The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Whether you're hitchhiking, making new friends or buying a train ticket in India, all of these things take confidence. We talk often on The Thoughtful Travel Podcast about the myriad ways travel helps you grow, and one of the biggest benefits I've had from travelling is that it's given me immense confidence - a trait that's carried through into my personal and professional life far beyond my travels. In Episode 272, my three guests tell me about incidents from their travels which have given them lasting confidence. I start with Sophia Bentaher who has a great philosophical approach to what she's learnt from travel and thinks that travelling gives a compounding benefit as you see the results of your actions and become increasingly confident in all that you do. I then chat with Nathan Thomas who describes the daily achievements in travel like buying a ticket at an Indian train station where even the scam artists are dressed in an official-looking uniform. Each of these kinds of achievements add to your confidence. Finally, I hear from Sarah Meyer who intentionally went looking for her confidence to be built on a long-term solo trip in Asia - and found it in spades. Links: Crossing cultures: Student travel and personal development - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147176797000217  Sophia’s website https://sophia-b.co/  Nathan of Intrepid Times https://intrepidtimes.com/  Nathan’s new book Travel Your Way: Rediscover the World on Your Own Terms Sarah’s site Last Minute Wanders https://lastminutewanders.com/  Ep 15 - Travel Builds Confidence, So Do It! - notaballerina.com/15  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/272 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you believe this - because I almost can't - that The Thoughtful Travel Podcast turned six years old recently?! Unfortunately, my household were all suffering with Covid on its actual birthday, but I've now recovered enough to put together this episode to celebrate. In particular, I'm excited to share some wonderful voice messages from friends and listeners of the podcast - collating these gave me such a thrill! In this episode I also outline a few of the last year's successes, and talk about some plans I have for the next year of the podcast. Thanks so much to everyone who listens, shares, participates in our groups and in all other ways supports The Thoughtful Travel Podcast - I am so very grateful for you all. Links: Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/271 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don’t think we’re at the post-pandemic stage yet, but we definitely seem to be at the stage where people are travelling a lot more - even the Australian border is open now, and Western Australia’s will be soon too. So it seems like an appropriate time to revisit the great hopes of 2020 - when we all said that after the pandemic we’ll be much more thoughtful travellers, basically. In this episode, I talk about some academic research and a prediction of the different ways people will approach travel after the pandemic - they’ve based it on ‘terror management theory’ which is intriguing in itself. After discussion both the short and long term predictions of how people may change their thoughts about travel, I dig into the anecdotal evidence I’ve been able to collect in recent weeks. Basically, I think there is good news and bad news. And I really hope the good news wins out in the end! Links: “Proximal and distal post-COVID travel behavior’ in the Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 88, by L Miao, J Im, X Fu, H Kim and YE Zhang - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103159  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/270 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Working in the tourism industry sounds like a dream, right? (Well, maybe not during a pandemic ...) But there's certainly something to be said for working in an industry where the focus is on something happy and joyful, and the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast all have had some wonderful experiences working in tourism and travel.  I start off by chatting with Lucky Legong who migrated from South Africa to Australia to continue working in the hospitality industry. She started off spending several years on gorgeous (but remote!) Kangaroo Island and then moved to Lord Howe Island - there are definitely some perks to this work, especially the beautiful surroundings. Shelley Winkel spoke to me about her career in publicity in the tourism industry, with a wide-ranging list of appointments across the globe, though for some years now her big love has been promoting Queensland - which is how we originally met. To finish up I talk to travel writer Bev Malzard about one of the most envy-inducing parts of working in travel, the famil - I've also been on a number of familiarisation trips and they're most commonly thought of by others as a holiday when in fact they can be quite a lot of hard work - in the case of this hilarious story from Bev, it's her stomach which had to work hard! Links: Lucky Legong from the Baillie Lodges group - https://baillielodges.com.au  Lucky's previous interview about migrating to Australia to continue her hospitality work - notaballerina.com/254 Shelley Winkel from Tourism and Events Queensland - https://teq.queensland.com  Bev Malzard’s blog TravelGal on the Move -  https://travelgaltravels.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/269  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warnings of danger on our travels seem to be over-represented in the discussions people have before rips. Perhaps it’s the (understandable) fear of the unknown, combined with our tendency to spread more bad stories than good ones. For Episode 268, I’ve brought together a bunch of guests who’ve had a range of experiences that are dangerous or could-have-been dangerous, with one overarching message: they are all okay! That’s not to say we shouldn’t be aware and somewhat risk-averse when we travel, of course. My first guest is Jess Stone who had an experience in Mexico which to start with, was quite frightening. I then chat with Brent Hartinger and Michael Jensen about two experiences they’ve had with fire while travelling (the second of which made me properly scared!). Finally, Helena Fox tells me about an experience she had as a young backpacker in France, where she ended up being lucky in a situation I know can turn out quite differently. Links: Jess Stone of Go Ruffly, ethical outdoor dog gear - https://www.goruffly.com/ Brent and Michael are Going Places - https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com/  Helena Fox - https://helenafoxauthor.com/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/268 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you a fan of group trips? Or are you, like me, more generally a keenly independent traveller who needs a very good reason to decide to take a group tour of  any kind?  When it comes to group travel, I've learned over the years that there really is a group trip to suit everyone, even people like me who are highly reluctant group travellers - and often what turns us is the idea of some highly specialised group travel. In this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three people who've had experiences in specialised group travel and they make a great case for why we all should try it sometimes. First up, I chat with Evan Petrelis from Renaissance Tours, who specialise in tours connected to special interests like ballet, archaeology and gardens. He runs through some of the advantages and disadvantages of group travel and highlights how travelling with likeminded people with the same passion can be particularly rewarding. Next, I speak to Debbie Clarke, who has run tours for the LGBTQ community for many years. She has a pretty touching story to tell of the outcome of these tours for some of the participants. Finally, Vicky Sahami joins me to explain her highly specialised group trips which focus on visiting the best places in the world to observe total solar eclipses. It's a fascinating special interest which has seen Vicky experience some really far-flung parts of the globe, and in really unique ways. Links: Evan Petrelis from Renaissance Tours - https://renaissancetours.com.au/  Debbie Clarke from the Good Awaits podcast - https://goodawaits.podbean.com/  Vicky Sahami’s solar eclipse tours at Sirius Travel - https://siriustravel.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/267 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does travel differ for the LGBTQIA community? It's a question I've long pondered and in this episode I get to chat to four excellent guests to hear about their thoughts and experiences on the matter. First up, Debbie Clarke explains why she started a tour company focused on LGBT travellers, and why such a thing is necessary even in a country as progressive as New Zealand. I then chat with Brent Harbinger and Michael Jensen, a gay couple who are digital nomads exploring the world and not boycotting a country even if there are homophobic laws or customs - and we have a great discussion about why. Finally, I talk with my good mate, the Barefoot Backpacker, about their experiences as an asexual traveller and also - common thread throughout this episode - about why they think you shouldn't avoid a destination just because it has repressive policies. Links: Debbie Clarke from the Good Awaits podcast - https://goodawaits.podbean.com/  Michael Jensen and Brent Hartinger from Brent and Michael are Going Places their newsletter - https://brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.substack.com/  Barefoot Backpacker from Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/  Post on all the pride flags - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/guide-to-pride-flags/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/266 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy new year! It’s 2022 and who really has any idea this year has in store for us - I’m sure we’ve now learned our lesson about having expectations. I want to start the year, in fact, by having a look back over 2021 for me: a year without travel. It’s a very weird thing for a travel podcaster to not take a plane or leave the state - or barely even leave home - for a whole year, and I hope it never happens again! This episode includes an update on pandemic life in Western Australia, too, one of the last places around the world to be living a relatively Covid-free life though - it seems - not for much longer. I also let you in on some of my plans for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast in 2022. It might just be the best year yet! Links: RISE Travel Institute’s Flagship Program - https://www.risetravelinstitute.org/rise-flagship-program Travelling (Thoughtfully) for Work - Episode 263 - notaballerina.com/263 Covid Thoughts from Western Australia June 2020 - Episode 190 - notaballerina.com/190 Covid Thoughts from Western Australia May 2021 - Episode 236 - notaballerina.com/236 Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/265 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You mightn't think there's a place for tales of celebrity encounters on a podcast about thoughtful travel but I'm sure you'll listen to this episode and realise there absolutely is. It turns out that many thoughtful travellers are kind of oblivious to who's famous and can hang out with a celebrity without even knowing! That's certainly the case for my first two guests. I start by chatting with Jennifer Johnston about the time she spent the day with Johnny Cash ... and didn't realise who he was. To be fair, it was many years ago and she now wishes she had paid more attention! Similarly, Vicky Sahami spent a half hour in the company of Jack Nicholson while they were both holidaying in Antiga, and didn't realise who he was until the next day. Finally, I hear from Bev Malzard about a different kind of celebrity sighting which involves a king and a gun, and an invitation ... Links: Jennifer Johnston’s blog Travel Bug Within - https://travelbugwithin.com.au  Vicky Sahami's solar eclipse tour business, Sirius Travel - https://siriustravel.com/  Bev Malzard’s blog TravelGal on the Move - https://travelgaltravels.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/264 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling for work can be very different to other kinds of travel, but when I had the chance to travel to south-west Western Australia to run workshops recently, I decided to document my trip and decide whether or not I was being a thoughtful traveller. This episode includes audio-diaries of my three days in Yallingup - two of which were recorded under a blanket in a hotel room, trying to soundproof my recording! I also chatted with members of the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group about their experiences of trying to be thoughtful travellers while travelling for their job. Links: Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/263 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.