The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

It's 2020 (and arguably not the start of the decade but let's skip that discussion) and I want to look back on the years from 2010 until now. Travel has changed a LOT in that decade - more than I realised, until I started thinking more deeply about it and asking what some of my favourite thoughtful travellers thought. In Episode 170 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I talk about many of the ways in which how we travel, why we travel, what we do when we travel, and more, has changed since 2010. A shout out to my lovely friend Kristy Morton, first, for giving me the idea for this episode - fitting, since she was the very first guest I ever interviewed! In this episode, you'll hear a fabulous variety of ideas and opinions from my fellow travel media from the Australian Society of Travel Writers and, just because I realised I needed diversity (it was an all-female show until then!) a snippet from my friend Ian, aka The Barefoot Backpacker, from the UK. The topics traverse a wide range: of course, the incredible developments in smartphone technology rate highly, but there is also discussion of how the #metoo movement has changed travel, how industry disruptors like Airbnb have altered how many of us travel, and, most excitingly for me, how many travellers are maturing in what they want: the rise of niche travel and, I hope, the rise of thoughtful travel! Links: Ian - the Barefoot Backpacker - https://barefoot-backpacker.com  Kate Hennessy - https://www.instagram.com/the_smallest_room/  Kate’s piece in the Financial Review - https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/how-metoo-has-changed-the-way-women-travel-20181023-h17039 Monique Ceccato - http://www.littlemissmonbon.com/  Christine Knight - Adventure Baby Carmen Jenner - http://fluffytowel.com Di Bortoletto - https://travelletto.com Liz Bond - http://lizbondwriter.com/ Marianne Rogerson - https://www.mumonthemove.com/ Emily McAuliffe - http://www.emilymcauliffe.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/170  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's kick off 2020 with something we've never covered on The Thoughtful Travel Podcast before: romance and travel! Episode 169 covers the whole gamut of travel romance, from dating apps to testing new relationships by travelling together and exploring the cultural differences that come up when you date someone from a different country. First up, I chat with Christine Retschlag who has done a lot of research on dating as she travels the globe! She's no stranger to testing out a dating app in a new city and has discovered it's a fascinating way to meet the locals. Next, I speak with Ian and Ann who actually did meet on a dating site, and say that the fact they both liked travel was a crucial part of them becoming a couple. I love how they road-tested their relationship quite literally and quite early - and now they travel full-time. Finally, I speak with Dan Johnston who has lived abroad in a range of different countries in Europe and central America. His dating experiences are also interesting and we realise that dating is also a good way to really get to know the local way of life in a new country. Links: Christine Retschlag - https://www.theglobalgoddess.com  Ann and Ian at Expat or Not - https://www.expatornot.com/  Dan at Dreams Around the World - https://dreamsaroundtheworld.com/thethoughtfultravelpodcast/    Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/169 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celebrating the turn of the year can be a lot of fun, and if you happen to be somewhere away from home for December 31, it can be even more fun and memorable.  This week's episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is a replay of my first New Year's Eve travel episode from three years ago, as I know many current listeners won't have heard it. It features Kim-Ling's story of New Year's Eve on Ibiza - and it's not what you think - and Di's story of what makes up a wonderful New Year's Eve in Tasmania. Of course, I also mention some of my memorable New Year's Eve celebrations - I think one of my favourites was a year in Bratislava with local Slovak friends and my sister (on her honeymoon, no less!), featuring snow(wo)men and fire crackers. This year, I'll be near the beach, always a good way to ring in a new year, I think! Links: Kim-Ling at Travel-Ling - https://travel-ling.com/ Di at Travelletto - https://travelletto.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Christmas time again - it comes so fast! - and I'm replaying this Christmas episode of the podcast from the early years, which I know many people won't have heard. It's full of both fun and poignancy, and even includes a guest appearance from the Easter Bunny. At this time of year, when I've mostly wound down from work for the year and am spending lots of extra time with my son, who's on holidays from school for six whole weeks, I have lots of time to reflect and one of those reflections is just how much I love creating The Thoughtful Travel Podcast and how grateful I am for my fabulous audience and community. So, if you celebrate Christmas, I hope it's a fabulously merry one. And delicious, too. In this episode, I chat with Annalicia Lynn who had an interesting Christmas in Taiwan while she was teaching English there. We talk about the cultural differences between many Asian countries and English-speaking nations and she has one of my very favourite stories about how her Taiwanese colleagues tried to create a Christmas atmosphere in the workplace. Emma Mann started a tradition of spending Christmas abroad, and she talks about the difference between spending Christmas in another country where the traditions are strong, versus a place where Christmas generally isn’t celebrated. Finally, Joe Baur chats about his experience living in Germany at Christmas time – one of my favourite places to be during this season! Links: Annalicia of Exercise180 - https://www.exercise180.com/ Emma of The Vagabond Feminist - https://thevagabondfeminist.wordpress.com Joe Baur - https://joebaur.com Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers/ Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019 is coming to an end - and it's been another big year for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. You can hear about some of our travels in Episodes 150 (Thoughtful Travel in Denmark) and 160 (Cairns and Queensland), and in this episode I'll tell you some of the statistics from this year (including in how many countries The Thoughtful Travel Podcast has been downloaded in ... it's quite a lot!). I also answer some great listener questions which include topics like what I think the next hot destinations will be, how I will get out of my comfort zone in 2020, how to balance thoughtful travel with kids and a great question about how to answer "what is your favourite country?" when, as is the case with most of us, we definitely can't narrow that down to one (and it kind of defeats the purpose of travelling to do so, too!). Thanks to all my fabulous guests and listeners over 2019 - I literally couldn't make this show with you and your excellent input! Links: Thoughtful Travel in Denmark - notaballerina.com/150 Cairns and Queensland Diary - notaballerina.com/160 Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/166Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You never want to need your travel insurance ... but you should always have it. Episode 165 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is a mix of trips gone wrong (but yippee - travel insurance was there!) and some expert advice from people in the insurance industry. Let's just say - I learnt a lot! First up, I chat with Shelley Winkel who had cause to use her travel insurance after an injury far from any hospital or medical help in Patagonia - pretty much the last place in the world you want to have an accident! Next, I speak with Lisa Kable from the Insurance Council of Australia. I've known Lisa for a couple of years and have figured out that she knows everything that needs to be known about insurance - she definitely taught me a thing or two in this chat! Finally, I talk with Anthony Bianco about some of his experience in the travel insurance industry and allow him to tell the worst joke in the podcast's existence to date!! Links: Shelley Winkel from Tourism and Events Queensland - https://teq.queensland.com  Lisa Kable from the Insurance Council of Australia - http://www.insurancecouncil.com.au/  Anthony Bianco from the Travel Tart - https://www.thetraveltart.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/165 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I might be a little bit obsessive about this topic - although it's been a long time since an episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast has covered it - but I really passionately feel that taking your kids travelling is so very beneficial for them (and you, too!). In Episode 164 I chat with some great guests who feel as strongly about why you should travel with your children as I do. First up, I chat with Nicci O'Mara who impressed me no end with some of the great ideas she has about how to help kids get the most out of their travels. I thought I was good, but Nicci is next level! I then speak with AJ and Natasha who travelled the world with their young son, and intended to do it again in a few years. We discussed how there are a lot of great lessons for parents when travelling with kids, too. Finally, I talk to Suzanne, an American who lives in a fairly remote part of Japan with her Japanese husband and biracial kids. She has lots of important reasons to take her children travelling and it was great to chat with her. Links: Nicci O’Mara from Trip Chiefs - https://tripchiefs.com/  Natasha and AJ - 2 Idiots Travel Blog https://www.2idiotstravel.com/  Suzanne Kamata - http://www.suzannekamata.com/ Suzanne’s book, Squeaky Wheels - https://amzn.to/2qPbCNQ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/164 Sign up to the Thoughtful Travel Thursday newsletter - http://eepurl.com/gLeG9L  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Tony Wheeler, most famed for being the co-founder, along with his wife Maureen, of the Lonely Planet guide book empire. He gave a keynote address at the conference attended for the Australian Society of Travel Writers and I had the chance to chat with him later that day, and asked him if he'd like to be a special guest on The Thoughtful Travel Podcast - and luckily for all of us he said yes! In this conversation we talk about all kinds of travel-related stories, some fun and some serious. I ask Tony what he's learnt from his travels over the years, whether his children also have the travel bug and all about his keen interest in modes of transport. We also talk about two of his book projects including his most recent one, Islands of Australia. The wonderful members of the Thoughtful Travellers group on Facebook also chimed in with some questions, which led Tony and I to chat about why he mentioned the Maldives as a place he wouldn't return to, and we also discussed the "Lonely Planet effect" - what happens when a small tourism business gets overrun after being mentioned in a guide book. All of that, as they say, and more! It was a great pleasure to chat with Tony and I hope you all enjoy listening! Links: Tony Wheeler - https://tonywheeler.com.au Tony's Bad Lands book - https://amzn.to/34gpsHC  Tony's Islands of Australia book - https://www.booktopia.com.au/tony-wheeler-s-islands-of-australia-tony-wheeler/book/9780642279477.html  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/163 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever thought about living abroad? I've done it - in Japan, Slovakia and Germany - but it all just kind of happened, and I never had the intention of moving there for the foreseeable future. That's why Episode 162 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is particularly interesting to me - my guests have all travelled with the intention of finding a place to live abroad permanently or for at least a fair few years. First up I chat with Liz Green who explains how she and her husband decided to trial living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was mind-blowing enough for me to learn that lots of FIFO (fly in, fly out) workers in Australian mine sites actually fly to south-east Asia for their home base, and then I was interested to hear about how Liz and her husband scoped out whether Chiang Mai could be for them or not. I then chat with Ann Mortimore and Ian Crabtree who left the United States with the express purpose of finding a new home. Their search is narrowing and it was fascinating to hear about the pros and cons of various countries across the globe that were part of their endeavour to find a place to live abroad. Links: Liz’s site Whiz Bang Writing - https://www.whizbangwriting.com/  Ann and Ian at Expat or Not - https://www.expatornot.com/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/162 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever thought about cycling around the whole world? I sure haven’t - but today’s two guests in Episode 161 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast have both spent years and thousands of kilometres exploring the globe by bicycle and despite what you might assume, they seem quite normal! First up I chat with Alastair Humphreys who spent four years on his bike, covering five continents and learning a lot both about cycling and its benefits, and about himself. I then speak with Brett Seychell who set out on a whim one day to cycle from London to Paris, which turned out to be the start of something much bigger! In fact - it's not an exaggeration to say that it changed his whole life. Links: Alastair Humphreys - https://www.alastairhumphreys.com/  Brett from Social Cycles - https://www.social-cycles.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/161 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.