The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

In the fourth of my Deep Dive Into Thoughtful Travel interview episodes, I chat with Dr Vincie Ho, founder and executive director of the RISE Travel Institute. We met while I was studying for a Certificate in Sustainability and Anti-Oppression in Travel through RISE and I couldn't wait to chat with her about her travel history. Vincie and I discuss where her love of travel came from, some of her experiences in studying abroad and volunteering, and what her hopes are for RISE Travel Institute and the future of thoughtful travel. It's a great chat which I can safely say we both thoroughly enjoyed, and hope you do too. Links: RISE Travel Institute - https://www.risetravelinstitute.org  My capstone project from my recent RISE course - my topic was ethical wildlife tourism - Episode 252 - https://notaballerina.com/252  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers  Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/255  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ultimate long trip is not a trip at all: migrating to another country has much in common with long-term travel, but then, you never go home. Episode 254 is about migrating to Australia in particular - it interests me greatly to hear more about how and why people have moved to my home country, and what they like or dislike about it. First up, I chat with Catherine Marshall, who migrated from South Africa almost two decades ago. As she mentions, we have a significant number of South African migrants here in my hometown of Perth, so it's especially intriguing to hear more about her experiences. I then speak with Anuj, a migrant from India who now lives in Melbourne, after initially coming to Australia to complete postgraduate study. Fifteen years on, he seems very happy here! Finally, I talk to Lucky Legong, another immigrant from South Africa who arrived in Australia more recently after being offered a job at Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island. From never having considered Australia as a destination, to migrating here and working for more than four years now in the tourism industry, Lucky has enjoyed her experience of moving to Australia - and that makes me glad! Links: Thanks to our sponsor, Proudly South African in Perth - https://proudlysouthafricaninperth.com  Cost of living in Australia calculator - https://proudlysouthafricaninperth.com/product/cost-of-living-in-australia-calculator/ Aussie slang for new migrants - https://proudlysouthafricaninperth.com/settle/guide-aussie-slang-new-migrants/  Putting petrol in your car - https://proudlysouthafricaninperth.com/settle/how-to-put-petrol-in-your-car/ Catherine Marshall - Time to Wander - https://www.timetowander.com.au  Thanks to Anuj in Melbourne, a listener who’s become a friend Lucky Legong from the Baillie Lodges group - baillielodges.com.au and profile at https://baillielodges.com.au/success-stories/lucky-legong/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/254 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walking is such a wonderful way to explore the world - it's a way to slow down, really look around you, often to get in touch with nature too, and it's healthy and environmentally-friendly as well. In Episode 253 I chat with travellers who've walked in many parts of the world and got so much out of it that it'll make you want to follow in their (literal!) footsteps. First up, I chat with Kath and Howie of The Museum of Us, a couple who have become quite addicted to long walks over the last few years - curiously, as the result of knee injuries. I talk with Kath and Howie about their experience of walking the Camino a few years back. Next, Justin Watson tells the story of a popular walk in Bhutan to see the Tiger's Nest Monastery or Paro Taktsang in Bhutan. It's a pretty vertical walk and it's a fun story! Finally, Tara Wells talks to me about how to get the most out of walking - she's just published a guide book on a long Sydney walk, so she should know! Links: Kath and Howie’s YouTube channel The Museum of Us - https://www.youtube.com/themuseumofus  Justin’s blog Justin’s World - http://www.justins.world Tara Wells’ website - https://www.tarawellsauthor.com/ Tara’s book, The Bondi to Manly Walk - https://amzn.to/3lNeL9u  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/253 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should we ride elephants? (For me, the answer is definitely no.)  But did you know that at one stage, the offering of elephant rides was seen as being part of "saving" them from a tortuous life working in the forestry industry, dragging heavy logs around? And did you know there are now thousands of domesticated elephants in Thailand who still need to be supported, somehow? While I always strive to be an ethical wildlife tourist, diving deeper into this topic has proven to me it's never as black and white as we think, and that many solutions to these kind of problems are best solved through empowerment and many discussions with the local people involved - and that this is not a quick or easy solution, but a better one for sure! This is a special episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast - I've put it together as part of the requirements for the Certificate in Sustainability and Anti-Oppression in Travel, a fabulous course I've been studying through the RISE Travel Institute. See the show notes for references, more information and videos. Links: RISE Travel Institute - https://www.risetravelinstitute.org Catherine Marshall at Time To Wander - https://www.timetowander.com.au  World Animal Protection - https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.au  Animondial - https://animondial.com   Diana Edelman's post about riding elephants in Thailand - https://dtravelsround.com/2015/08/11/truth-about-riding-elephants-in-thailand/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/252 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the third of my Deep Dive Into Thoughtful Travel interview episodes, I chat with Penny Rafferty in South Australia, with a wide-ranging discussion about all manner of thoughtful travel topics. I started off asking Penny about her fascinating career trajectory, which sees her now taking the roles of both Head of Sustainability at Tourism Australia and Executive Officer of Luxury Lodges of Australia. Her roles have given her plenty of food for thought and we discuss both her professional and personal experiences of tourism and travel, how travel can change us, and how travellers can change the world. Links: Luxury Lodges of Australia -  https://luxurylodgesofaustralia.com.au  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/251 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the August 2021 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, talking about All the Way to the Tigers with author Mary Morris. You can find out more about Mary at her website https://marymorris.net and read the book at https://amzn.to/3cfiEzY  If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the semiquincentennial episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast (and listener Justin, who features in this episode, told me about that crazy word in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group) - in any case, it's Episode 250, a round-numbered episode and time for something totally different! One of the most fabulous parts of running this podcast for over five years is the people I've met - some of whom have become good friends who I can't imagine not knowing! I feature as selection of them in this episode - just a handful out of many - and I'm so grateful that running this podcast gave me the chance to get to know them. From the UK, I feature Ian Oliver (who now runs his own podcast, Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure), and Penny Wincer, who is originally Australian but now resides in England. Out of Europe I mention Eva Westerling who lived in Germany when we first chatted but has spent more time in Morocco of late, and also Erin Gustaffson of Oregon Girl Around the World, an American currently based in Denmark. And finally, I talk about Justin Watson, a fellow Aussie and a friend I made through the Thoughtful Travellers group, who's now my cohost of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club. All in all, it's a mix of a behind the scenes episode, and a wave of gratitude for all the fabulous people I've got to know over the last five years - thank you all of you! Links: Ian from Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure - https://barefoot-backpacker.com  Penny Wincer - pennywincerwrites.com  Eva from Not Scared of the Jet Lag  - notscaredofthejetlag.com Erin from Oregon Girl Around the World - oregongirlaroundtheworld.com Justin’s blog - http://www.justins.world  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/250 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m usually talking about elephants in the sense of seeing them on safari, or of how we should ethically visit elephants in appropriate sanctuaries, and how we absolutely shouldn’t ride them. But this episode is  about what happens when travellers and elephants collide - quite literally! I first chat with Catherine Marshall, who has travelled extensively throughout Africa and has a special love for elephants - but also, a very serious respect for them. She tells me of an elephant encounter some time back in Kruger National Park. My second guest is Henry Gold who has a rather dramatic elephant story to tell. His encounter takes place in India while he was running a cycling tour. You’ll soon understand why this story is one that Henry has told very frequently since it happened a decade ago. Links: Catherine Marshall’s Time to Wander site - https://www.timetowander.com.au  Henry Gold, founder of Tour D'Afrique Cycling - https://tdaglobalcycling.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/249 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Studying in other countries isn't just about getting a qualification: oh no, it's SO much more! In Episode 248 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three women who've spent some time studying abroad, both undergraduate and postgraduate, and without fail they mention how significant and life changing this experience was. First, I chat with Kaitlyn Jain. She hadn't never been outside of North America before she spent a semester at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and this experience was particularly life-changing for Kaitlyn because she really threw herself into Australian life. My next guest is Helena Fox who dutifully completed a law degree in her home country before finally "running away" - her words! - to the United States to study writing; let's just say, she's now a writer and not a lawyer! Finally, I speak with Annie Daly who majored in American Studies at college, and had a wonderful full year studying abroad in England as part of this. Links: Kaitlyn Jain - https://www.kaitlynjain.com - her book is Passports and Pacifiers - Traveling the World, One Tantrum at a Time  Helena Fox - https://helenafoxauthor.com  Helena’s young adult fiction book How It Feels to Float - https://amzn.to/3C9VaYu  Annie Daly - https://www.anniedaly.com/  Annie’s book Destination Wellness - https://amzn.to/3lmLaoO  Episode 233 Studying Abroad -  https://notaballerina.com/233   Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin   Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/248  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I've been raving about the benefits of travel with kids for many years now (almost my whole life!), and I loved putting together this episode about the benefits of family travel. The benefits run in all directions - both for the children and the parents, and beyond. My first guests are Kath and Howie of The Museum of Us, who have travelled for many years with their daughter. We discussed their three-month stint in Thailand when she was two years old, and how having her with them opened up all kinds of doors to local society. I then chat with Kaitlyn Jain who decided that having kids (four of them) wouldn't stop her pursuing her love of travel, and it hasn't - it's just changed it, and for the better. Finally, I speak with Deborah Haile and her son Jonah about what travel teaches kids and why it's beneficial for both them and us to go travelling with them. Links: Kath and Howie - The Museum of Us - https://www.youtube.com/themuseumofus  Kaitlyn Jain - https://www.kaitlynjain.com - her book is Passports and Pacifiers - Traveling the World, One Tantrum at a Time  Deborah Haile and her son Jonah https://www.tinyglobalfootprints.com  Previous episodes on travelling with kids: 19 - Travelling with Kids is Good for Everyone - https://notaballerina.com/19  54 - Benefits of Travelling with Kids - https://notaballerina.com/54  66 - On Taking Your Kids Travelling - https://notaballerina.com/66  94 -  How Travel Changes Kids - https://notaballerina.com/94  164 - Please Travel With Your Children! - https://notaballerina.com/164  Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/247 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.