It’s common to face a few difficulties when we travel but in Episode 53 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Amanda chats with three guests who face more than their fair share of challenges when they travel, because they or a family member has a disability or a chronic illness. Their stories are inspiring and of course, their desire to travel trumps the potential difficulties and Amanda loves that!

First up, Amanda chats with Julie Jones of Have Wheelchair Will Travel who loves to travel with her family, including her son who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby and uses a wheelchair. Her down-to-earth and positive approach helps many other families get around the various obstacles wheelchair travel introduces and see the world. You might also be surprised to learn what it was that actually got travel-loving Julie travelling again!

Amanda then speaks with Ava Meena of My Meena Life, who is in her twenties and has three chronic illnesses: lupus, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. Despite the debilitating pain that these can inflict, she’s determined to continue to see the world.

Finally, Amanda talks to fellow Aussie blogger Carly Findlay, who is a writer, speaker and appearance activist. She has a skin condition called ichthyosis and it has caused her to have some pretty unsettling encounters with airlines and border staff during her travels.

Links:

• Julie’s blog Have Wheelchair Will Travel
• Have Wheelchair Will Travel Facebook community
• Ava Meena of My Meena Life
• Carly’s website
• Join the Facebook group 
• Tweet @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amanda is constantly amazed how creative and inspired she feels while she's travelling - without even trying, the creativity just seems to well up in her and pour out. The best bit is, it turns out she's not alone.

In Episode 52 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Amanda starts by chatting with Brooke McAlary about her experience of creativity when she’s on the road. Amanda was expecting her to cite her beloved mountains as a source of inspiration but in fact, the main reason travel sparks her creativity is something quite the opposite.

Amanda then chats with Australian novelist Sarah Ridout who has many wise words to say about the creativity that travel seems to encourage - whether that’s creativity to write or to draw or something else entirely.

Finally, Natasha Lester speaks about how her creativity process fits with travel when she’s researching her historical fiction novels, and we chat about refilling your creative tank.

Links:

• Giveaway of Sarah’s novel Le Chateau
• Brooke’s Slow Your Home website
• Brooke’s Slow Home Podcast
• Brooke’s new book, Destination Simple 
• Sarah Ridout’s website 
• Sarah’s novel Le Chateau - hard copy (in Australia) 
• Le Chateau in Kindle version 
• Natasha Lester’s website
• Natasha’s novel A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald
• Natasha’s new novel Her Mother's Secret 
• Join our Facebook group
• Tweet @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone has experienced culture shock on their travels, but what about reverse culture shock? When Amanda returned back to Australia after six years living in Asia and Europe, reverse culture shock hit her badly, and she's definitely not alone: Episode 51 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast includes chats with three other travellers who’ve had the same experience.


First up, Amanda chats with Cait Flanders, who suffered from some reverse culture shock after returning to her hometown in Canada after a two-month American road trip. Mike Campbell and his family spent a year housesitting their away around the United States before returning to Australia, and his reverse culture shock is proving life-changing.

Amanda's final guest is Matt Treglia and his experience of reverse culture shock is scarily similar to hers. Issues like having nobody who wants to hear about his travels and finding it really hard to fit back into everyday life are common to many of us who’ve spent an extended time abroad.

Links:

• Cait Flanders’ website
• Cait’s Budgets and Cents podcast
• Mike Campbell’s Live Immediately
• Mike’s Live Immediately podcast
• Matt’s site Words with Winos 
• Words with Winos podcast
• Join the Facebook group
• Tweet @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sitting in sunny Perth, Western Australia, makes cold weather or illness seem far from Amanda's mind, but they still happen to us on our travels and we still get through it! In Episode 50 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Amanda chats with three guests about experiences of adverse weather and health on their travels and it turns out that these generally make for some good stories.

First up, Amanda chats with fellow Aussie Brooke McAlary about what they’ve learnt about experiencing really cold weather over the years. When you grow up in a warm country, you’ve got a lot to learn!

Jeff Sandquist had a somewhat scary health issue in a plane on the way to Iceland, but they chat about how he made the most of that and about other travels in Scandinavia, too. Martin Bailey was visiting the very other end of the world when he began to have symptoms of what turned out to be a brain tumour on an Antarctic expedition, and they chat about how he dealt with this issue and his recommendations for other travellers.

Links:

• Brooke’s Slow Your Home website - http://slowyourhome.com/
• Brooke’s Slow Home Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-slow-home-podcast-with-brooke-mcalary/id985005895?mt=2
• Brooke’s new book, Destination Simple - http://slowyourhome.com/destination-simple/
• Dr Jeff Sandquist - https://www.drjeffsandquist.com
• Martin Bailey - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com
• Martin’s photography tours and workshops - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/workshops
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/50

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History can really come alive when you travel to the place where it happened. Episode 49 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about understanding history through travel, and Amanda talks with three history-lovers who have had great experiences learning about history while they travel.

Zoë Dawes inherited a love of history from her father, and today when she travels she is always on the lookout for an opportunity to explore some interesting aspects of her destination’s history.

Historical novelist Kate Forsyth has a clear need to travel to learn more about the history of the places she sets her books in, and describes her experiences in Venice as a great example. Finally, novelist Sarah Ridout also explains how her experiences living in historically significant places have shaped both her knowledge and how she writes her novels.

Links:

• Zoë’s website The Quirky Traveller - http://www.thequirkytraveller.com
• Zoë on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/quirkytraveller
• Zoë on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/quirkytraveller
• Kate Forsyth’s website - http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/
• Kate’s novel Bitter Greens -  http://amzn.to/2kSCI0P
• Kate’s novel The Wild Girl - http://amzn.to/2kx5L6G
• Kate’s novel The Beast’s Garden - http://amzn.to/2ljjZvR
• Sarah Ridout’s website - http://www.sarahridout.com.au
• Sarah’s novel Le Chateau - hard copy (in Australia) - http://www.booktopia.com.au/le-chateau-sarah-ridout/prod9781760404413.html 
• Le Chateau in Kindle version - http://amzn.to/2kN8NHF
• Hannah Kent’s novel set in Iceland, Burial Rites - http://amzn.to/2ntUUxn
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   
• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/49

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a whole year since The Thoughtful Travel Podcast launched and it has been an immensely fun and rewarding time! Episode 48 is the Grateful Anniversary Episode and Amanda starts off giving plenty of thank yous out to many people connected to this podcast, including Brooke and the fantastic Jackrabbit FM team, the dear old friends who agreed to be interviewed for the show before it even started, and above all, you amazing listeners who leave great reviews and chat with Amanda in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group and make all the work worthwhile.

Amanda's guests today are all people she has only met because she started The Thoughtful Travel Podcast - and she's so grateful to have got to know all these new friends. First up, Hayden Lee of the Travel Stories Podcast has a great tale to tell about choosing a fork in the road in Vietnam. Amanda then chats with Matt Treglia from Words With Winos about how he made the mammoth decision to give up a conventional career path and travel long-term. Finally, Amanda looks back to a chat she had a year ago with photographer Kiliii Yüyan about taking risks when we travel.

Links:

• Hayden’s Travel Stories Podcast - http://travelstoriespodcast.com

• Travel Stories Podcast on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/travel-stories-podcast/id1097413901?mt=2

• Matt’s site Words with Winos - http://wordswithwinos.com

• Words with Winos podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/words-with-winos-travel-podcast/id1144965534?mt=2

• Kiliii Yüyan’s website -  http://www.kiliii.com/

• Kiliii Yüyan on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kiliiiyuyan/

• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers

• Tweet me @amandakendle

• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod

• Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   

• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/48

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loathe tours? Amanda knows many thoughtful travellers recoil at the thought of a month-long bus tour of Europe, but there is a time and place for shorter, smaller tours and that’s the topic of Episode 47 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast.

First up, novelist Natasha Lester tells tales of the amazing private tours she took through Paris, helping her to research the history of fashion in a way that Google could never do. Another Australian novelist, Rachael Johns, then chats with Amanda about the pros and cons of taking small tours - and gives some great examples of being a tourist in your own town too by joining some local tourist guide experiences.

Finally, Emma Mann talks with Amanda about how she’s leaning more towards joining small group tours when she travels solo, largely because it’s a great way to meet some like-minded fellow travellers, and Amanda is all for that!

Links:

• Natasha Lester’s website - http://www.natashalester.com.au/
• Natasha’s novel A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald - http://amzn.to/2kpLuVt
• Natasha’s new novel Her Mother's Secret - http://amzn.to/2ljAPux
• Rachael Johns’ website - http://www.rachaeljohns.com/
• Rachael’s recent novel The Patterson Girls - http://amzn.to/2nqAbKl
• Emma Mann at The Vagabond Feminist  http://thevagabondfeminist.wordpress.com/
• Emma’s Flying Foodie blog - https://flyingfoodieadventures.com
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   
• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/47

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling is a great way to make friends; travelling to meet up with online friends in the real world is another great reason to travel. In Episode 46 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Amanda chats with three travellers who have tales to tell about the friends they meet up with around the world.

First up, Cait Flanders describes the road trip she went on through the United States which include a large serving of meeting up with people she’d previously only known online - all with great success. After Cait, Amanda speaks with Serena Star-Leonard who has had similarly positive experiences traveling to meet up with people she has first connected with online.

Amanda also chats with Emma Mann who describes friends she has made in the real world first while travelling - but of course, the online world makes it possible to keep in touch with them and continue those friendships.

Links:

• Cait Flanders’ website
• Cait’s Budgets and Cents podcast
• Serena Star-Leonard’s Retire in 12 Months project
• Travel Kids Club
• Emma Mann at The Vagabond Feminist
• Emma’s Flying Foodie blog 
• Help me find my friend Yuko 
• Show notes 
• Join the Facebook group 
• Tweet or Instagram @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting out into nature is a common reason for people to go travelling but everyone chooses to experience nature in their own preferred, different ways. In Episode 45 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, Amanda chats with three travellers about their experiences with nature and they vary widely.

First up, Sarah Ridout explains the amazing Australian outback of Uluru and the national park of Kakadu - places that are completely unique in the world, and she thinks (Amanda agrees) every visitor to Australia should take the chance to see.

Brooke McAlary, on the other hand, is all about the mountains. She’s having a love affair with the Canadian Rockies and makes mountain life - and even snow life - sound mighty enticing!

Finally, Amanda chats with Zoë Dawes about two phenomenal experiences she has had with wildlife. These are such inspiring tales and have made Amanda go straight online to start looking up how to have similar experiences herself!

Links:

• Sarah Ridout’s website 
• Sarah’s novel Le Chateau - hard copy (in Australia)
• Le Chateau in Kindle version 
• Brooke’s Slow Your Home website 
• Brooke’s Slow Home Podcast 
• Brooke’s new book, Destination Simple 
• Zoë’s website The Quirky Traveller 
• Zoë on Twitter
• Zoë on Instagram
• Show notes
• Join our Facebook group 
• Tweet Amanda @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Follow Amanda on Facebook 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Slow travel is easily one of Amanda's favourite topics - taking your time when you travel instead of rushing around to see all the sights as fast as possible is a much more satisfying way to experience a new place, she thinks.

In Episode 44 Amanda chats with three like-minded guests, starting with Brooke McAlary who, as the creator of the Slow Your Home blog and the Slow Home Podcast certainly knows a lot about slowing down, and shares some great thoughts about slow travel.

Matt Treglia, Amanda's second guest, is a younger traveller but a smart one: right from the beginning, he had a sixth sense that slow travel is the way to go and Amanda thinks he and his girlfriend are really doing it right.

Amanda's final guest in this episode is Cait Flanders and we chat about her plans to spend a couple of months based in one place, getting to know it as the locals do.

Links:

• Brooke’s Slow Your Home website - http://slowyourhome.com/
• Brooke’s Slow Home Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-slow-home-podcast-with-brooke-mcalary/id985005895?mt=2
• Brooke’s new book, Destination Simple - http://slowyourhome.com/destination-simple/
• Matt’s site Words with Winos - http://wordswithwinos.com
• Words with Winos podcast - http://soundcloud.com/wordswithwinos
• Cait Flanders’ website - http://caitflanders.com
• Cait’s Budgets and Cents podcast - http://budgetsandcents.com
• Episode 13 - Takin’ it Slow - Travelling to Feel Like a Local - http://notaballerina.com/13
• Episode 25 - How Slow is Slow Travel? - http://notaballerina.com/25
• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/44
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.