The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

It's easy to be a little envious of anyone who gets to travel to interesting places as part of their work, but when the work itself is also truly fascinating, then I think it's fair that we can all be rather jealous! Nonetheless I loved chatting with these four guests about the experiences their careers have afforded them around the globe. First up, Tudor Morgan explains how his lifelong love of the polar regions has translated into a range of rewarding work opportunities. Next, Kerstin Pilz tells of a very special job that she did during her academic career, on The Scholar Ship. Cade Martin then explains how his initial work in photography came about via a National Geographic project, and finally, Neil Laird describes the making of his graduate school film in Egypt, which led to a lifetime of travelling the world making documentaries. Links: Tudor Morgan of HX Expeditions - https://www.travelhx.com/en-au/  Kerstin Pilz - https://kerstinpilz.com/ Kerstin Pilz’s book “Loving my lying, dying, cheating husband” - https://amzn.to/422vCdn Cade Martin - https://www.cademartin.com/ Wheelchair Mafia short film on rescue dogs in Thailand - https://www.cademartin.com/exploration-wheelchair-mafia  Neil Laird - https://neillaird.com Neil’s Prime Time Travelers novels - https://amzn.to/48jqoNB  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/391     *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.

The more I travel (and the older I get!), the more I realise how little I know, and how wrong I've been about so many things! In this episode, I chat with three guests about various ways their travel experiences have transformed their thinking and perspective, and the general consensus is that everything's more complicated than we first think. I speak with Nikki Padilla Rivera about her experiences in Vietnam and Cuba, two very different work trips that introduced her to local knowledge and culture in varying ways and smashed her preconceived ideas about these places. Next, my discussion with Tom Sykes harks back to our younger years of travelling and how we now reconsider our old thoughts and attitudes, and in general how much travel teaches us about the nuances of the world, politics, culture and more. Finally, I round out the episode with a story from James Ward about a perspective shift in his daughters after he took them to Zambia. Links: Nikki Padilla Rivera of She Shapes History NYC - https://sheshapeshistory.com/nyc  Tom Sykes - https://tomgsykes.co.uk/ Tom’s book The Years of Travelling Anxiously - https://amzn.to/4cbKPPC  James Ward - https://jameswardphotography.com/  James’ Rewild Safaris - https://rewildsafaris.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 Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/389   *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.

A decade ago to the day - 25th March 2016 - I launched the first episodes of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. Somehow, I have just kept interviewing great people about their thoughts on travel, put together episodes almost every week, and magically, I've now been running this podcast for a full ten years! To celebrate, I've compiled some of my very favourite snippets of stories my guests have told me over the years. I've got the sad stories, the hilarious stories, and the ones that gave me advice I've both ignored and also followed! A huge thanks to every listener and every guest over this decade - I appreciate you all so much, because without guests and listeners, this would be a very boring podcast indeed. Here's to another decade! Links: James Mwenda in Episode 246 - Deep Dive Interview https://notaballerina.com/246  Dean O’Shea in Episode 133 - The Big Trips That Changed Everything https://notaballerina.com/133  Nicci O’Mara in Episode 174 - Life Lessons from Travel https://notaballerina.com/174  Matt Eakin in Episode 78 - Border Crossings https://notaballerina.com/78  Bex Thomas and Angela Correll in Episode 344 - Learning Languages and Making Mistakes https://notaballerina.com/344  Stephen Henson in Episode 1 - Food in a Foreign Language https://notaballerina.com/01  Tim Tricker in Episode 224 - Big Purchases on Your Travels https://notaballerina.com/224  Narelle Wilson in Episode 128 - Travel Planning and Research https://notaballerina.com/128  David Soto Jr in Episode 13 - Slow Travel https://notaballerina.com/13  Heidi Brown in Episode 358 - Solo Travel for Women https://notaballerina.com/358  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/387 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's International Women's Day again and I've got a different focus this year: some of the ways history and travel is not the same for women! When we travel, especially on our own, we can be confronted with cultural differences and people's opinions in a starker way than others, and I loved hearing more about this from listeners who contributed to a chat on this in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group.  History is also not the same for women - and women are often omitted from the history we learn about a place when we travel there. I chat with Nikki Padilla Rivera of She Shapes History about how this happens and what this fabulous Australian-born tour company is doing about it. Links: 2025 International Women’s Day Episode 340 - https://notaballerina.com/340  She Shapes History walking tours and more - https://sheshapeshistory.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 Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/385 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often focus on the visual when we travel ... after all, travellers go sightseeing, not "sound-hearing" or "taste-tasting"! But when we look back on our travel memories, it's often a smell, taste, sound or feel that actually has the most long-lasting impact.  In this episode we hear from three travellers about their own experiences with non-visual senses, starting off with travel writer Tom Sykes, who also emphasises why this is important for writer as well. I then chat with Hannah Ballint about some of her fondest travel memories, which often involves sound and smell, across Vietnam, the United States and Australia. Finally, Ethan Kavanagh takes us through some of his highlights of a trip to Ireland with a focus on the feel and taste, too. Links: Tom Sykes - https://tomgsykes.co.uk/  Tom’s new book (coming March 2026) - The Years of Travelling Anxiously - https://amzn.to/4cyr2L1  Tom’s book recommendation, Sven Lindqvist’s Exterminate All The Brutes - https://amzn.to/4u1LAlo Hannah Balint - https://www.hannahbalintcoaching.com  Ethan Kavanagh - The Perth Tourist - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-perth-tourist/id1823861279  Ethan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/noisepilotau/  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/384   *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.

We need some light relief in these tricky times and I found these stories just perfect! Finding love while you're travelling sounds like it belongs in a romantic comedy, but even those must be inspired by truth: this episode has stories from three couples who met in far-flung parts of the world, sometimes both far from home. If you think about all the decisions that led them to be in the same place at the same time, you have to really start thinking that fate is a thing! First up I chat with Edward and Kim, who together tell the story of how they met - and later, how they became a couple and many years later, husband and wife - when Kim decided to head to Tanzania to do some volunteer work before going to graduate school. Next, Hannah Balint explains how she was about to leave Vietnam after living and teaching there, and just a few weeks before her plane took off, she bumped into a handsome Australian in an unusual place. Finally, I talk to my friend Shaney Hudson about how she originally met her Dutch husband. This tale also crosses many continents and it's pretty amazing that love always seems to win the day! Links: Edward Lyimo and Kim Krowne from Pristine Trails - https://pristinetrails.com/  Hannah Balint - https://www.hannahbalintcoaching.com  And thanks to Shaney Hudson!  Episode 212 - Honeymoons and Weddings - https://notaballerina.com/212  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/382 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's (somehow!) six years ago that we started to learn about this new virus and then find ourselves caught up in a global pandemic. While there were some truly tragic parts to that crisis, it turns out there were also some good results, too. Quite by chance recently, two guests in the space of a couple of days told me stories about huge changes in their lives brought about by their travels around Covid times, and these stories were so interesting I quickly decided to create a whole episode on the topic. First up, I chat with Shannon O'Brien, an international school teacher who was actually working at a school in Shenzhen, China, at the start of 2020. During a school break for the Chinese New Year, Shannon flew to Sumatra, Indonesia, for a short holiday. Spoiler alert: it became a very long holiday! I then speak with Eva Westerling, a German doctor who in 2019 had decided that it was time for a big change and was contemplating a permanent shift to Morocco. When the pandemic hit, she and her partner were in the earliest stages of setting up a tourism business in Morocco, and then of course, no tourists came.  My final guest is Eryn Gordon, who was working a corporate job in the United States when the pandemic began, and she soon found herself out of work. Instead of laying low like many of us did during Covid times, Eryn instead decided to get a new qualification and move to the other side of the world, to work in Seoul, South Korea. Links: Shannon O’Brien - https://www.shannon-obrien.com/ Shannon’s memoir Stray - https://amzn.to/4bQdiKT  Eva Westerling’s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com Eva’s tour business in Morocco, Berber Adventure Tours - https://berberadventuretours.com/  Eryn Gordon’s website Earth to Editorial - https://earthtoeditorial.com/  Eryn's TEDx Talk on “What it means to be a good traveler” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps 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/380   *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.

I last saw South Korea's fabulous capital Seoul way back in 2002, so when my 15-year-old son spotted a great flight price in November I was very keen to take him there! This podcast episode reports back on our week in Seoul, and I even persuaded my son to come on and chat about our trip, too.  I'm a big believer in being a thoughtful traveller in all phases of a trip, so in this episode I start off explaining the three things I did to prepare for our trip (at short notice - we booked a fortnight before we left) - and they do not involve planning a day-by-day itinerary. My son Ruben and I then chat about some of our favourite parts of the trip, including the best day out, most delicious meal and our most fun shopping experiences. I give us a rating on the thoughtful travel scorecard and then finish up by explaining our budget - for once I had all the figures to hand and several people had asked me. Listen and tell me if you think our budget was appropriate or not! Links:  Korea travel reading list - https://amzn.to/45Oxn0l Ruben’s YouTube channel of Pro Clubs (FIFA) gaming, Reginald Ramen - https://www.youtube.com/@ReginaldRamen   The best moments of my trip to South Korea were not on my itinerary - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/p/the-best-moments-of-my-trip-to-south  PLK Travel for DMZ Tour - https://www.plktravel.com  My Seoul Map - https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1s8N441QUJAOnjRQUMH0X9D6H6unt6cU&usp=sharing 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/378   *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.

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the December 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about book "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner - https://amzn.to/47KtLea  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.

Chris Christensen had the foresight to start a travel podcast before almost anyone had even heard of podcasts - way back in 2005. The Amateur Traveler podcast is still going strong - and is approaching its one thousandth episode.  Chris and I chatted about the evolution of podcasting in general and the Amateur Traveler specifically, his approach to life now that he has retired from his 'day job' to the podcast, and what he thinks it means to be a thoughtful traveller. Links: Amateur Traveler - https://amateurtraveler.com/  Chris's previous appearances back in Episode 40 - https://notaballerina.com/40 and Episode 32 - https://notaballerina.com/32  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/375 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling to observe animals in the wild is a huge reason that we move around the world. The best case scenario is that we can see them without disturbing their environments or habits, perhaps take some photos, and head home. The worst case scenario is that something goes wrong and these animals become dangerous to humans! In this episode - spoiler alert, everyone survives, animals included! - we have some great stories of animal encounters in the wild. We start with Satyajit Das, author of "Wild Quests" about his experiences with ecotourism and animal encounters, and he takes us back a couple of decades to a visit to Venezuela looking for green anacondas. Next up, Ameliya Safaris owner Suyash Keshari tells us his signature "campfire story", the one he scares his safari guests with frequently - and it's about a particularly close tiger encounter in India that you wouldn't want to relive! Finally, Neil Laird, author and documentary producer, has a story to tell about a time when filming a TV series in the United States, when a non-nature-loving family had a close encounter with a bear. Links: Satyajit Das - author of Wild Quests - Journeys into Ecotourism and the Future for Animals - https://amzn.to/4eMWpP9  Suyash Keshari, Ameliya Safaris - https://ameliyasafaris.com/   Neil Laird - https://neillaird.com Neil’s Prime Time Travelers novels - https://amzn.to/48jqoNB  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/373 *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.

The new year is coming at us fast: 2026, here we come! At this time of year the reports and articles about travel trends are rife, and I like to look through them all and see what might be happening in tourism and whether or not I like it (by which I mean, of course, does it fit with a thoughtful travel ethos?). In this episode, I take you through some of the key trends identified by numerous players in the travel industry and also figure out which destinations are being predicted most often as being 2026 hotspots. I also chat with some experts, starting with Brett Mitchell, Managing Director of Intrepid Travel for Australia and New Zealand, who describes key trends Intrepid has identified and discusses their annual "Not Hot" list. I then chat with Melanie Fish, Vice President of Global PR for the Expedia Group, who explains how their "Unpack 26" study has included a new feature this year which I particularly like. Links: Intrepid Travel's Not Hot List 2026 - https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/newsroom/releases/2026-not-hot-list  Unpack 26 from Expedia - https://www.expedia.co.uk/unpack26/ Hilton 2026 trends report - https://stories.hilton.com/2026-trends Booking.com 2026 trends report https://news.booking.com/the-era-of-you-bookingcom-predicts-the-top-trends-defining-travel-in-2026-with-individuality-taking-center-stage/ Skyscanner 2026 travel trends - https://www.skyscanner.com.au/travel-trends Priceline 2026 travel trends - https://www.priceline.com/partner/pcln-promotions-2026-travel-trends-report-pr Explore Worldwide 2026 travel trends - https://www.exploreworldwide.com.au/travel-trends-2026 Trafalgar 2026 travel trends - https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/2026-travel-trends/ Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2026 - https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel  Contiki top 2026 travel destinations - https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/top-travel-destinations-in-2026/ Virtuoso best destinations 2026 - https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/articles/the-best-travel-destinations-2026 Forbes 26 best trips for 2026 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2025/08/21/the-26-best-trips-for-2026-according-to-travel-experts/ 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/371 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel and learning other languages often go hand in hand, whether we're cramming in a few words before we visit somewhere for the first time or we are intentionally travelling to practice a language, perhaps even heading to a language school for full immersion.  This episode covers all manner of language experiences, starting with Chris Magnuson who was a brave and confident teenager, boldly striking out on French streets with the goal of just talking French with as many people as possible. Spiri Tsintziras then chats with me about her relationship with Greek - the language spoken in her childhood home in Australia, and a language she wanted to pass on to her children. Next, Ros Belford describes her initial learning of Italian and some tips for new learners of any language, involving focusing on a passion. Finally, Megan Frye talks about choosing a language school when you are specifically taking a trip to practice another language. Links: Preply to find language tutors -  https://notaballerina.com/preply Chris’s website - https://www.streetviewvagabond.com/  Streetview Vagabond on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/streetviewvagabond/  Spiri Tsintziras - https://www.writingspirit.com.au/  Spiri’s new book Twelve Golden Gifts - https://amzn.to/4mWCqCa Ros Belford - https://rosbelford.com Ros’s book Children of the Volcano - https://amzn.to/4dq2vpz Megan Frye - https://www.meganfrye.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 Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/369   *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.