The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Ireland and the Irish - we all have a story to tell, right? In this episode I get the insider stories from Ireland - both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - from three brilliant guests who all agreed to answer questions about why they love living there, their favourite traditions, what surprises visitors and what we as travellers need to know before we go. What I loved most about speaking with these Ireland locals is the variety of their answers - I thought I knew a lot about this part of the world but there's so much more to learn. A huge thanks to Laura, Tony and Colin for being part of this special Chats with Locals episode. Links: Thanks to sponsor, Slowly - download Slowly to start building genuine friendships today -available for free on the App Store and Google Play - https://notaballerina.com/slowly Laura Pakenham on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laurajpakenham/ Laura’s book "Irish: History and culture through language" - https://amzn.to/3ST7Z6b  Colin Johnston’s website https://racingdaydreams.com/ And huge thanks to Tony O’Sullivan 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/402  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About one in ten jobs across the globe are in the travel industry, but from the hundreds of conversations I've had over the years, I've learnt that the paths to working in tourism and travel are many and varied! In this episode I chat with four people who've found their way into this industry through very different ways. First up, Russell True describes how he ended up having a lifetime career in the dude ranch accommodation and experience industry; then I speak with Mathi Thayanan who now runs his own travel company in Sri Lanka but didn't always plan to do this. Jana Marie Bald then explains her career path from agricultural science to tourism (not what I'd expected!) and finally, Aabiskar Thapa describes how from growing up near Pokhara, Nepal and seeing tourists on the trail, he took a circuitous route to ending up working in travel himself. Links: Russell True of the True Ranch Collection - https://trueranchcollection.com/ Mathi’s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - https://thecuriousexperience.com/  Jana’s app Ørth - https://www.oerth.life/  Sharing Seeds in Nepal - https://linktr.ee/sharing.seeds  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/401 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 400 ... what?! Back in 2016, I certainly didn't imagine I'd reach Episode 400, and yet, here we are. It seemed something to celebrate so I asked my dear friend Sasha Wasley along to ask me 40 questions for 400 episodes (aren't you all lucky I didn't opt for 400 questions?!). Some of the topics I especially enjoyed discussing with Sasha were my long trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian railway, some of the changes in the way I travel since I started the podcast over a decade ago, and my not-so-thoughtful (perhaps?) love of Disneyland. She even asked me which episode I think all listeners should skip! It was a great chat covering a whole variety of thoughtful travel topics and we laughed a lot, too. Enjoy! Links: Sasha Wasley’s website - https://sashawasley.com/ Sasha's newest novel - The Society of Literary Marauders - https://amzn.to/4wWEejX  Sasha's books for younger readers, under Ash Harrier - https://ashharrier.com/  Ten Year Anniversary episode - notaballerina.com/387  Paul Theroux interview in Episode 214 - notaballerina.com/214  Other interviews with me - Episode 90 notaballerina.com/90, Episode 100 notaballerina.com/100 and Episode 240 notaballerina.com/240  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/400 *Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For those of us with the great fortune of being taken travelling in our childhood, I'm certain that there are many ways this impacts our lives - changing our mindset and exposing us to so many new ideas, cultures, languages and people. In this episode, three guests concur: starting with James Wild, who tells the story of his first safari in Africa as a teenager. Tim Geisler then shares the experiences of his childhood growing up across several countries, and the long-lasting impact of these moves. Finally, Theodora Chatzipavlidis explains her gratitude to her parents for taking she and her four siblings travelling frequently and muses on the effect this has had on her career and life choices. Links: James Ward - Rewild Safaris - https://rewildsafaris.com/  Tim Geisler - Nautilus Sailing - https://www.nautilussailing.com/  Theodora Chatzipavlidis’s app Velout - https://www.velout.app  Episode 94 How Travel Changes Kids - notaballerina.com/94 Episode 275 Kids Are Shaped By Travel - notaballerina.com/275  Van Life Diaries series - notaballerina.com/vanlife  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/399 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the July 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about book "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck - https://amzn.to/4sGQFOu  If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, sign up for our updates at https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com/ You can also read more about it at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers  *Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates ProgramNotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.