It rarely takes much experience of travel to collect an experience of someone you meet while travelling being surprisingly kind. While we're often trained to think the worst, countless tales from travellers tell of strangers helping out and showing kindness in myriad ways - it's one of the most heartening parts of seeing the world, I think!

In Episode 350, I chat with four travellers who have stories of kindness to share. The first happened some decades back in Sudan, when Patrick Nash was welcomed into a Dinka village and given a special treat. Next, Ros Belford explains what happened when she found herself stuck in an Italian train station at midnight with her two toddlers and no taxis. Jonny Wright, a frequent hitchhiker, tells me just how often the vulnerability of hitchhiking is met not with the danger we often worry about but acts of thoughtful kindness. Finally, Chris Magnuson talks about how another wonderful act of kindness almost meant he missed his flight!

Links:

• Patrick Nash - https://www.patricknash.co.uk/ 
• Patrick’s book Shots Across the Water: Tales of a Journey Through Africa - https://amzn.to/4cMl0UQ 
• Ros Belford - https://rosbelford.com
• Ros’s book Children of the Volcano - https://amzn.to/4dq2vpz
• Jonny Wright on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/goandfindoutpod/
• Jonny's podcast Go And Find Out - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/go-and-find-out/id1807777446
• Chris’s website - https://www.streetviewvagabond.com/ 
• Streetview Vagabond on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/streetviewvagabond/ 
• Ep 242 Meeting Kind Strangers - https://notaballerina.com/242 
• Ep 76 The Kindness of Strangers When You Travel - https://notaballerina.com/76 
• Ep 88 Random Acts of Travel Kindness - https://notaballerina.com/88 
• 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/350

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all take hundreds of photos on our travels these days, but I was keen to chat with Nicole Smith, founder of Flytographer, about how their network of photographers take this to the next level in many popular travel spots around the world. Nicole is an avid traveller who caught the travel bug young, and after a very unfortunate photographic "accident" on a long trip through Asia, she realised just how important having photos to job our memories can be.

Nicole and I chatted about what it means to be a thoughtful traveller, the benefits of meeting up with local people in the places we visit, and more about how special our photographic travel memories can be.

Links:

• Flytographer - https://www.flytographer.com/
• Win a $100 Flytographer voucher - https://forms.gle/zUsK9byTtER9XbLD8 
• 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/349

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the first of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts. 

In this episode, our journey starts in Hong Kong, where you might be surprised at what my Dad remembers most; we then fly into London, where it's all systems go to equip us for the months of travelling ahead, including the important purchase of a motorhome (or a campervan as we called it). We take a hovercraft across the Channel to France, see Paris, and have a very special experience in coastal Biarritz. 

A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it.

Links:

• Context Travel - https://contexttravel.com - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk
• 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/348

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling on foot is the ultimate slow travel and you can have some amazing experiences when incorporating a walk, hike or run into your travel plans.

In this episode I start by chatting with Chelsea Gruber, a big fan of solo travel who's had quite a few active adventures on her trips and when we spoke was in training to run the Paris marathon.

I then chat with Patrick Nash who spent time some decades back travelling through many parts of Africa, and his story centres on a long walk through the Congo, or what was then Zaire.

Finally, Amy Willis shares some of her active travels, starting off with her experience on the Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon, and then going on to tell me about a recent experience running in northern Kenya.

Links:

• Chelsea Gruber - https://www.chelseasolotravels.com/ 
• Chelsea's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chelseasolotravels/ 
• Patrick Nash - https://www.patricknash.co.uk/ 
• Patrick’s book Shots Across the Water: Tales of a Journey Through Africa - https://amzn.to/4cMl0UQ 
• Amy Willis from Ker & Downey https://kerdowney.com/
• Amy's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amynwillis/ 
• Ep 253 Walking the World https://notaballerina.com/253 
• Ep 175 Walking and Hiking Travels https://notaballerina.com/175 
• Ep 308 My trip report from hiking the Basho Trail with Walk Japan in 2023 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
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com 
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/347

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us want to make more sustainable and ethical choices when we travel, but it's not always easy to do! Avoiding plastic straws and disposable shopping bags is one thing, but how can we choose our accommodation in a way that does more good, or think about our carbon footprint and change our travel habits?

In this episode, I start by chatting with two travel writers who have come to the realisation that the constant jet-setting often required by that job is something they don't want to partake in, and have found other ways to work. Nina Karnikowski and Megan Frye both have great suggestions and information that can help all of us travel a bit "better", too.

One of the specific ways we can travel more ethically is related to animal and wildlife attractions - a very common activity for travellers - so to round out this episode, Suzanne Milthorpe from World Animal Protection Australia has some useful tips about how we can make better decisions about the sanctuaries or rescue places we visit.

Links:

• Nina Karnikowski - https://ninakarnikowski.com/  
• Nina’s book, The Mindful Traveller - https://amzn.to/3EzeAf8 
• Megan Frye - https://www.meganfrye.com/
• Suzanne Milthorpe - Head of Campaigns, World Animal Protection Australia - https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.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
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com 
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/346

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My dear friend, the Barefoot Backpacker, is a thoughtful traveller, but they often approach travel in different ways to me. We've chatted many a time about our varied styles and decided that making a collaborative podcast episode about just this would be a lot of fun.

So, this episode is a combination of the two of us as hosts from Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure and The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, and to frame our conversation we picked, of all things, a Buzzfeed quiz on the age-old (silly!) distinction of traveller versus tourist. But this did help us to discuss many of our travel ideas: what is slow travel, and can it look different? How do you get the most out of travel when you have limited time off from a "real" job? Why do people enjoy luxury service (and why don't we)? Is it still possible to travel without making plans or booking accommodation in advance? All this and much more, along with quite a few laughs!

Links:

• The Barefoot Backpacker blog - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/
• Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/ 
• The Buzzfeed Quiz we used - https://www.buzzfeed.com/remeepatel/traveler-or-vacationer
• 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/345

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learning languages, in the early days, is all about making mistakes, and then as we improve, we can see the benefits of really getting to know people and cultures by having common words and expressions. We still make mistakes though! In this episode I chat with three guests who've spent significant chunks of time in France and Italy, and have learnt much about these second homes through their gradual improvements with French and Italian.

First up, I speak with Angela Correll who moved to Italy with just "survival Italian", but found it a good start nonetheless. I then chat with Steve Hoffman who has spent many years devoting himself to flawless French, and we also discuss our different approaches (let's just say my approach to German is the non-flawless version!). Finally, Bex Thomas tells me how easy it is to make mistakes when you just assume you've understood, and talks about what else she's learnt about life and language through spending six months each year in France.

Links:

• Angela Correll - https://www.angelacorrell.com/ 
• Angela’s book, Restored in Tuscany - https://amzn.to/3Qdwu9r 
• Steve Hoffman - https://www.sjrhoffman.com/ 
• Steve’s book, A Season for That: Lost and Found in the Other Southern France - https://amzn.to/3DSqosP 
• Bex Thomas - https://feelgood-getaways.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/344

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy ninth birthday to The Thoughtful Travel Podcast! To celebrate, I've gone back to three of the early guests and interviewed them again to see what's changed in their lives in the intervening years. It was so fun to do!

First up, I chat with photographer Kiliii Yuyan, who first appeared way back in Episode 2 in 2016. Since that time, Kiliii has had an incredible career and been able to go on some very special adventures to create stories for National Geographic.

I then speak with Kerstin Pilz, from Episode 3, who at the time we first recorded an interview was working through the tremendous grief of losing her husband and having her home and community severely impacted by a cyclone. Fast forward to today and Kerstin's had some impressive career highlights and has set up a new business that combines many of her passions, including travel.

Finally, I had the chance to talk again with one of the very first podcast listeners who became a guest, Scott Antcliffe. In our initial conversation, Scott was working as a school teacher, but since then, he's had a huge career shift and yes, it involves more travel, too!

Links:

Celebrate the podcast's 9th birthday with a T-shirt - https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-thoughtful-travel-podcast 

Killii Yuyan’s website - https://kiliii.com/ 

An example of Kiliii’s National Geographic work - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/impact/article/kiliii-yuyan-explorer-story

Kerstin Pilz’s book “Loving my lying, dying, cheating husband” - https://amzn.to/422vCdn

Kerstin’s Transformational Writing Retreats - https://transformationalwritingretreats.com/ 

Scott Antcliffe’s website - https://www.scottantcliffephoto.co.uk/ 

Scott’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scottantcliffephoto/ 

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/343

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joining a tour connected to any special interest you have is bound to result in a memorable trip and when I heard about Political Tours, I was instantly attracted! This episode is a deep dive interview with founder Nicholas Wood, who used his skills and network from experiences like working as a foreign correspondent the New York Times to launch Political Tours back in 2011. We chat about how a tour works, the many aspects of such trips that lean heavily into being a thoughtful traveller - especially connecting with local people and not making a beeline for the famous tourist sights - and in general chat about all the reasons anyone with an interest in politics might be keen to travel in such a way. 

Links:

• Political Tours - https://www.politicaltours.com/
• Political Tours' webinars - https://www.politicaltours.com/webinars/ 
• On Tranistrian money - https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/transnistria-the-rubles-are-plastic-the-caviar-plentiful-in-this-secret-beakaway-republic-20191016-h1iwel.html 
• Thanks to archive.org for the radio footage https://archive.org/details/sraa-radio-berlin-international-final-episode-october-2-1990
• 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/342

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Confession time: I'd long assumed that virtual travel was a very inferior cousin to in-real-life travel. But then Covid hit, I experienced a couple of virtual tours, and really did feel transported to Thailand and China for an hour or two. Those kind of virtual tours are just the tip of the virtual travel iceberg though, and in this episode I speak with three people approaching virtual travel in different - and wonderful! - ways. 

First, I chat with Chiara Barbera about her "Assaggio" platform, which gives us a window into Italian culture that would be hard to get even as the average tourist visiting Italy in person. I then speak with DayAway founder Martha Waslen, who points out many ways that virtual experiences can truly be thoughtful ones. Finally, my conversation with Chris Magnuson about his Streetview Vagabond videos shows me just how well you can connect with people without setting foot in their country.

Links:

• Chiara’s Assaggio platform - https://experience-assaggio.com/
• Martha’s DayAway platform - https://mydayaway.com
• Chris’s website - https://www.streetviewvagabond.com/ 
• Streetview Vagabond on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/streetviewvagabond/ 
• 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/341

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.