The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

You might just be able to get the best of both worlds by travelling around the world and helping people by volunteering. It’s not always that simple, but in Episode 33 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast Amanda talks with three guests who have volunteered across several continents with a huge variety of organisations. First up, she chats with Serena Star-Leonard who started off a project to create videos of great projects in a school in the slums in northern Colombia - in a place where most taxi drivers refused to take them. Working with animals instead of kids, Amanda then talks to Diana Edelman who spent several years helping out at Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, a place that now gratefully accepts volunteers for short or long stints and does amazing work helping elephants. Finally, Amanda moves to agriculture with Audrey Wanders and her discussion of WWOOFing around the world and her experience of volunteering on organic farms, and wanting to do more. Links: Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group Serena Star-Leonard’s Retire in 12 Months project Travel Kids Club D Travels Round Elephant Nature Park Diana’s post - The Truth About Riding Elephants in Thailand Surin Elephant Round up post from Bounding Over Our Steps  Audrey Wanders WWOOF main website Join our Facebook group Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lots of people keep a travel journal when they travel and in episode 32 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Amanda talks with three guests about their travel diary habits. Chris Christensen of the long-running Amateur Traveler podcast kicks things off by describing the journalling habits he has learnt from his wife, a hardcore travel journal keeper from way back! After Chris, Amanda speaks with Aggie Lim, who keeps varied travel journals including sketches and all kinds of paraphernalia. Finally, Holly Galbraith talks about how her commitment to keeping travel journals has ebbed and flowed over the years, but like many, she’s happier when she’s got a great record of her travels to refer back to. Links: Try a module of Travel Journal School Chris Christensen’s site Amateur Traveler Chris’s Amateur Traveler podcast Aggie Lim at Drawn to Explore Aggie’s new toy - the Polaroid Zip mobile printer Holly Galbraith’s website Holly’s Tourism Upgrade podcast My first travel journal aged 8 Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 31 Amanda is talking about the different ways, both good and bad, that the internet has changed travel - how we plan and book it, how we act when we’re travelling, even how much money we spend on it! Jeff Ryan has a great perspective on this topic having spent 28 years gradually hiking the Appalachian Trail in the US. Over those three decades, he has seen the internet change many aspects of how he travels, and he has fully embraced them. Lola Akinmade-Åkerström has, as always, something particularly thoughtful to say about how the internet has changed travel - and Amanda agrees that we need to use its power pretty mindfully to make the most of it. Finally, Mark Wyld rejoices about how the internet has changed the way we book and plan travel - and how it can save us money, too. Links: Jeff Ryan’s author website Jeff’s book, Appalachian Odyssey Lola’s site Geotraveler’s Niche Lola’s post from Ireland - The Farmer Who Inherited a Medieval Kingdom  Wyld Family Travel Episode 21: Pros and Cons of the Internet for Travellers Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's time for another round-figure episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, and Amanda is celebrating Episode 30 with a random mix of chats with some of her favourite travellers. What do they have in common? They're all talking about topics which start with L and have four letters! That's good enough for Amanda! First up, she returns to the story of Martin Bailey, who moved to Japan pretty much on a whim 25 years ago to work in a lace factory. This move completely changed the trajectory of this life – but it also impressively helped him to become bilingual, thanks to a lot of hard work and determination on his part. Next, at the special request of Amanda's six-year-old son, she digs behind the scenes of the Lego Backpacker by finding out more about how Tom Parsons takes very cool pictures of his Lego minifigures at famous destinations around the world. Finally, Amanda chats with Lola Akinmade-Akerstrom about transitions when moving from place to place (having moved from Nigeria to the United States and then on to Sweden, she has plenty of experience) and about the curiosity which unites travellers. Links: Martin Bailey Martin’s photography tours and workshops Tom Parson of The Lego Backpacker on Instagram Lego Backpacker website coming soon Bored Panda collection of the Lego Backpacker Lola Akinmade-Akerstrom at her site Geotraveler’s Niche Ellen Barone’s post, mentioned by Lola - Where Would You Go If You Only Had a Few Weeks to Live?  Ep 26 How to be Bilingual, with the start of Martin’s story Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether or not you have any artistic talent, Amanda believes that sitting down and doing some sketching on your travels is a great idea, and in Episode 29 she chats with two travellers who do just that (although it must be said that they both have great artistic talent!). Candace Rardon is an amazing artist who has sketched, drawn and painted her way around the world. She chats about the connections you can make if you sit down in a new place to sketch something of the scene around you. Aggie Lim is a former psychologist and long-time travel-lover who has come to sketching in more recent years, but is completely converted. She chats about the various benefits of taking a sketchbook with you wherever you go. Links: Candace Rose Rardon at The Great Affair Candace’s book on Amazon Beneath the Lantern's Glow: Sketches and Stories from Southeast Asia and Japan Aggie Lim at Drawn to Explore Aggie's Instagram account Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting around on our travels can be fraught with both fun and difficulty. In Episode 28 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast Amanda chats with fellow travellers who’ve had some hairy experiences while getting from A to B, or have had some problems actually finding B! First up, Stephen Henson shares some stories of getting lost in Germany and China. Despite spending a large amount of time in China for work, Stephen still has plenty of moments when getting from A to B is rather tricky. Following that, Linda and Craig of the Indie Travel Podcast have a great tale to tell of the time they went hiking in the West Highland Way in Scotland. It might even involve some kind of yeti! Jean of The Traveling Honeybird has had some scary moments getting from A to B and her and Amanda discuss those horror taxi rides and other problems with transport on our travels. Links: Journeys with Stephen Craig and Linda at Indie Travel Podcast Craig and Linda at Performance Foundry  Jean at Traveling Honeybird Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 27, Amanda covers a very serious question: Are all Aussies tanned and tall?   It’s all about stereotypes of different cultures but especially those of people Amanda's countryfolk - Australians. The first guests are Katie and Jeremy Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian who have all these delightfully nice things to say about Australians (which gets a big thumbs up from Amanda!) Following on from them, she chats with Tom Parson, the Lego Backpacker, and hear about the stereotypes people are discussing in youth hostels across Europe these days. Finally, Amanda talks with her friend Dianne Bortoletto of Travelletto about both Australian stereotypes and how travel broadens our outlook and helps to dispel stereotypes completely.   Links:   Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian website - http://www.thelifebohemian.com/ The Life Bohemian Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-bohemian/id1079385152?mt=2 Tom Parson of The Lego Backpacker on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelegobackpacker/ Lego Backpacker website coming soon - https://thelegobackpacker.com Dianne Bortoletto of Travelletto - http://travelletto.com Episode 18, talking about Australians in Japan - http://notaballerina.com/18 The Castle movie - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118826/ Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Encountering foreign languages when we travel is both a challenge and a joy - and some of us dream not only of learning a few phrases when we travel, but becoming bilingual. It’s definitely not easy to be bilingual but the guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast show that it’s not impossible, either. Amanda starts by chatting with Leyla of Women on the Road, one of those amazing people who can speak a multitude of languages, and treats coming across a new language as meeting a new friend. If you’re considering raising your kids bilingually, then Amanda's second guest, Adam Beck of Bilingual Monkeys, is the man to listen to. He’s got a wealth of information about it and shares a few ways he’s helped his children grow up speaking, reading and writing English nearly as well as their more-native Japanese. Finally, Martin Bailey shares his journey to bilingualism which didn’t begin until adulthood when he moved to Japan to work in a lace-making factory. Links: Leyla at Women on the Road http://www.women-on-the-road.com Adam Beck at Bilingual Monkeys - http://bilingualmonkeys.com/ Adam’s new book, Maximise Your Child’s Bilingual Ability - http://bilingualmonkeys.com/maximize-your-childs-bilingual-ability-book/ Martin Bailey - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com Martin’s photography tours and workshops - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/workshops Duolingo language learning app - https://www.duolingo.com Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/26 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So just how slow is slow travel? We can probably all have some kind of similar idea on what slow travel is - being more mindful with how we spend our time travelling, not rushing around to tick off lists of all the sights, and possibly spending longer than usual in one spot - but how slow is slow?   Amanda's guests in this episode all have a different take on how we can travel slowly, and her first one is a real champion at it: Jeff Ryan has taken 28 years to hike the Appalachian Trail! Not all at once, of course, but he has learnt some great lessons from these experiences about travelling slowly.   Following this she chats with Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz who are currently travelling full time and have used this experience to figure out the kind of slow travel that works for them.    Finally, Amanda talks with Lola Akinmade-Åkerström who has quite a different way of approaching slow travel, and one that has a lot of merit, as you can use her strategy even if you don’t have a whole of time to travel.   Links:   Jeff Ryan’s author website -  http://www.jeffryanauthor.com/ Jeff’s book, Appalachian Odyssey -  http://amzn.to/2bB9o8u Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian website - http://www.thelifebohemian.com/ The Life Bohemian Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-bohemian/id1079385152?mt=2 Lola’s site Geotraveler’s Niche - http://www.lolaakinmade.com/ Slow Travel Stockholm - http://www.slowtravelstockholm.com Episode 13 - Taking it Slow: Travelling to Feel Like a Local http://notaballerina.com/13 jackrabbit.fm listener survey - thanks in advance for taking it! - http://www.jackrabbit.fm/survey Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/25 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lots of people with a deep sense of wanderlust develop it by travelling at a young age, but as Amanda chats about in this episode, it's definitely not the only path to developing a love of travel.  Today she speaks with three guests who love to travel now, but never really got to travel much as kids. First up, Amanda speaks with Lisa Luken who grew up on a farm and didn't do much travelling at all, but who now does amazing road trips with her husband, three kids and their dog. It's really interesting to hear how her wanderlust came to be. Audrey Wanders also grew up without travelling, but her story is a little different, because her parents were definitely wanderers before they settled down to have a family. It seems like she definitely inherited that love of theirs and she has started to travel more and more as she’s got older. Finally, Amanda speaks with Mark Wyld of Wyld Family Travel, a fellow Aussie who does as much travelling as possible - especially to Europe - with his wife and two daughters. He definitely has a solid case of wanderlust and is doing his very best to pass that on to his children.   Links:   Lisa Luken at Simple Joy Living - http://simplejoyliving.com Audrey Wanders - http://www.audreywanders.com/ Wyld Family Travel - http://wyldfamilytravel.com/ Previous episode: What sparks wanderlust? http://notaballerina.com/17 Travel genetics – how your parents influence your love of travel http://www.notaballerina.com/2014/11/travel-genetics-parents-influence-love-travel.html jackrabbit.fm listener survey - thanks in advance for taking it! - http://www.jackrabbit.fm/survey Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/24  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.