), and I'm happy to know that many other parents feel the same. My first guest is Stina Frantzich Gardiner, a Swedish friend of mine here in Perth, and we chat about how her two children have been influenced by their trips back to Europe - along with how travel influenced Stina herself as she was growing up in Europe. I then chat with Reeva Cutting who has quite a unique experience of travel as a child, when she would fly regularly within South Africa to visit her father. That experience has certainly set her up for a lifelong love of travel and importantly the confidence to do it. Finally, I speak with the always delightful Luke Mackin who speaks to th

Many a well-travelled travel-lover experiences travel anxiety and the guests in Episode 93 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast are no exception. (And neither am I!). In this episode I chat with Kelly Dunning about her first big trip, aged 21, and a particularly pivotal moment which helped her to get over travel anxiety. I also talk to Kati Craythorn who gets anxious about flying, as many of us do, and we discuss a few different travel anxiety tips from other listeners too which I hope will help everyone with overcoming travel anxiety - because it’s worth it!    Links: Our sponsor Travel Journal School at traveljournalschool.com - you can try the “Facts Plus One Thing” module now for free! Kelly Dunning at Global Goose - https://global-goose.com Kati Craythorn at Queensland and Beyond - http://www.queenslandandbeyond.com Episode 71 - Getting Past Travel Anxiety - https://www.notaballerina.com/2017/10/getting-past-travel-anxiety-episode-71-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html Jodi’s Gluten Free cards - https://www.leg