The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

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.

Time for something different for Episode 160 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast: you can listen in on my diary! I've just spent a week in Cairns, Queensland, and after many requests to do this, I actually recorded a podcast diary on my trip. Well, most days - it was a very busy trip! The first part of my trip saw me explore Cairns, the Nerada Tea plantation and taking the Skyrail to Kuranda on my own - all lots of fun and I especially enjoyed the chance to be a solo traveller for just a couple of days again. That's a rare pleasure for me at this phase in life. For the second half of my trip, a hundred and fifty or so of my friends joined me!! In fact I was attending the annual convention of the Australian Society of Travel Writers, so I got to visit Fitzroy Island with a small group of them, and then spend two days together talking and celebrating all things travel writing, travel PR and travel influencing. It's such a fun event and also really got my mind ticking over with a billion new ideas for the podcast. Links: Some of the travel I did on this trip was sponsored or subsidised and I'm very grateful for the chance! Of course: my views are always my own. Nerada Tea plantation - see where your tea grows! You can eat a mighty good meal there and see their resident tree kangaroos - https://www.neradatea.com.au Kuranda Skyrail - a fabulous way to get up into the rainforest - https://www.skyrail.com.au Fitzroy Island off Cairns - a place I've promised my son I'll take him to in the near future - https://www.fitzroyisland.com  Riley, a Crystalbrook Collection Resort - a hotel that even I approve of! - https://www.crystalbrookcollection.com/riley Tropical North Queensland - more things to do in this fabulous part of the world - https://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling in foreign countries is only half the fun when we know the language, right? Plenty of intrigue and hilarity ensues when you're trying to communicate in a language you only know a few phrases of, and that's a big joy when I travel - picking up little pieces of a new language and learning how it all fits together! In Episode 159 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three travellers about this very topic and they find it just as interesting as I do. First up I talk to Denise who spent some time in Spain learning flamenco dancing - and learnt just as much about the Spanish language and culture, too. Next I chat with Kendall about how fortunate we are - in some ways! - to be native English speakers, and other issues related to languages and travel. Finally, I speak with Dan Johnston who's tackled one of the more complex European languages, Czech, and found it rather tricky! We talk about how language ability can change your personality in some ways, too. Links: Denise Tham - Spas of the World - https://spatravels.home.blog/ Kendall’s site https://www.kendallsimmons.com/  Dan at Dreams Around the World - https://dreamsaroundtheworld.com/thethoughtfultravelpodcast/   Previous episodes on languages and travel: Episode 126 - https://www.notaballerina.com/2019/02/language-difficulties-episode-126-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html Episode 10 - https://www.notaballerina.com/2016/05/thoughtful-travel-podcast-episode-10-cope-another-language.html  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/159 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting around on your travels is not always smooth sailing and things do go wrong. Does that mean your trip is a disaster? I think not! If my three guests in Episode 158 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast are anything to go by, a travel mishap is purely fodder for a great story to tell later. In this episode I chat first with Nate Hake. He tells the tale of visiting Bolivia and running into some trouble when protestors basically shut down the town of Uyuni shortly before he landed there Next, I talk to Justin Watson. He had a visa to get through China ... or did he? Finally, I speak with Natasha and AJ of the 2 Idiots Abroad blog ... about a time in Bangkok when possibly, they nearly lived up to the name of their blog! Links: Nate at Travel Lemming - https://travellemming.com/  Justin Watson - blog at Justin’s World http://www.justins.world  Natasha and AJ - 2 Idiots Travel Blog https://www.2idiotstravel.com/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/158 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visiting places that not many people go to is a special joy for me - I love not knowing much about a place and honestly, I feel a bit proud to tell people if I've been somewhere uncommon. I'm probably not alone in that feeling! In Episode 157 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three travellers who've spent time in more uncommon destinations recently and loved their experiences. First I speak with Liz Green who found herself visiting Kazakhstan when her son moved there for a stint with his job. From not knowing much at all about it to absolutely loving the experience, Liz's story has definitely convinced me to visit! Next, I talk with Eva Westerling who has spent time in perhaps one of the least commonly visited countries at the moment - Iraq. Eva didn't go there for a tourist visit but rather as part of her job, but she still managed to do a little sightseeing around Erbil in the Kurdish area and has some interesting tales to tell about it.  Finally, I chat with Justin Watson who has visited quite a number of uncommon destinations - he's soon headed to Ethiopia and Djibouti, so I'll have to get him back on to chat about those two! - but in this episode, we discuss his trip to Bhutan. Links: Liz’s site Whiz Bang Writing - https://www.whizbangwriting.com/  Eva’s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com Justin Watson - blog at Justin’s World http://www.justins.world  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/157 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel can stretch your comfort zone in a multitude of ways, and the fact that it does is one of the biggest benefits of travel, I think. You can stretch a comfort zone at home too, but pushing the boundaries of what you feel comfortable with is so much easier in a new place, and there are usually a lot more opportunities too. In Episode 156 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I start off talking to Ann Mortimore and Ian Crabtree who took a giant leap by deciding to pack up their life in the United States and start exploring the world full-time. Their first stop, Guatemala, provided quite a few comfort-zone-stretching moments. (Spoiler alert: it was all worth it!) Next up I chat with Michela Fantinel who I personally think is an expert in stretching her comfort zone. I admire how she's built up her experience of solo travel over the years and done particularly some amazing trips around Australia. Finally, I speak to Alastair Humphreys who is no stranger to smashing his comfort zone, being a veteran of numerous crazy physical challenges - but we discuss how his most recent trip to Spain was a stretch of a completely different kind. Links: How I stretched my comfort zone at the Ningaloo Reef - https://www.notaballerina.com/2016/10/australias-coral-coast-stretched-comfort-zone.html Ann and Ian at Expat or Not - https://www.expatornot.com/  Michela at Rocky Travel - https://www.rockytravel.net/  Alastair Humphreys - https://www.alastairhumphreys.com/  Alastair’s new book My Midsummer Morning - https://amzn.to/2JWNjDe Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/156 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India is one of those countries that people seem to visit and then rave about for the rest of their lives. In fact, it's really the only place I can think of that I hear so much deep love for. I've never really understood the pull to India that many people have, but after speaking with the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I'm keen to go and see it for myself. I first speak to Seng Mah, a photographer who found his first trip to India utterly life-changing and continues to return, including taking tour groups of photographers there knowing that their lives will be changed too. Seng explains the magic of India to me better than anyone ever else has. Next, I chat with Whitney Taylor who, like me, hadn't been particularly drawn to visiting India but found herself on a trip there. She was so amazed by it all and would go back in a heartbeat. Finally, Marilyn Murphy tells me a little about her first experience of India, and a more recent and contrasting one. Suffice to say, India was also an incredible experience for her that she recommends to all. Links: Seng Mah at Venture Photography - https://www.venturephotography.com.au Whitney Taylor on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whitneyleighartist/  Marilyn Murphy from the Wow Travel Club https://www.wowtravelclub.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/155 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taking a dancing class when I'm travelling or specifically taking a trip to learn to dance is not something that I've ever done - but hearing about all the fun that my guests on Episode 154 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast have had makes me begin to wonder if it might be in my future! I start off chatting to Clare who has had several tango-related holidays. Clare describes her tango trips to Spain and Argentina and we also chat about how that interacts with learning and practising a language when you travel. Next, I talk with Denise who spent a month in Spain specifically to learn more flamenco. She really immersed herself in all things flamenco and while I'd say she worked pretty hard there, she definitely had an amazing experience. Finally I chat to Cheri who has taken music and dance classes in many places - and we agree that it is an amazing way to get to know a culture, something that goes beyond language. She describes a dance experience she had in Ghana which sounded pretty incredible. See, I'm nearly converted! Links: Clare’s site The Book Next Door - Australian ESL materials for adults and young adults - http://thebooknextdoor.com/  Clare Harris - Englishy Things - https://clareharris.com Denise Tham - Spas of the World - https://spatravels.home.blog/ Cheri’s site The Breath of Cuba - http://www.thebreathofcuba.com   Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/154  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.