Whether or not you have any artistic talent, Amanda believes that sitting down and doing some sketching on your travels is a great idea, and in Episode 29 she chats with two travellers who do just that (although it must be said that they both have great artistic talent!).

Candace Rardon is an amazing artist who has sketched, drawn and painted her way around the world. She chats about the connections you can make if you sit down in a new place to sketch something of the scene around you.

Aggie Lim is a former psychologist and long-time travel-lover who has come to sketching in more recent years, but is completely converted. She chats about the various benefits of taking a sketchbook with you wherever you go.

Links:

• Candace Rose Rardon at The Great Affair
• Candace’s book on Amazon Beneath the Lantern's Glow: Sketches and Stories from Southeast Asia and Japan
• Aggie Lim at Drawn to Explore
• Aggie's Instagram account
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook

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Getting around on our travels can be fraught with both fun and difficulty. In Episode 28 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast Amanda chats with fellow travellers who’ve had some hairy experiences while getting from A to B, or have had some problems actually finding B!

First up, Stephen Henson shares some stories of getting lost in Germany and China. Despite spending a large amount of time in China for work, Stephen still has plenty of moments when getting from A to B is rather tricky.

Following that, Linda and Craig of the Indie Travel Podcast have a great tale to tell of the time they went hiking in the West Highland Way in Scotland. It might even involve some kind of yeti!

Jean of The Traveling Honeybird has had some scary moments getting from A to B and her and Amanda discuss those horror taxi rides and other problems with transport on our travels.

Links:

• Journeys with Stephen
• Craig and Linda at Indie Travel Podcast
• Craig and Linda at Performance Foundry 
• Jean at Traveling Honeybird
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook

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

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In Episode 27, Amanda covers a very serious question: Are all Aussies tanned and tall?   It’s all about stereotypes of different cultures but especially those of people Amanda's countryfolk - Australians. The first guests are Katie and Jeremy Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian who have all these delightfully nice things to say about Australians (which gets a big thumbs up from Amanda!)

Following on from them, she chats with Tom Parson, the Lego Backpacker, and hear about the stereotypes people are discussing in youth hostels across Europe these days. Finally, Amanda talks with her friend Dianne Bortoletto of Travelletto about both Australian stereotypes and how travel broadens our outlook and helps to dispel stereotypes completely.   Links:  

• Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian website - http://www.thelifebohemian.com/
• The Life Bohemian Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-bohemian/id1079385152?mt=2
• Tom Parson of The Lego Backpacker on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelegobackpacker/
• Lego Backpacker website coming soon - https://thelegobackpacker.com
• Dianne Bortoletto of Travelletto - http://travelletto.com
• Episode 18, talking about Australians in Japan - http://notaballerina.com/18
• The Castle movie - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118826/
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina

 

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

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Encountering foreign languages when we travel is both a challenge and a joy - and some of us dream not only of learning a few phrases when we travel, but becoming bilingual.

It’s definitely not easy to be bilingual but the guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast show that it’s not impossible, either. Amanda starts by chatting with Leyla of Women on the Road, one of those amazing people who can speak a multitude of languages, and treats coming across a new language as meeting a new friend.

If you’re considering raising your kids bilingually, then Amanda's second guest, Adam Beck of Bilingual Monkeys, is the man to listen to. He’s got a wealth of information about it and shares a few ways he’s helped his children grow up speaking, reading and writing English nearly as well as their more-native Japanese.

Finally, Martin Bailey shares his journey to bilingualism which didn’t begin until adulthood when he moved to Japan to work in a lace-making factory.

Links:

• Leyla at Women on the Road http://www.women-on-the-road.com
• Adam Beck at Bilingual Monkeys - http://bilingualmonkeys.com/
• Adam’s new book, Maximise Your Child’s Bilingual Ability - http://bilingualmonkeys.com/maximize-your-childs-bilingual-ability-book/
• Martin Bailey - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com
• Martin’s photography tours and workshops - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/workshops
• Duolingo language learning app - https://www.duolingo.com
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina  
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/26

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

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So just how slow is slow travel? We can probably all have some kind of similar idea on what slow travel is - being more mindful with how we spend our time travelling, not rushing around to tick off lists of all the sights, and possibly spending longer than usual in one spot - but how slow is slow?   Amanda's guests in this episode all have a different take on how we can travel slowly, and her first one is a real champion at it: Jeff Ryan has taken 28 years to hike the Appalachian Trail! Not all at once, of course, but he has learnt some great lessons from these experiences about travelling slowly.   Following this she chats with Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz who are currently travelling full time and have used this experience to figure out the kind of slow travel that works for them.    Finally, Amanda talks with Lola Akinmade-Åkerström who has quite a different way of approaching slow travel, and one that has a lot of merit, as you can use her strategy even if you don’t have a whole of time to travel.   Links:  

• Jeff Ryan’s author website -  http://www.jeffryanauthor.com/
• Jeff’s book, Appalachian Odyssey -  http://amzn.to/2bB9o8u
• Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian website - http://www.thelifebohemian.com/
• The Life Bohemian Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-bohemian/id1079385152?mt=2
• Lola’s site Geotraveler’s Niche - http://www.lolaakinmade.com/
• Slow Travel Stockholm - http://www.slowtravelstockholm.com
• Episode 13 - Taking it Slow: Travelling to Feel Like a Local http://notaballerina.com/13
• jackrabbit.fm listener survey - thanks in advance for taking it! - http://www.jackrabbit.fm/survey
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/25

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

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Lots of people with a deep sense of wanderlust develop it by travelling at a young age, but as Amanda chats about in this episode, it's definitely not the only path to developing a love of travel.  Today she speaks with three guests who love to travel now, but never really got to travel much as kids.
First up, Amanda speaks with Lisa Luken who grew up on a farm and didn't do much travelling at all, but who now does amazing road trips with her husband, three kids and their dog. It's really interesting to hear how her wanderlust came to be.

Audrey Wanders also grew up without travelling, but her story is a little different, because her parents were definitely wanderers before they settled down to have a family. It seems like she definitely inherited that love of theirs and she has started to travel more and more as she’s got older. Finally, Amanda speaks with Mark Wyld of Wyld Family Travel, a fellow Aussie who does as much travelling as possible - especially to Europe - with his wife and two daughters. He definitely has a solid case of wanderlust and is doing his very best to pass that on to his children.   Links:  

• Lisa Luken at Simple Joy Living - http://simplejoyliving.com
• Audrey Wanders - http://www.audreywanders.com/
• Wyld Family Travel - http://wyldfamilytravel.com/
• Previous episode: What sparks wanderlust? http://notaballerina.com/17
• Travel genetics – how your parents influence your love of travel http://www.notaballerina.com/2014/11/travel-genetics-parents-influence-love-travel.html
• jackrabbit.fm listener survey - thanks in advance for taking it! - http://www.jackrabbit.fm/survey
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/24

 

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

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Are you an adventurous eater? The topic of food in foreign countries is always a fascinating one and today’s episode addresses it on a couple of different fronts.

To start with, Amanda speaks with Lola Akinmade Åkerström, who has built a fabulous career as a travel writer and photographer. One way she approaches foreign food is to get down to grass roots level which has seen her chatting with farmers and getting up very early to go out with fishermen.

The next guest is Martin Bailey, another travel photographer who is based in Japan. It’s his decades of experience in Japan that led him to talk about some of the more unusual food experiences you can encounter in Japan, and they are not all experiences that Amanda would like to repeat!

Jean Cheney of Traveling Honeybird has also eaten some particularly interesting foods in her time, and she discusses some of the meats she was served up in Mongolia, among other tasty treats she’s seen around the world.

Links:

• Lola’s site Geotraveler’s Niche - http://www.lolaakinmade.com/
• Lola’s photos of fisherman in the Seychelles - http://www.lolaakinmade.com/latest-news/photo-gallery-snapshots-seychelles/
• Lola’s post about food producers in Emilia Romagna - http://www.lolaakinmade.com/europe/local-food-producers-in-emilia-romagna/
• Slow Travel Stockholm - http://www.slowtravelstockholm.com
• Martin Bailey - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com
• Martin’s photography tours and workshops - https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/workshops
• Jean at Traveling Honeybird - http://www.travelinghoneybird.com
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/23

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently Amanda has started asking her guests about their craziest travel moments, but really, what she's looking for is those particularly memorable experiences that stick with you forever - the kind of stories you tell over and over. The three guests in this episode all have fascinating stories to tell of memorable things which happened to them in various spots across the world.   First up is Jeff Ryan, author of the new book Appalachian Odyssey: A 28 Year Hike on America’s Trail. Jeff had a particularly interesting mishap on the trail involving a porcupine.   Amanda then speaks with Diana Edelman of D Travels Round about one of those slightly-scary-at-the time, but ultimately life-affirming moments while travelling where you actually end up in completely the wrong place - in this case somewhere in Croatia ...   Finally, Tom Parson of The Lego Backpacker reminisces about his experiences on the grand railways of Russia. Tom took the Trans-Mongolian route while Amanda has taken the Trans-Siberian, but they both got to meet some fascinating Russians.   Links:

• Jeff Ryan’s author website -  http://www.jeffryanauthor.com/
• Jeff’s book, Appalachian Odyssey -  http://amzn.to/2bB9o8u
• Diana Edelman at D Travels Round - http://dtravelsround.com
• Diana’s new site, Vegans Baby - http://vegansbaby.com
• Tom Parson of The Lego Backpacker on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelegobackpacker/
• Lego Backpacker website coming soon - https://thelegobackpacker.com
• Tweet @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/22
•  

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

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Episode 21 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about the internet. What did we do without it? On the surface, the advent of the internet can surely only be a huge bonus for travellers, right? We can research, book and communicate with so much ease.   But as all of today’s guests point out, there are definitely both pros and cons of the internet for travellers. This whole discussion starts when Amanda speaks with Leyla of Women on the Road, as she reminisces on the “old school” way of getting information about the safety of countries long before the internet.   Amanda also speaks with Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian. They are indeed living a pretty Bohemian life, working online as they travel the world, but it’s not always all that digital nomad life is cracked up to be.   Finally, Amanda chats with Tom Parson aka The Lego Backpacker, who had some really interesting comments about hostel life since the internet and mobile devices became everyday items.   Links:  

• Leyla at Women on the Road - http://www.women-on-the-road.com
• Jeremy and Katie Kloberdanz of The Life Bohemian website - http://www.thelifebohemian.com/
• The Life Bohemian Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-bohemian/id1079385152?mt=2
• Tom Parson of The Lego Backpacker on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelegobackpacker/
• Lego Backpacker website coming soon - https://thelegobackpacker.com
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/21
•  

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

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The Thoughtful Travel Podcast has reached its 20th episode, and Amanda is celebrating by sharing a collection of special stories her guests have offered that haven’t fit into a particular topic yet, but are far too good not to share.

Annalicia Lynn kicks off this episode with some of her fascinating experiences in Taiwan, and in particular some of the more unusual English names chosen by her students. On a completely different tack, Kerstin Pilz talks about two experiences she and her friend had overseas after becoming widows - and while these stories arise from tragic circumstances, these particular anecdotes are ones you definitely have to laugh at.

Amanda's favourite guest today is none other than her own father, Barry Kendle. He lived and worked in Papua New Guinea in the late 1950s and has some very interesting stories to tell about his times there, many of which Amanda had never actually heard before.

Links:

• Annalicia Lynn of Yoga and Pilates Online -http://yogaandpilatesonline.com
• Kerstin Pilz of Travel Pilz - http://travelpilz.com
• Kerstin’s new venture, Write Your Journey - http://writeyourjourney.com
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Chat on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina
• Show notes at https://notaballerina.com/20
•  

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.