The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

So are you a helpful traveller or a harmful traveller when you're on the road? I think we'd all like to think we're more the former, but there's always more we can do. For this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I have a very special guest, Aussie broadcaster and journalist Jan Fran, who recently went overseas with adventure apparel brand Kathmandu to find out firsthand from the locals what's happening in our travel hotspots and how we can do better. They’ve produced three videos called Helpful or Harmful? featuring Bali, Nepal and Australia. I was a bit fangirly nervous before I got to interview Jan Fran but she was a delight to chat to and I loved finding out more about some of the behind the scenes experiences she had in Bali and Nepal to make these videos. Hope you enjoy this chat, too! Links: Helpful or Harmful Travel - https://www.kathmandu.com.au/helpful-or-harmful  More about Jan Fran - http://www.janfran.net Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/143 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often fear getting lost when we travel ... but in reality, it usually either means we discover something we otherwise wouldn't have, and/or it becomes a funny story we repeat regularly later on! In Episode 142 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three travellers who all believe that getting lost is fun (or at least it is most of the time!). First up, Lucas Peters explains his strategy of getting deliberately lost - it's more sensible than it sounds, I promise! Next up I chat with Michela Fantinel who has had some wonderful experiences getting lost while driving in Australia, for example - although as a good Australian I must warn you all to make sure you take water and petrol with you if you're driving about in the Australian outback - it's one of those places where getting lost can actually end up being a bad thing. (Michela is fine!) Finally, I talk to Erin Holmes about some of the various times she's got lost while travelling.  Links: Travel Journal School - www.traveljournalschool.com  Lucas Peters - http://www.lucasmpeters.com/  Michela at Rocky Travel - https://www.rockytravel.net/  Erin Holmes at Explore With Erin - http://explorewitherin.com/    Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/142 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you don't get to really meet the people of a country, have you really been there? Some of my first significant travel moments involved a lot of immersion with local people - from a school language trip aged 14, staying with three different families across Germany without a fellow Aussie friend in the home with me, to living and teaching English in Japan, meeting dozens of new Japanese people every day. I guess that's meant I learnt fast just how much more you can learn about a place when you take as many chances as possible to chat to locals, so it's really ingrained in all my travels now. And it turns out I'm not alone, of course. The three guests on Episode 141 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast value a good chat with a local as much as I do. First up I speak to Seng Mah, who describes a recent experience in India where he got more involved in an Indian wrestling hall than one would expect - but it was a great experience! Next I chat with Kim Yuhl who is slow travelling around the world as a digital nomad these days, and we discussed her experiences in developing a community during her stay in Guatemala City. Finally, Joanne Karcz tells me about a number of interesting interactions she had with Iranian women on her recent trip to Iran, the kinds of conversations you don't have unless you actively seek them out. Links: Travel Journal School is running again - traveljournalschool.com - the next course for two weeks in June is “Start a personal travel blog” Seng Mah at Venture Photography - https://www.venturephotography.com.au Kim’s site Nomading About - https://www.nomadingabout.com Nomading About Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU_pZyS0KMSY6orTWAsSEAA  Joanne’s site Travel with Joanne - https://www.travelwithjoanne.com/    Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers -  https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/141 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a special episode again - every ten episodes I do something different for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast - and listener Justin suggested I record my thoughts about my trip to Denmark with my son and how this trip would challenge us to be thoughtful travellers. I liked this suggestion a lot so this is a solo episode with my pre-trip thoughts about visiting Denmark with my son; what made me decide to go, what I hope to find, and all of the thoughts I've had ahead of the trip. As always I've done some reading and research (also as always, not as much as I'd like, because life always gets in the way), and I'm curious to find out if the Denmark I expect is the Denmark I find. When this episode goes live I'll be mid-way through two weeks exploring both Copenhagen and rural Denmark so I'll have to have a follow-up later on what I actually discovered! Links: My thoughts on thoughtful travel - https://www.notaballerina.com/2018/01/thoughtful-travel.html The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell - https://amzn.to/2YBnA8V Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/140 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're used to expecting culture shock when we travel to a different country but what about when we return home? Sometimes it's a worse shock than when we travel, and we're not always prepared for it. This kind of reverse culture shock, or culture shock when you come home, is something my guests in Episode 139 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast have all experienced. First up I chat with Talon Windwalker who like me lived abroad for about six years. After two years at home he's still having trouble settling back, something I can very much relate to as it took me many years to feel like I was happily at home again. I then talk with Luke Mackin who, as a third culture kid who grew up in the Philippines with American parents, moved to the United States as a teenager and now lives with his family in Indonesia, finds it hard to decide what is home and what is "his" culture, meaning this whole culture shock issue can be really amplified. Finally I speak with Jo Duggan who spent six months volunteering in a medical setting in rural Thailand. It was an incredibly different experience to her regular life in Australia, but one of the hardest parts, to Jo's surprise, was actually settling back home. Links: Next course for two weeks in June - “Start a personal travel blog” - add your email at traveljournalschool.com to get the info Talon's blog 1 Dad 1 Kid - http://1dad1kid.com/ Talon on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/onedad1kid/ My post about "bragging" - I mentioned talking to Talon - https://www.notaballerina.com/2013/01/people-equate-talking-travels-bragging.html Luke’s Wild Sumatra site and blog - https://www.wildsumatra.com/blog/  Jo and Jeremy’s website Coming Home Strong - http://www.cominghomestrong.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/139 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want to stay somewhere other than a hotel? Then Episode 138 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is for you! I'm not a huge fan of hotels and love to stay in alternative kinds of accommodation, so I was excited to chat to my three guests in this episode about some of their favourite kinds of non-hotel accommodation. I start off with a chat with Dan Johnston who has been living in a bunch of different places around the world in recent years. Being focused on generally longer stays than the average trip, he's found lots of really creative ways to find a great place to stay. Next I talk to Kendall Simmons who reminds me that hostels can also be a great accommodation alternative, no matter how old you are - hostels are definitely not just huge dorm rooms any more! We also discussing house sitting as another really interesting way to find somewhere special to stay (and to save money doing it!). Finally I discuss accommodation with Chris Haag who has a particularly unique perspective as he and his partner are cycling from Alaska to Argentina. It turns out there are some particular ways to find accommodation unique to the long-term cycling community and it makes me ponder just what else is out there that I don't know anything about! Links: Join my next Travel Journal School course for two weeks in June - “Start a personal travel blog” - sign up for more info at traveljournalschool.com  Dan at Dreams Around the World - https://www.dreamsaroundtheworld.com/thethoughtfultravelpodcast/  Dan's Dreams Around the World podcast -  https://www.dreamsaroundtheworld.com/podcast/  Kendall’s site - https://www.kendallsimmons.com/  Chris Haag's site The Places I Pee - https://www.theplacesipee.com  Warm Showers - https://www.warmshowers.org - "A community of bicycle tourists and those who support them" Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/138Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you experience depression, you may have combined this with travel and either found it made things worse, or better. I would love to imagine that travel could cure depression, but from the chats I had with three different people for this episode, it seems (unsurprisingly, really) that experiences of depression and travel vary as much as people vary. First up today I chat with Justin Watson, who has actually found that travel has been quite helpful in managing his issues with depression. We talk about mindfulness techniques and how practicing these when you travel can be a great way to improve them. Next I speak with Megan Blandford, who has experienced depression while travelling during a period when she was in denial that she had any depressions issues at all. The link between Megan's depression and her adventurous travel activities is something I found really fascinating to discuss. Finally, I talk to Ian Oliver who has had some mixed experiences with depression while he is travelling: from finding that moving to a new destination can give him a kind of "fresh start" and feel much better, to the experience of simply needing to go home. I'm so grateful to each of my guests today for being prepared to open up about such a personal topic - thank you so much Justin, Megan and Ian! Links: Don't forget my next traveljournalschool.com course is the two-week “Start a personal travel blog” course in mid-June - sign up at the link to get more information Justin's blog at Justin’s World - http://www.justins.world Megan Blandford's website -  https://meganblandford.net/   Her book I’m Fine (And Other Lies) about postnatal depression and motherhood is out now and is a brilliant read! Ian’s Barefoot Backpacker blog - https://barefoot-backpacker.com Ian’s podcast “Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure” - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/  Some resources to get help with depression: Australia:  Beyond Blue - beyondblue.org.au ; Lifeline - lifeline.org.au  UK: NHS - Moodzone page - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/ ; Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/  - the mental health charity US: Mental Health America - http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/depression-support-and-advocacy Germany: https://www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/ Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/137 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone takes tonnes of photos when they travel these days - hundreds from a short trip is not unusual, thanks to bringing our smartphones complete with cameras these days, or because we're taking lots of shots to try and get an Instagram-worthy one! In Episode 136 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I talk with three photographers about a bunch of different thoughts about taking photos when we travel, along with some very handy tips. First up, I chat with Seng Mah, who works as a photographer and takes people on photography tours to some fabulous places around the world. Seng's ideas on how we ordinary people should approach taking pictures is a breath of fresh air and well worth listening to. I then talk with Whitney Taylor, who similarly has a surprising attitude to photography while travelling. She's definitely of the Instagram generation but is not in favour of watching your trip unfold through your phone's camera. Finally, Dale Neill returns to the podcast with some really solid tips and information about the different options for cameras for travellers these days; we talk DSLR, mirrorless and smartphones and Dale's information will definitely help you decide the next kind of camera you want to take travelling. Links: Check out Travel Journal School - traveljournalschool.com - my next course is for two weeks in June and it's called “Start a personal travel blog” Seng Mah at Venture Photography - https://www.venturephotography.com.au For people in Western Australia - Seng's Facebook group for photographers, Snap Happy! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/snaphappywa/  Seng mentioned a controversy about a photography prize from a "staged" travel photo - https://www.diyphotography.net/winning-photo-of-120k-hipa-prize-was-allegedly-staged/  Whitney Taylor on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whitneyleighartist/  Dale Neill, representing the Fremantle International Portrait Prize - https://fipp.org.au - entries open on 5th May and close 7th July, proceeds go to charity Previous episodes about travel and photography at https://notaballerina.com/57 and https://notaballerina.com/109 Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/136 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever painted the town red one night on your travels? Episode 135 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about the nightlife you've experienced on your travels - whether you hit a nightclub or bar or, my personal favourite, a karaoke box in Japan! Along the way through these discussions my guests and I discovered that exploring the nightlife is also a fascinating study in cultural differences. My first guest today is Whitney Taylor who experienced an Indian nightclub in Agra, and certainly discovered a couple of significant differences between our local Aussie nightclubs and Indian ones - and had a wonderful evening. Next up I chat with Dan Johnston, who currently calls Prague in the Czech Republic home and has also spent time living in Germany. We discuss some of the cultural differences in nightlife experiences between countries like Australia and Canada, and the European model. Finally I speak with Kate Toon who, like me, doesn't always get out and about at night when she travels because if you're travelling solo as a woman it's not always simple - but she did have a very interesting evening out in Cusco, Peru, while she was on a group trip - you'll have to listen to find out exactly what went on there! Links: Airbnb - https://www.notaballerina.com/air for $55 off first booking  My description of karaoke - https://www.notaballerina.com/2012/04/karaoke-boxes-why-you-shouldnt-be.html  Whitney on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whitneyleighartist/   Dan at Dreams Around the World - https://dreamsaroundtheworld.com/thethoughtfultravelpodcast/   Dreams Around the World podcast - https://dreamsaroundtheworld.com/podcast/  Kate Toon’s website - https://www.katetoon.com  Look up Kate’s podcasts - Hot Copy Podcast, Recipe for SEO Success Podcast and Confessions of a Misfit Entrepreneur Podcast Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/135 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having location independent work - which usually means doing a job that you can do online - is becoming increasingly popular these days and many people are wandering the globe at the same time as they're earning an income. Magic, hey? In Episode 134 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast we look at the topic of location independent work and I chat with two digital nomads about their current experiences and tips. Firstly I chat with Kim Yuhl who's over a year into working on the road with her husband. Currently in Guatemala, Kim has spent time in China, Italy, Mexico, the United States and Belize in the past twelve months and while doing her full time writing and editing job is also creating a YouTube channel with her husband called Nomading About. It's a busy and varied life, but Kim talks to me about how to get a routine into this kind of life as well. I also speak with Kendall Simmons, another digital nomad, but her job as an interior designer didn't initially sound like a job that's conducive to working online. (I was wrong!) Kendall has a lot of great tips for people who want to find a way to have location independent work so if you want to follow in her footsteps this is a must listen! Links: Airbnb: https://www.notaballerina.com/air - get $55 off your first booking Kim’s site Nomading About - https://www.nomadingabout.com Nomading About Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU_pZyS0KMSY6orTWAsSEAA Kendall’s site - https://www.kendallsimmons.com/  Kendall mentions Workaway - https://www.workaway.info Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/134 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.