The trips we take early in our travelling careers are very special - those first times when you are really seeing the world with truly fresh eyes. That newness is something you never get back, but I'm sure it's the reason why chatting with experienced travellers about their early trips is so interesting - years on and after many more trips, they recognise how important these travels were, and all that they learnt from them. That's the reason for putting together Episode 198 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast about the early trips of experienced travellers.

The first traveller I speak to is JoAnna Haugen, who explains her first proper trip abroad on a college study program in Scandinavia. I particularly like that it's a seemingly small incident which actually has a long-lasting effect on how JoAnna thinks about travel.

Next, I speak with author Jini Reddy about some life-changing in her early travels in Asia, when she was in her twenties. It's especially interesting to her about her experience of visiting India for the first time.

Finally, I chat with Tom Mattson about his first round-the-world trip back in the 1970s, when it was easy to extend your stay in a place and have quite the adventure! I love that Tom tells me about his time in Japan, one of my very favourite destinations.

Links:

• JoAnna Haugen, founder of Rooted, a storytelling platform covering sustainable travel and more - https://www.joannahaugen.com/rooted/ 
• Jini Reddy - https://www.jinireddy.co.uk/  
• Jini's new book is Wanderland: A Search for Magic in the Landscape - https://amzn.to/3hET4EL
• Author Tom Mattson - https://tomsglobe.com/ 
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/198

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

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