The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Although I never studied abroad myself I have no doubt at all that I would have loved every minute of it - and my three guests today certainly remind me of all of the many ways a study abroad experience can be life-changing. I start off chatting with Pam Petro who studied a graduate program in Wales, and not only learnt something from her course but began a lifetime obsession with all things Welsh. Next, I speak with Brandon Miller who studied abroad in France. He has now co-founded the Too Fly Foundation which helps students from under-privileged backgrounds access experiences like study abroad programs, as he recognised how valuable and life-changing they are. Finally, I talk to Alex Zeringer, who was a student I met while he was studying abroad here in Perth at Murdoch University, where I teach (among other subjects) podcasting - it was so great to catch up with him now that he's back at university in Ireland. Links: Pam Petro - https://www.pamelapetro.com/  Pam's book The Long Field - https://www.amazon.com.au/Long-Field-Presence-Absence-Memoir/dp/1956763678 Brandon Miller from the Too Fly Foundation - https://www.tooflyfoundation.org/  Alex Zeringer - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/  Episode 233 Studying Abroad notaballerina.com/233 Episode 248 Studying in Other Countries notaballerina.com/248  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/322 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For travellers like us, knowing a tourism business we are about to use is properly thoughtful, taking into account the impact we will have on the community and the environment, is important. But with an industry full of greenwashing and unsubstantiated eco-credentials, it's sometimes difficult to know what we can trust. Over the past few years now I've had a growing awareness of B Corps but was very keen to dig deeper, so this podcast episode is here to satisfy my own desires to know more, but also to help my listeners understand what makes a B Corp so they can make decisions about their travel with care. My first guest is Jonathan Coleman from Untours. When I chatted with Jonathan last year, he explained to me that Untours was, in fact, the very first B Corp back in 2007, and learning how this came about was the impetus for me to find some more people to talk to about this important topic. I speak next with Narelle Wilson of Volta Consulting, who knows a lot about the process of how a business applies to be certified as a B Corp, and explains it clearly!  Finally, I talked to Aurora Expedition's Chief Marketing Officer, Hayley Peacock-Gower, about Aurora's recent B Corp certification. She gives some interesting examples of some of the improvements Aurora is making as part of the continuous improvement that the B Corp movement encourages. Links: Jonathan Coleman from Untours Foundation - https://untoursfoundation.org/ Narelle Wilson from Volta Consulting - https://voltaconsulting.com.au/  Aurora Expeditions - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/ Aurora’s journey to becoming a B Corp - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/blog/our-b-corp-journey/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/321  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an episode I never imagined I'd need to make; family lore was that my mum June would live to a hundred. But very sadly, after a sudden terminal cancer diagnosis in late January, my beautiful mum passed away early in February. As the biggest fan of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I knew I couldn't restart it after my time away without mentioning my mum and how she encouraged me to travel - I definitely wouldn't be here creating this podcast without her influence throughout my life. My dear friend Di Bortoletto and I sat in her spare room last weekend to record this chat about my mum's travel experiences and about some of the special experiences we'd had together as well, and I wanted to share that with you all.  Links: Dianne Bortoletto's site Travelletto - https://travelletto.com/ Di on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/travelletto/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/320 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Staying in someone’s home is the ultimate in starting to understand the local way of life when you travel, and I’ve had some brilliant homestay experiences in the past. In this episode devoted to homestay accommodation, I first tell you my own tales of Russian homestays, with some of the delightful interactions with homestay hosts in Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Moscow and St Petersburg. I then chat with Nina Karnikowski who explains many of the thoughtful values of homestays, and has a great example of her own experience in India. My other guest is Iris Villarreal, who tells me about some homestays she has done in Guatemala, learning much about the local culture along the way.  Links: Nina Karnikowski - https://ninakarnikowski.com/   Iris Villarreal - https://www.instagram.com/outventurenow Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/319 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I was first introduced to Gevorg Babayan and his company LikeLocal.io, which matches travellers with local experiences, I knew he'd be a good guest for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, but as I got to know him more through interactions in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group, I soon realised that a quick chat wouldn't be enough - we would need a deep dive! In this chat, I learn more about Gevorg's background in Armenia, his work in tourism there and abroad in places like Cambodia, and most impressively to me, some of the unique approaches to tours he offers his visitors. I loved hearing about his creativity in coming up with different ways that travellers can get to know more about a destination and its people, and I'm sure you will too. Links: Like Local - https://www.likelocal.io/  Netflix Episode with Olafur Eliasson on Abstract: The Art of Design - https://www.netflix.com/title/80057883  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Join my newsletter community at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/318 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tales of things going wrong - or almost - are always popular, and I think if you throw in the trickiness of a border crossing, these stories are top-notch entertainment! In this episode, I start off chatting with Michael Jensen about a triple-border experience in northern Thailand recently - made more fun by knowing exactly the spot he was talking about as I was lucky enough to visit that same spot just last year. I then talk to Antonio Cala who has not one but two border crossing tales to tell from a long motorcycle trip he and his wife took from the top to the bottom of Africa in 2022. The first involves the river border between Cameroon and the Central African Republic, a tale that had me worrying the whole time about hippos. Antonio's second story takes place on the border between Algeria and Mauritania, a spot that wasn't even a tourist border crossing at all until 2019, and let's just say, that doesn't go smoothly at all. Links: Michael Jensen - Brent and Michael are Going Places - https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com/  Antonio Cala - Adventure Fix - https://www.adventurefix.co/  Episode 78 on Border Crossings - notaballerina.com/78  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/317 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am absolutely convinced that taking kids travelling is one of the best things you can do for them, and in this episode I've gathered together the thoughts of four fathers who agree with me! First up, I chat with Rupert Grey, who took his daughters across the world at a young age - in particular, he tells me about their experience visiting Bangladesh in the 1990s, and the impact that their travels has had on them now that they are adults. Cristian Martinus tells me about the reactions from kids on his tours in Morocco, then has a great example to share about a time when things went wrong while travelling with his young daughter - but it all turned out brilliantly. Peter Baines then tells me about the experience of cycling with his own children in Thailand, as well as an example of a father and son pair who were recent tour participants. Finally, Rick Antonson takes it one generation further with his tales about travelling as a grandfather, and in particular his trip with a ten-year-old grandson in western Canada.  Links: Rupert Grey - https://rupertgrey.co.uk/ Rupert’s movie Romantic Road - https://www.romanticroadmov.com/  Cristian Martinus - Sun Trails  - https://www.sun-trails.com/  Peter Baines - Hands Across the Water - https://www.handsacrossthewater.org.au/  Rick Antonson - https://www.rickantonson.com Rick’s new book, Train Beyond the Mountains - https://amzn.to/3Zq1C8T 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/316 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecting with local people when we travel is a true joy for me - whether it's just a quick conversation in a queue, or a deeper day or more spent together, learning about how our lives are the same and different - I love it all! In this episode I chat with three guests who agree, and have found various ways to meet locals when they travel. First up, I get the tour operator perspective from Cristian Martinus, who confirms that guests who travel on his Moroccan tours particularly enjoy any opportunities for genuine connection with local people - but (appropriately, I think) he warns against "staged authenticity". Next, Will Hatton describes some of the ways he has met local people on his travels across the world, and we particularly get deeper into describing some of his Couchsurfing experiences. Finally, Dara Brewton highlights how taking a cooking class or two can be a special window into the lives of locals, with lots of time to chat (and a delicious outcome as a bonus!). Links: Cristian Martinus - Sun Trails  - https://www.sun-trails.com/  Will Hatton - The Broke Backpacker - https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/ Dara Brewton - https://travelness.com/  Cookly - https://www.cookly.me/ Episode 302 about Chiang Rai - https://notaballerina.com/302  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/315See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you decided to escape the corporate world, would you buy up a plot of land in an isolated part of Japan? It's not my first thought, but this is what Walk Japan CEO Paul Christie did at the age of forty, and with many good consequences. One of these is that Walk Japan has a strong social, "giving back" element, between the Community Project in Kyushu - which springs from Paul's initial plot of land - and its emphasis on taking travellers to rural areas of Japan which can really benefit from the tourism dollars (quite apart from being some of the most beautiful parts of the country, with the most welcoming inhabitants!). This episode is a wide-ranging chat with Paul about his career, how he came to be in Japan and what Walk Japan is doing to give back to many local communities, and particularly in the Kunisaki Peninsula in Kyushu, southern Japan. Links: Walk Japan - https://walkjapan.com/ Fukushima Trip - Episode 310 - https://notaballerina.com/310  My Walk Japan Trip - Episode 308 - https://notaballerina.com/308  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/314 Disclaimer stuff: Walk Japan hosted me on my September/October walk in Japan, which means they covered my travel costs (thank you!). However, my opinions, as always, are all my own, honest truth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's common knowledge that train travel beats air travel in the sustainability stakes, but in recent months I've put this to the test a bit more than usual, in a country where it can be hard to do: my homeland, Australia.  It all began when Dr Susanne Etti, the Global Environmental Impact Manager for Intrepid Travel, challenged me to fly the shorter route to Melbourne and then take the train with her from Melbourne to Sydney, on our way to speak at SXSW Sydney. The Melbourne to Sydney route is one of the busiest domestic air routes in the world, and seeing how the train alternative worked was such a good idea! Susanne and I recorded our thoughts along the way, so you'll hear those in this episode, along with our answers to a bunch of questions asked by listeners about our experience. Once you start looking, there are other times you might take the train instead of alternatives like flying or driving. Justin Watson, another SXSW panelist, took the train from Canberra to Sydney instead of driving or flying, and I chat with him about this experience too. Finally, I added another train ride just in time to make this episode - travelling on the Australind train from Perth to Bunbury on my way to run workshops in south-west Western Australia. Another fantastic experience, and I tell you all about it in this episode.  Links: Dr Susanne Etti - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanneetti/  Intrepid Travel - https://www.intrepidtravel.com/ Susanne's op ed, The Track Less Travelled - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/track-less-travelled-what-12-hr-train-trip-between-melbourne-etti  Justin Watson - https://justins.world/  Flight emissions calculator - AtmosFair - https://www.atmosfair.de/en/offset/flight/  Carbon footprint calculation from the Nature Conservancy - https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/  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/313 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The statistics tell us so: more and more of us want to give back and do good when we travel. This is heartening, right? Now we just have to start figuring out the best ways to contribute to the places we visit, in genuinely useful ways - and some of these are described in this episode. First up, I chat with Roger Smith of Echidna Walkabout who gives a good overview of giving back, and shares his wisdom from a tour operator perspective. I wish every tour operator thought like Roger! Next, I speak to Meg Jerrard and Mar Pages, two hardworking women I've known for many years, who now run small group tours under their Solo Female Travelers Club brand. Through this work, they've been giving back in Tanzania, and explain the story of Glory Thobias, who runs the Tanzanian Women Guides Foundation and trains female porters and guides to work in the lucrative tourism industry at Mount Kilimanjaro. Finally, I talk to Peter Baines, founder of Hands Across the Water, a company offering cycling tours of Thailand with a very important giving back purpose, aided by compulsory fundraising for the tour participants. It's a great model that's proven vital for helping some at-risk groups of children in Thailand. Links: Roger Smith - Echidna Walkabout - https://echidnawalkabout.com.au/  Meg Jerrard and Mar Pages - Solo Female Travelers Club - https://www.solofemaletravelers.club/  Glory’s Tanzanian Women Guides Foundation -https://tanzaniawomenguidesfoundation.org/ Peter Baines - Hands Across the Water - https://www.handsacrossthewater.org.au/  The Perils of Giving Back - JoAnna Haugen - https://rootedstorytelling.com/social-impact/tourism-travel-giving-back/  Carolyn Beasley’s Australian Geographic article on Travel for Good - https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/travel/2023/08/travel-for-good/  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/312 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Micah Kamohoali'i when I was in Sydney for SXSW recently, and I knew immediately we would need a LONG chat! This discussion was a pleasure from start to finish: we start off discussing how Micah found himself working in the tourism industry, and what tourism in Hawai'i has been like over the years: with ups and downs of how responsible it was (and wasn't) and the different kinds of tourists they were attracting. In a wide-ranging discussion which moves us via snakes in the grass to pounding bark for cloth, and incredibly then to the story of Micah being invited to take part in New York Fashion Week, whatever we talk about, Micah's clear love of Hawai'i and Hawaiian culture shines through and we finish up by hearing about his proudest moments from a splendid (and ongoing!) career. Links: Merrie Monarch festival https://www.merriemonarch.com/  House of Kamohoali’i documentaries: London https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/video/2023/04/11/house-kamohoalii-london/ Paris https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/video/2023/05/10/house-kamohoalii-paris-2/ Milan https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/video/2023/04/26/house-kamohoalii-milan-3/ Thoughtful Travel to Hawaii - Island Wisdom by Kainoa Daines and Annie Daly - Episode 285 - https://notaballerina.com/285 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/311 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm not alone in finding Japanese museums about earthquakes and tsunamis interesting and impactful; I know my friend Catherine who travelled with me in Tohoku last month is the same. This episode will test out whether it's just the two of us, or if more of you share this feeling - a yearning to understand more about these kinds of disasters, to get to know more about the human stories behind them, and a keen desire to share in the "hope tourism" equation of the scenario. In this episode, I talk about three parts of my recent trip to Japan that fit under this idea of "hope tourism" - and not "dark tourism". As well as visiting the "Kaze no Denwa", we spent many hours at two new museums in northern Japan: the Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum in Rikuzentakata, Iwate, and the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Futaba, Fukushima. We both found these visits so impactful, and I'm still mulling over a lot of what I saw and learnt there to this day. Links: “Really Long Distance” - This American Life episode about the Wind Phone - https://www.thisamericanlife.org/597/one-last-thing-before-i-go-2016/act-one  Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum - https://iwate-tsunami-memorial.jp/en/visit.html The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum - https://www.fipo.or.jp/lore/en  Hope Tourism - https://www.hopetourism.jp/en/  Walk Japan - our hike - Episode 308 - https://notaballerina.com/308  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/310 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here it is! This is the live recording of our panel at South By South West (SXSW) Sydney, from October 2023, on the topic “Why We Need Travel More Than Travel Needs Us”. It was such a thrill to be on the podcast stage at SXSW with Catherine Marshall, Susanne Etti and Justin Watson, three fabulous guests who had so many interesting stories and opinions to offer for this tricky topic.  We start off with everyone sharing a story about what travel means to them, then dive deeper into topics like wildlife tourism, overtourism, and how we can travel better. This episode was recorded live at SXSW Sydney 2023. Links: Catherine Marshall - Instagram - https://instagram.com/zizzyballord Susanne Etti - Intrepid Travel - https://www.intrepidtravel.com/ Justin Watson - Justin’s World blog - https://justins.world/  SXSW Sydney - https://sxswsydney.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/309 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are many, many ways to see Japan, but I think I've just experienced my favourite: on foot. In late September/early October 2023, I undertook a six-day trip with Walk Japan, on the Self-Guided Basho Wayfarer walk around Sendai. And it was brilliant! In this episode, I give an overview of the content and logistics of this trip, which essentially includes hiking various segments of the route that haiku poet Matsuo Basho took in the 1700s, as he describes in his book "Narrow Road to the Deep North". It had all the elements of a trip that I need to really love it: incredible scenery, interesting sightseeing spots, truly delicious food, some great interactions with locals, and all with one of my best friends. What more could a girl ask for? Most of this episode is a chat I recorded with my travel companion, Catherine Marshall, about our highlights from the trip. We cover our favourite hiking, food, train, and accommodation moments, along with our most unexpected highlights.  Links: Walk Japan main website - https://walkjapan.com/ Self-Guided Basho Wayfarer walk - https://walkjapan.com/tour/self-guided-basho-wayfarer  Cape to Cape Track Episode 276 - https://notaballerina.com/276  Catherine Marshall on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zizzyballord  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/308 Disclaimer stuff: I was hosted for this trip, which means Walk Japan covered my travel costs. However, my opinions, as always, are all my own, honest truth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a strange phenomenon, but podcast episodes full of stories of things going wrong on our travels are always popular! For Episode 307, I've got two stories of strange goings-on while my guests are at sea. Enjoy?! First up, Antonio Cala tells the story of that time he and his wife needed to be rescued by the Jamaican coastguard. Fortunately, we know they lived to tell the tale, but let's just say life on their catamaran in the Caribbean was not all plain sailing. I then chat with Imogen Lepere, who has a story to share from her very first press trip, aboard a boat in Indonesia on which she and her photographer boyfriend became the only passengers after everyone else cancelled after a tsunami the day before it set sail. Things only got stranger after that!  Links: Antonio Cala - Adventure Fix - https://www.adventurefix.co/  Imogen Lepere - https://www.imogenleperewriter.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/307 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we want to be mindful of our carbon footprint when we travel, a good way to do this is to consider more carefully the kinds of places where we choose to stay - like focusing on eco-accommodation. This is a part of my travel I definitely haven't given enough thought to in the past, and this episode has inspired me with stories about all kinds of accommodation options which are more sustainable and environmentally friendly. First up, I chat with Dara Brewton who spent a month in Chiang Mai, Thailand, recently. By chance, almost, she ended up choosing some eco-friendly accommodation which has the added bonus of also looking adorable! I then speak with Fran and Andrew Robinson, who are owners of certified eco-friendly chalets near Busselton, Western Australia - since they also have their own trees (thousands of them!), they actually personally offset more carbon than their business produces. Finally, travel writer Nina Karnikowski gives a couple of great examples of sustainable accommodations options that she has enjoyed, in Nepal and in Australia. Links: Dara Brewton - https://travelness.com/  Leafy Greens - https://www.facebook.com/leafygreensCM  Fran and Andrew Robinson from Tree Chalets - https://www.treechalets.com.au  Nina Karnikowski - https://ninakarnikowski.com/   Happy House Nepal - http://www.happyhousenepal.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/306 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel experiences should be accessible to everyone - I strongly believe that's an important part of the whole thoughtful travel ethos. As part of the Year of Accessible Tourism in Queensland, I've put together this episode about accessible travel on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia - it's full of great stories of people doing better, and I hope you enjoy it! First up, I chat with Daniel Watkins, world champion wake boarder turned owner of the Gold Coast Wake Park and Gold Coast Aqua Park. Daniel tells me all about their recent trial of all-abilities sessions and how important it is to him to make access to these experiences available to everyone going forward. I then speak with Mike Brigg of iFly Gold Coast, a skydiver and instructor who loves helping people discover what it feels like to fly. He has some really interesting stories to tell of the experiences of people with disabilities at iFly. Finally, Anna Carroll from HOTA Home of the Arts explains what they have done as a multi-arts facility to really be an inclusive and accessible venue for people to experience all manner of arts and creative experiences. Thanks so much to Julie Jones of Travel Without Limits magazine and Destination Gold Coast for their help in making this episode possible. Links: Destination Gold Coast - https://www.destinationgoldcoast.com/  Gold Coast Wake Park and Aqua Park - https://gcwakepark.com.au/  iFly Gold Coast - https://ifly.com.au/locations/gold-coast  HOTA Home of the Arts - https://hota.com.au/  Travel Without Limits Magazine - https://travelwithoutlimits.com.au/  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/305 With thanks to Destination Gold Coast for sponsoring this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bangkok is a city which rewards many repeat visits and my recent trip there proved it! Putting together Episode 304 was a special chance for me to chat with several friends, old and new, who I had the joy of travelling with on our recent trip to Thailand.  In this episode, I start of chatting with Paddy Jenkins about our mutually favourite part of this Bangkok trip - visiting the Portuguese quarter or Kudijin (Kudichin). Diving deeper into the history of Bangkok here and learning about the Portuguese influence was so interesting (and side note, also delicious!). Next up, I speak with Bonnie Grima about another fun part of our Bangkok days, exploring some of its most famous temples, Wat Arun and Wat Pho. This time, we had with us master guide Suree, and she helped us know more of the extra-interesting details about these temples, both historical and modern. For Jules Park, a committed foodie, our evening in Chinatown was an especially memorable part of our Bangkok stay and we had a good chat about the atmosphere and some of the special treats we got to eat. Finally, I have included a part of an interview I recorded with our guide Suree while we were sitting in the cafe of the delightful Baan Kudichin museum in the Portuguese quarter. She gives me another good Bangkok tip, but we mostly chat about Thai culture and why Thai people often seem so content. Links: Thai Talk with Paddy - https://www.youtube.com/ThaiTalkwithPaddy/ Bonita Grima - https://www.bonitamaygrima.com/ Jules Park - @amazingsydney life - https://www.instagram.com/amazingsydneylife/  Talat Noi in Bangkok -  https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/talat-noi Amazing Thailand - https://amazingthailand.com.au/ 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/304 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank you internet: you've made many things possible, two of them being podcasts, and working as a digital nomad. In this episode on digital nomading, I've got three guests who all bring quite different perspectives on digital nomad life, and I hope it sparks some thinking! First up, I chat with Will Hatton, aka The Broke Backpacker, who's spent many years wandering the world, making money in various ways online, including through his well-known blog. He describes his digital entrepreneurship trajectory and also gives some tips for prospective nomads. I then speak with Dara Brewton, who has been working as a freelancer for about five years and recently started doing some digital nomad stints, like a month working out of Chiang Mai in Thailand during her son's summer school vacation. Finally, I talk to Chris Christou of the End of Tourism podcast. Chris has lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, for about eight years now, and it's a real digital nomad hotspot - this has caused Chris to have a deeper think about digital nomad life than most and the results are super-interesting. Links: Taiwanese listeners! Find me on Instagram https://instagram.com/amandakendle  Will Hatton - The Broke Backpacker - https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/ Dara Brewton - https://travelness.com/  Chris Christou - The End of Tourism podcast - https://theendoftourism.com/  Episode 134 on Location Independent Work - notaballerina.com/134  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/303 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.