The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Episode 7 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about making unexpected friendships when you travel. Getting to know local people is one of my favourite parts of travelling, and my two guests have had some great experiences doing just that in various parts of the world. First up is Bethaney Davies from Flashpacker Family, who has two really interesting stories to tell about friendships she established with local people in Vietnam and Myanmar. Her tale of meeting the monk in Myanmar (who, yes, is on Facebook) is one of my favourite stories ever! My second guest is Jeff Sandquist of the Intentionally Wandering podcast. He tells of how his experiences couchsurfing on his solo road trip around the United States helped him make two new friends who he’s still in touch with. Links: Bethaney at Flashpacker Family http://flashpackerfamily.com Jeff at Intentionally Wandering http://www.intentionallywandering.com Jeff’s Intentionally Wandering podcast on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/intentionally-wande

Whether good or bad, facing surprises is usually part of travel. In Episode 6 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I’m talking to two other travellers about the surprises they’ve encountered on their travels. First up is Candace Rardon, someone I was super-excited to interview and have known online for some years. Candace is a sketch artist, writer, photographer and all-round travel genius and a deep thinker on travel as well. She shares several stories of surprises she’s had when her expectations have been shattered on her travels - and how this always turns out for the best. Next I talk to Jeff Sandquist of the Intentionally Wandering podcast. He philosophically talks about how surprised he has been by the impact of travel on his life and how the lessons from travel have been drawn back into this everyday life at home, too. Links: Candace Rose Rardon at The Great Affair http://www.candaceroserardon.com Candace’s book on Amazon Beneath the Lantern's Glow: Sketches and Stories from Southeast Asia and Japan http:/

Episode 5 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is partly about fear, and partly about confidence. I think they go hand in hand when it comes to travelling! I’ve certainly experienced my share of fears about travelling and I know I’m not alone. My first guest today is Leyla Giray Alyanak of Women on the Road, and although she’s one of the people I think of as a guru in the solo travel for women area, she confesses that she has a bunch of fears related to travel, and I think that’s important for all of us to realise - we can be scared, but we can still travel. Following Leyla, I share a great chat with Bethaney Davies of Flashpacker Family, who tells me all about the first time she travelled on her own. Let’s just say it started with a week of tears in her hotel room but got far better than that. Links:   Leyla at Women on the Road http://www.women-on-the-road.com Episode 2 feature Leyla’s stories about getting lost http://www.notaballerina.com/2016/03/thoughtful-travel-podcast-episode-2-terror-getting-lost.html

Episode 4 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast starts the conversation about the thorny issue of cultural stereotypes - and how travelling and meeting people of all different cultures can really help you smash through stereotypes and learn that people really are all the same. The first guest in this episode is Canadian travel blogger turned Peruvian resident Nora Dunn of The Professional Hobo, and she has an interesting tale to tell about meeting some indigenous Australians at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra. Nora is followed by another extract from my fabulous chat with Kiliii Fish, who has worked extensively with indigenous people across the world and has so much of interest to say on the subject. Finally, I chatted with Joe Baur of the Without A Path podcast about other stereotypical views people have, particularly when it comes to labelling a country and its people as either safe or dangerous. All of these guests will leave you something to think about, I’m sure! Links:  Nora Dunn - The Professional

Episode 3 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about staying with locals on your travels and some of the many bonuses that come with meeting local people. It is definitely a different experience to staying in a hotel in the main tourist zone! I start of this episode chatting with Kerstin Pilz about her many experiences staying with locals, such as the time she went to Cuba accidentally alone and ended up being put up by a whole extended family wherever she travelled. I also chat to Linda and Craig Martin who have used Couchsurfing many times with great success, and made lifelong friends as well as having a roof over their heads. Finally, travel writer Tim Leffel has some good tips about staying out in the suburbs to really get a good feel for a place. Links:  Workaway https://www.workaway.info Couchsurfing https://www.couchsurfing.com Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com WWOOF http://www.wwoof.net Craig and Linda at Indie Travel Podcast http://indietravelpodcast.com Craig and Linda at Performance Foundary http://

Welcome to Episode 1 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast! This episode has some great stories about both successes and failures when trying to get something to eat or drink in a country where English is not the first language (and one where it is!). Everybody who’s travelled has struggled with this situation many times, and I got to chat with several travellers who’ve had both fun and frustrations. In this episode, I talk with Linda and Craig Martin about their tricky experience trying to order red wine in Slovakia; Stephen Henson shares a friend’s tale about trying to ask a simple question at a Taco Bell store in China, along with some of his own mishaps (even in other English-speaking countries!); and finally, Kristy Morton and I lament the difficulties she had ordering in a French patisserie as well as the lack of language learning that seems to take place in our home country of Australia. Links: Pizza for Christmas in Japan http://www.notaballerina.com/2011/12/japanese-language-success-for-my.html Craig an

In Episode 2 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, it’s all about those times on your travels when you wind up having no idea where you are, or how to get out of there. Getting lost when we travel is all part of the fun - but then sometimes it’s only fun and interesting in retrospect. In this episode, I start off talking to Leyla of Women on the Road, who has had some truly amazing travel misadventures over the years. Let’s just say that more than one of these incidents involve her being handed a rifle and left to fend for herself! Later in the episode I talk to the delightful Kiliii Fish, a photographer who has also worked on wilderness and survival expeditions in the past, so is probably the perfect person to talk to about getting lost. He has some tips if you find yourself alone at night in a tall, dark forest … although he didn’t follow all these tips himself. Links:  Leyla at Women on the Road http://www.women-on-the-road.com Kiliii’s website http://www.kiliii.com/ Kiliii on Instagram https://www.instagram.c

This is the preview episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle. Each episode will feature chats with travel writers, photographers, travel bloggers and other travel lovers about topics centred around why we love travelling and what we learn from it. This episode introduces both me and my new podcast, and includes a story of my own about that time I ended up in the Zagreb bus station in the middle of the night … and why it was a turning point. The Thoughtful Travel Podcast launches on 25 March 2016 so make sure you subscribe to catch all the new episodes. You can tweet about it with #thoughtfultravelpod - and tweet me @amandakendle - or comment at the Not A Ballerina Facebook page. I so look forward to talking travel with you all! Links: The Thoughtful Travel Podcast on Not A Ballerina https://www.notaballerina.com/podcast The Zagreb Bus Station https://www.notaballerina.com/2012/09/zagreb-bus-station-croatia.html Not A Ballerina on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina See omnys