The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Travelling abroad is an amazing experience but living abroad takes this to an entirely new level. It's not for everyone but if you've been fortunate enough to call new countries home or you're wondering whether you'd like to, Episode 229 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is for you. I chat first with Flip Byrnes, a bit of a serial ex-pat who has plenty to say about how living abroad compares to travelling; we decide that "living" somewhere equates to twelve months or more (it's our arbitrary ruling!) and then Flip turns the tables and asks me a few pertinent questions about my experience of living abroad. Following that I speak with Seana Smith, another serial ex-pat who decides perhaps she's not actually a very good traveller, but she's more suited to living abroad for extended periods. Finally, Penny Walker talks to me about some of the main differences she's identified from living abroad in France as compared to simply visiting, and also has some great tips for anyone planning to make such a move. Links: Travel journalist Flip Byrnes - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theadventuremamma/  Seana Smith - Hello Sydney Kids  https://www.hellosydneykids.com.au/ Penny Walker of Adventure Creators https://www.adventurecreators.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/229 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Volunteering abroad is an experience lots of thoughtful travellers contemplate - who doesn't want to give back when we can. But of course, we know that not all volunteering opportunities are created equal. In Episode 228 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three women who have had fairly in-depth volunteer experiences in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Nepal, and their stories might help you reflect on what does make a good volunteer experience. First, I chat with Lindy Alexander who spent eight months volunteering in a remote part of Uganda. She's very frank with me about how, on reflection some years later, she's not sure that everything they did had a positive impact - although lots did. I then speak with Julia Salnicki, a zoologist who has spent many years either volunteering or managing volunteers on animal research projects in Africa. Her stories are amazing and apart from her tales on this episode, I've added another one about her three years in a painted dog research project onto Patreon - if you're a supporter, listen now, or sign up at notaballerina.com/supporter Finally, I hear from Patti Lefkos who, after several decades of experience as a teacher and principal in Canada, volunteered in a small school in Nepal. She tells us some of the many lessons she learnt from that experience. Links: Support the podcast on Patreon - this week's bonus content is an extended chat with Julia Salnicki - https://www.notaballerina.com/support Lindy Alexander - The Freelancer’s Year http://thefreelancersyear.com/  Julia Salnicki from Classic Safari Company - https://www.classicsafaricompany.com.au  Patti Lefkos - https://www.pattishaleslefkos.com Episode 145 on Volunteering Experiences - https://notaballerina.com/145  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/228 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling to see the sights is one thing; travelling when you get to know some of the local people is a whole other level of wonderful experiences. Finding ways to have meaningful interaction with locals is something really important to me when I travel, and the three guests in Episode 227 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast illustrate some wonderful ways to do so. First up I chat with Tasha Goldberg who describes how a friend of a friend in Kenya became an inspiring local she met on Lamu Island. She also mentions the bonus part of making close connections when you travel - the chance to make return visits! I then speak with Lindy Alexander about her experience of a cooking class with the Courageous Kitchen in Thailand. This is a really interesting example of meeting not just any locals, but marginalised ones who you might not ordinarily even know about, let alone have the chance to meet and learn from. Finally, Penny Walker speaks of the value of tapping into local knowledge and uses her example of the Pyrenees in France where locals she gets to work with include shepherds who've spent their lifetime in the mountains. And we mention cheese, too! Links: Tasha Goldberg’s project Evidence of Hope - https://www.evidenceofhope.com/ Lindy Alexander - The Freelancer’s Year http://thefreelancersyear.com/ Courageous Kitchen online classes - https://www.airbnb.com.au/experiences/1701757  Penny Walker of Adventure Creators https://www.adventurecreators.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/227  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If nothing goes wrong, were you even travelling? Episode 226 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast centres on my firm belief that many of the best travel memories derive from when things go wrong on our trips. First I chat with Travis King, and he introduces a concept that I will carry with me on every trip from now on: "Level 3 fun". You'll have to listen to learn what "Level 3 fun" he had with his brother on their cycling trip across Canada. I also talk with Tracey Croke, an adventurous soul who never shies away from a challenge and she certainly found plenty of them in a mountain biking expedition over the Talas Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Links: Travis King's website and book - http://www.traviswking.com/ Tracey Croke's website - http://www.traceycroke.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/226 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet or not, the stories in Episode 225 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast will still fascinate you, I'm sure! I start off chatting with Lindy Alexander, a social worker turned freelance writer who spent eight months living in rural Uganda in her mid-twenties. As a vegetarian, she was a bit concerned about what she could expect there in terms of food and what she actually found is very interesting! I then chat with Tasha Goldberg who, like me, was raised vegetarian and tends to follow that diet on the whole, but can be flexible at times when travelling, and she tells me about her experience with this, starting out with a special invitation in Senegal. Finally, I speak with Brighde Reed who has been vegan for the past decade and has lots of useful tips and resources for anyone looking to research their trip and wanting to eat a plant-based diet along the way. Links: Lindy Alexander - The Freelancer’s Year http://thefreelancersyear.com/  is all about giving practical advice about how freelance writers can earn great money from their writing Tasha Goldberg’s project Evidence of Hope - https://www.evidenceofhope.com/  Brighde Reed - World Vegan Travel - https://www.worldvegantravel.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/225 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Usually the souvenirs we purchase on our travels are relatively small - we want to be able to fit them in our baggage to bring home, after all. I say usually: because Episode 224 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast proves that there are times when people make rather large purchases when they travel! Curiously, none of these three guests had any plan to make these big purchases on their trips - which makes these stories even more fun, I think. First up, I chat with podcast listener Tim Tricker. He has a fun tale of something quite unusual he and his friends bought entirely by accident on a trip to Spain. Then I speak with Nan Caple who was holiday with family and friends on Kangaroo Island when they suddenly decided to buy something quite large. Finally, I talk to Karen Emanuel who was travelling in Nicaragua when a sign caught her attention and she made an even bigger purchase - but one she's very glad of. Links: Nan Caple of Snellings View on Kangaroo Island https://snellingsview.com.au/  Karen Emanuel of Jicaro Island Lodge in Nicaragua  https://www.jicarolodge.com Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/224 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 January 2021 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, talking about Bewildered by Laura Waters. 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.

Travelling with kids in tow is a great way to see the world, but if you're the only parent, it can add a degree of difficulty - but it can also make for the most rewarding trips of all! On Episode 223 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three single parents who've had wonderful experiences taking their kids away - although sometimes, things do go wrong! My first guest is Cindy Siano whose son is now in his twenties - but she has a very vivid memory of a single parent moment when he was eight, and they tried out skiing and snowboarding in the Netherlands. I then chat with Jennifer Johnson who took two of her teenage sons on a trip to Japan - coincidentally, to go skiing, although long before they get on the slopes, something that is only funny in retrospect went wrong. Finally, I had a great discussion with listener Rita about her three-month long trip with her daughter to Europe and northern Africa - it's inspired me to want to do something that long with my son too! Links: Cindy Siano - Life and Times Video www.lifeandtimesvideo.com.au family video producer Jennifer Johnston - Travel Bug Within - https://travelbugwithin.com.au/  Previous podcast episode 11 about getting separated on a train - https://notaballerina.com/11  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/223 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bringing home a meaningful souvenir from a trip is such a pleasure: if the process of buying it was fun and special, perhaps involving a chat with an interesting local, and then you have an object you can enjoy at home which constantly reminds you of your trip, then it's a perfect scenario. In Episode 222 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I talk with travellers about their own meaningful shopping experiences abroad, starting off with Patti Lefkos who has a brilliant story to tell about a souvenir she bought in Nepal - including a live demonstration! Next, I chat with Lindsay Williams. She's obsessed with learning foreign languages and this passion flows through to what she likes to buy when she's travelling, too. Finally, I'm excited to speak with my friend Lola Akinmade-Åkerström who has a new pandemic-induced project on the go, involving a way to help local artisans and guides in countries particularly affected by the drop-off in tourism numbers and help us have an authentic shopping experience at the same time. Links: Patti Lefkos - https://www.pattishaleslefkos.com books and her not-for-profit Lindsay Williams’ site Lindsay Does Languages - https://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/  Lola’s Local Purse - https://www.localpurse.com  Great Travel Souvenirs - Episode 42 - notaballerina.com/42     Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/222  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your style of planning and booking trips is likely, it seems, to fall into one of two categories: a detailed planner (sometimes, incredibly, almost over-the-top detailed - in my humble opinion!) or a more spontaneous, make a few arrangements and then just see what happens.  In Episode 221 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I speak with two travellers who are very dedicated to the detailed planning version, and since my nature is of the opposite type, I find it fascinating to hear what they have to say. First up, Bob Dimenna describes his kind of planning and research and there are ideas that have literally never occurred to me amongst Bob's gems. Next, I speak with Karen Emanuel, a self-confessed meticulous planner, who does admit to a couple of down sides to this tendency. And finally, since we're talking booking, I include a section from my recent chat with Nissy Astassi of Expedia, and she gives me a couple of useful booking tips. Links: Poll on planning or being spontaneous to travel - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers/permalink/1146005029197932/  Episode 128 - Travelling Planning & Research - https://notaballerina.com/128 Bob DiMenna from The Travelers Blueprint podcast - https://thetravelersblueprint.com Karen Emanuel of Jicaro Island Lodge in Nicaragua  https://www.jicarolodge.com Nissy Atassi at Expedia -  https://www.expedia.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/221 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.