The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Travelling to other countries is one (amazing) thing - actually living abroad for an extended time is quite another altogether and it’s an experience my three guests in Episode 92 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast all share.  I’ve been lucky enough to live abroad in Japan, Slovakia and Germany and each experiencing was completely life-changing. In this episode, I speak with other travel lovers who have also taken the plunge to live in another country and had all kinds of different and fascinating experiences. First up, I speak with Sandra Muller who has spent a lot of time in Asia, but particularly living in South Korea. I’m rather envious of her experiences but you’ll have to listen to see why! Next I chat with Cheri Shanti, an American who spends a lot of time based in Cuba these days. Cuba seems exotic and so different to me, from down here in Western Australia, so I was fascinated to chat with Cheri about her expat experiences there.  Finally, I talk with Sarah Ridout, a fellow Australian whose expat ex

Do you love to haggle at the local markets when you travel to get down to the cheapest possible price or are you happier when there's a fixed price and no bargaining needs to take place? We talk about bargaining (and tipping) on your travels in Episode 91 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast and it's a great mix of ideas. First up I chat with Matt and Marilyn from the Words with Winos podcast and they reminisce about some of the bargaining they had to do when they were travelling throughout south-east Asia. Next up, ESL teacher Clare Harris and I discuss some of her experiences with money and the differences in value depending on where you come from, and discover that just like me, Clare would prefer a fixed price sale any time! Finally, I chat with Luke Mackin of Wild Sumatra who, after living for some years in rural Indonesia, has a particularly unique perspective. I really liked what Luke had to say and it's definitely reinforced my opinion that learning to bargain better is not on my list of things to do. Lin

It’s two years since I launched The Thoughtful Travel Podcast for my fortieth birthday. (Because why not do something crazy like launch a podcast for your fortieth?!) For the two-year anniversary, I decided to turn the tables and instead of getting other people’s stories, I asked my Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group to ask me the questions!They came up with many and varied questions and I had a lot of fun answering them - and I got my friend Kristy who featured in the very first episode of the podcast to interview me. Hope you enjoy it!Links: Thanks to Kristy Morton for interviewing me - https://kristymorton.com My post about my love for green tea - https://www.notaballerina.com/2014/11/really-like-green-tea-lessons-japan-meeting-locals.html My "18 for 2018" list - http://www.amandakendle.com/18-things-2018/ Thoughts on privilege - https://www.notaballerina.com/2012/05/two-egyptians-and-my-privilege-to.html Mina Mahrous, the Egyptian blogger - http://www.somedayillbethere.com/2012/04/no-not-everyone-can-tr

Housesitting works for both sides of the travel equation but in Episode 89 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I talk to four travellers who have used housesitting as a great way to get free accommodation and to see parts of the world they wouldn't otherwise see.Pam Lynch has been house-sitting for about eight months now around Perth, Western Australia - spoiler alert, she's my housesitter! - and chats to me about all of the reasons she loves this lifestyle and intends to continue it for some time to come.I then chat with Becky Livingston who spent over two years wandering the globe doing many various housesits, some in particularly gorgeous locations too. She does touch on some of the perils of housesitting though, particularly the risks involved of being responsible for people's beloved pets ...Finally, I talk to Matt and Marilyn from Words with Winos about their recent housesitting experience in Italy.Links: Our great sponsor Career China Pam Lynch’s site Travelling Bag Pam’s new book, How the Hell Did I Get

I always think it's a shame we preach about "stranger danger" when in reality 99.9% of strangers are just people waiting to be kind to us - and Episode 88 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast reinforces my thoughts because I have three guests who've had delightful experiences with random acts of travel kindness from the people they've met when they've been travelling. First up, I chat with Matt Eakin - if you've heard Matt speak before you know his stories are always rippers! - and this time, Matt tells me about what happened when he decided to check out the Muslim festival of Estema on his trip to Bangladesh. Let's just say that the kind and interested strangers numbered literally into the thousands! Next I chat with Cheri Shanti who recalls some of her favourite small acts of kindness from strangers when she's been travelling, in places from Thailand to North America - including a time when she was suddenly very ill. Finally, Joanne Karcz has spent time walking on the Camino and has some really beautiful mom

I just love the variety of stories I've got to share in this episode about travelling with your parents as an adult, because everyone has ended up having a great time for all different reasons. The very first guest is my delightful friend Jo of Lifestyle Fifty. When she told me she had a story about her mother coming with them on her honeymoon, I knew I had to hear more, and as always, Jo's story doesn't disappoint. Following the honeymoon story I chat with Kati who recently travelled with her parents in the Northern Territory here in Australia. It's an interesting story about the compromises you might need to make to deal with the different preferred travelling styles of your family members and I thought Kati did a great job of this. Finally, I speak with Eva who has really made a habit of travelling with her parents in recent years - starting a truly delightful family tradition. I hope my son is listening to that one! Links: Our great sponsor Career China - https://www.careerchina.com/ Jo’s website Lifestyl

One of my very favourite topics in the world is talking (for hours) about why travelling is good for you and all the self development and educational benefits of travelling. Happily, a lot of the guests on The Thoughtful Travel Podcast feel the same way, and in Episode 86 I chat with three women who all agree the benefits of travelling the world are many and varied. First up, I chat with Pam Lynch, who had travelled a lot with her family but really took things to the next level a few years ago when she started travelling solo. She's in no doubt of the importance of travelling in life and describes how much stepping out of her usual comfort zone has impacted her self development. Next, I talk with Anna Kwiecinska about that feeling you get when you just need to travel to a certain place, without any particularly concrete reason that you can explain - but inevitably, you end up discovering a lot about yourself by doing so. Why people travel is an endlessly fascinating question to me and what Anna articulated

I'm immensely curious on how culture affects child development - if you have kind of international kids who relate to more than one culture, how does this change the way they grow up? I know from experience that even the simple act of travelling to a foreign country changes how kids think and in Episode 85 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I speak with a number of parents who've really brought up their children to be multicultural kids. I start off chatting to Elizabeth and Jeff Newcamp who have been living with their three young sons in the Netherlands for the past couple of years. They talk about how to fit in and what it's like when your young kids learn the local language faster than you do! I then hear a great story from Jo Castro who had a serial ex-pat life with her husband and two kids before settling relatively recently in Western Australia. Her anecdote really speaks to what being international kids must feel like (and it also made me giggle, so make sure you listen). Finally, I talk to Christine

Like going on adventures abroad in nature? Then you will love listening to the stories my three guests have to tell in Episode 84 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. I was so lucky to be able to chat with them about these amazing stories of the kinds of things not many people get to experience. First up, I spoke with Eva Westerling, a German travel-lover who has had all kinds of incredible adventures abroad, not least of which includes climbing up an active, erupting volcano on Tanna Island in Vanuatu. Another way to watch the power of nature came the way of Linda Schlencker, thanks to a lot of patience watching and waiting in Africa, and Linda’s story in this episode is about natural travels at their best - seeing something in the animal kingdom that not many people get to see. Finally, I was chatting with Kristen Truempy about overseas adventure travel and when we got onto the top of risks involved with adventures abroad she brought up this story of her trip to Morocco. Links: Thanks to our sponsor, Boy Eats

Teaching English as a second language can be anywhere from a fascinating lifelong career to a short stint while travelling, and in Episode 83 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three teachers who have taught both offline and online around the world. First up, I talk to Cassandra Le about her two years of experience as an assistant English teacher in Spain. She learnt a lot about the English language itself, about how Spanish is different, and above all that an English teacher needs patience! I also chat briefly with Matt Treglia who began teaching English face-to-face in Korea but now teaches online and is location independent. Finally, I chat with long-time English teacher and writer of some excellent text books and readers for English learners here in Australia, Clare Harris, who has a whole host of useful tips for people who may be considering teaching English somewhere in the world. Links: Cassandra’s blog, The Quirky Pineapple -  http://www.thequirkypineapple.com Matt’s site Words with Winos -

What do you love to do - other than travel - in your spare time? While my listeners and readers have a love of travel in common, they have a huge range of other hobbies and this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about combining hobbies with travel in various ways. To kick it off I chat with Kelly Dunning who wrote a great post on her Global Goose blog about the importance of finding ways to keep up a hobby or two if you’re travelling long term - something I very much concur with. It’s easy to think that travelling “is it” but if you’re away for more than a month or so I think it’s important to keep in touch with other activities you really enjoy. I then chat with Anna Kwiecinska who has made a business out of encouraging people to take their hobbies on holidays! She runs a retreat in Bali which offers art, yoga and soon blogging retreats, so this is focused very much on encouraging people to really indulge in their hobbies and interests and take them more seriously - or at least to really intens

Reverse culture shock - the kind of culture shock you get when you return to your home country - is worse than just regular culture shock, I think. If you head to a country with a significantly different culture from your own, then you’re expecting to be shocked. But if you’ve been travelling or living abroad for a while and you return home, you don’t expect to be the victim of culture shock - or in this case, reverse culture shock. In Episode 81 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three guests who’ve all had varying experiences with culture shock when they return to their home country. Having been through it myself, quite strongly, when I returned to live in Australia after five and a half years away in Asia and Europe, I always find it so reassuring to hear that others have had similar experiences - though I wish I’d known more back when I was first experiencing reverse culture shock so I could have had some resources to help me get past it more quickly. In this episode I start by speaking with K

Ever dreamed of a trip to Africa? Or have you already had the good fortune to visit Africa? In either case, Episode 80 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast will entice you, I think! I speak with three travellers who have extremely varied experiences of Africa, once again reminding me that it’s a truly vast content and that I need to plan a trip to Africa as soon as possible. To start off, I chat with Ian of the Barefoot Backpacker about his trip to Benin. Now, the Republic of Benin is not somewhere on the top of most travellers’ must-visit list but it’s one of Ian’s favourite places and after chatting, I can understand why! Following Ian, I talk to Linda Schlencker of Self Drive Adventures, who also surprises me by explaining what kind of treats would await me on a Madagascar holiday. I really had little conception of what travelling around Madagascar would entail (apart from expecting to see some of the creatures I knew from my son’s favourite Madagascar animated movies!) and it sounds like an amazing destinat

I really love a good cultural difference. It’s true! I find the differences in everyday life around the world utterly fascinating and it’s one of the reasons I keep travelling, trying to hunt more down. In Episode 79 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three other travellers who have also discovered some interesting cultural differences on their travels. First up is Reeva Cutting, who now lives in Australia but grew up in South Africa. She experienced a few differences living in each of these cultures and they’re my favourite kind, about everyday things like filling a car with petrol and going shopping. Next up, Luke Mackin compares experiences in rural Indonesia to his family’s return trips to the United States. His young kids have a different perspective because the US to them is just a place they visit, so it seems kind of amazing! Finally, I talk to James Thomas, who has now lived in Taiwan for several decades after growing up in the United States, and has some interesting observations about t

Sometimes crossing a border into a new country is simple. Sometimes it’s not - and it’s the not-simple crossings that turn into great stories later! In Episode 78 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with several guests who’ve had some particularly interesting border crossing moments. First up, I chat with Elizabeth and Jeff Newcamp, who are currently living in Europe and had something of a tricky experience trying to cross the border from Croatia into Slovenia.  From Europe, I move on to Africa with Ian from the Barefoot Backpacker. He has some fun tales to tell about crossing borders between Ghana and Burkina Faso, and again between Benin and Togo. These borders are relatively seldom crossed by tourists so they’re not quite set up as clearly as you’d hope! Finally, Matt Eakin has a hilarious story about the time he needed to enter Bangladesh and didn’t have the required visa. Let’s just say his method isn’t something I’m recommending you try (and he agrees!), but it makes for a great story. Links: E

Do you have an unstoppable urge to travel? You are not alone! In Episode 77 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with two fellow travel-lovers who just feel they must travel, as much as possible. To start off with, I chat with Matt Eakin of Himalayan Schoolies, who started his real travelling adventures age 17, with no particular plan other than that he should catch a plane and go somewhere new with the expectation that something amazing would happen. Of course, he was right! With Yasmin Newman, we talk about the influence of our families on our unstoppable urge to travel, and our fervent desire to pass this urge on to our children as well. Yasmin says that travel and her life trajectory are inseparably intertwined and I have to say the same is true of mine. Links: Matt’s site Himalayan Schoolies - https://himalayanschoolies.com/ Yasmin’s website - https://www.yasminnewman.com Yasmin’s new book, The Desserts of New York (And How To Eat Them All) - http://amzn.to/2shtR9u Yasmin’s first book, 7,000 Islands:

While sometimes we are inclined to feel suspicious of strangers, the fact is that 99.9% of people are good and when you travel, you will often come across some especially kind strangers. In Episode 76 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three travellers who have had some fantastic and even life-changing experiences meeting strangers on their travels. First up, Kelly Dunning of Global Goose has a funny and heartwarming tale to tell of a day out cycling in Angkor Wat which could have ended badly, but really didn’t!  Similarly, my next guest, Samantha Fisher of High Hopes Travel, ended up in Paris one summer night with no accommodation around, and this could have had an unhappy ended too but thanks to the kindness of strangers it was quite the opposite. My final guest is Colin of Parenting, Passports and Profits who tells a tale of a bunch of strangers he met when he headed to the Rocky Mountains in search of a ski season job, and how these random meetings turned into a life-changing friendship.  L

Who doesn’t love nature - at least some of the time? Episode 75 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about travels in nature, and the many and varied forms this travel can take. It starts off in pretty extreme nature when I chat with Luke Mackin, who has a tale of confronting nature in rural Sumatra. But Samantha Fisher, my next guest, has another take completely and describes urban pockets of nature before waxing poetic about her experiences seeing the nature of New Zealand. My final guests are Elizabeth and Jeff of Dutch Dutch Goose and they have yet another great take on travelling to see nature, with some fabulous examples of the kind of nature both adults and kids can enjoy in various parts of Europe. Links: Thoughtful Travellers Meet Up in Perth - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/thoughtful-travellers-meet-up-tickets-39539451564 Luke’s site Wild Sumatra - https://wildsumatra.com Sam’s site, coming soon, High Hopes Travel - http://highhopestravel.com/ Sam on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highho

Travelling for the first time is something you always remember. And travelling on your own for the first time is possibly even more memorable. In Episode 74 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I talk with four very experienced travellers who all have very clear memories of their first solo adventure and love talking about it. The common theme is that all of them have gone on to travel a whole heap more, both on their own and with others, and their first solo trips had a big impact on their future travels. First up, Jo Castro tells me a funny story about her first trip abroad when she went to be a horse groomer in Belgium - and it wasn’t quite as wonderful as she’d expected! I then chat with Jo and Jeremy Duggan who both had the experience of taking a huge trip as their first time travelling solo abroad - and fortunately, both really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. Finally, Ian of the Barefoot Backpacker explains about his rediscovery of travel with his first proper solo trip to South East Asia. Links: Jo’s

When you travel, something is bound to go wrong. Most of the time, whatever went wrong ends up making a good story, and that’s exactly what the three travellers in Episode 73 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast think too.In this episode, I start of chatting with Luke Mackin of Wild Sumatra, who has two equally hilarious tales about things that have gone wrong both on his travels and in his expat life in rural Indonesia. We then move to South Africa, where Kristen Truempy had a particularly interesting experience when things went wrong with her accommodation booking. Finally, over in New York City, fellow Aussie Aggie Lim has a great story to tell about things going wrong on a simple attempt to catch a bus in the Big Apple. Links: Luke’s Wild Sumatra site and blog Kristen’s The Positive Psychology Podcast Aggie Lim at Drawn to Explore Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers Follow me on Facebook on the Not A Ballerina page Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/73 See omnystudio.com/listener for priva