This week on The Travel Date, host Angelica-Hazel Toutounji sits down with the remarkable Dr Nora Amath for a conversation about travel, identity, survival, belonging and healing.
Dr Nora Amath is an academic, sociologist, community leader, researcher, author and advocate whose work has spanned community development, multiculturalism, social inclusion, domestic and family violence, human rights and Islam-West relations.
Born in Vietnam and belonging to the Indigenous Cham community, Nora came to the United States as a refugee after her family fled conflict in Southeast Asia. She later studied at the International Islamic University Malaysia before building her life in Australia.
Nora's relationship with travel began under extraordinary circumstances. As a young Cham Indigenous girl born in Vietnam, she lived in five countries before the age of five as her family searched for safety.
Years later, an intended six-month university experience in Malaysia would change everything. 🇲🇾
She discovered independence.
And she met the Australian man who would become her husband.
Their journey eventually brought Nora to Australia, where she built a family, an academic career and decades of community leadership.
In this episode, Nora also shares another important part of her story: being a mother, grandmother and breast cancer survivor who is entering a new chapter centred increasingly on wellness, nature, connection and supporting other women.
This conversation is a beautiful reminder that some journeys take us across countries, while others take us back to ourselves.
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Thailand
- Philippines
- California
- Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands & Kuching)
- Singapore
- Queensland (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Coolangatta, Sunshine Coast & Hinterland)
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Darwin
- Rome, Italy
- Tasmania
- New Zealand
- Iceland
- Esperance
- South Australia
You can find out more about Dr Nora here:
Social Media : @nora.wild.wandeer
LinkedIn - https://au.linkedin.com/in/dr-nora-amath-71308317
Nora discusses her emerging wellness work in the episode. Sisters in Colour currently promotes RESTORE, a three-day wellness retreat for women navigating early-stage breast cancer and beyond, taking place 9–11 October 2026 at Kondalilla Eco Resort in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. (LinkedIn)
Explore Sisters in Colour and RESTORE
Host: Angelica-Hazel Toutounji
📸 Instagram: @angelica_hazel_nutrition · @the_travel_date_
🌐 Website: angelicahazel.com.au
📧 Email: [email protected]
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