Chris Christensen had the foresight to start a travel podcast before almost anyone had even heard of podcasts - way back in 2005. The Amateur Traveler podcast is still going strong - and is approaching its one thousandth episode. 

Chris and I chatted about the evolution of podcasting in general and the Amateur Traveler specifically, his approach to life now that he has retired from his 'day job' to the podcast, and what he thinks it means to be a thoughtful traveller.

Links:
Amateur Traveler - https://amateurtraveler.com/ 
Chris's previous appearances back in Episode 40 - https://notaballerina.com/40 and Episode 32 - https://notaballerina.com/32 
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/375

Chris Christensen had the foresight to start a travel podcast before almost anyone had even heard of podcasts - way back in 2005. The Amateur Traveler podcast is still going strong - and is approaching its one thousandth episode.&nbsp;
Chris and I chatted about the evolution of podcasting in general and the Amateur Traveler specifically, his approach to life now that he has retired from his 'day job' to the podcast, and what he thinks it means to be a thoughtful traveller.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Amateur Traveler - <a href="https://amateurtraveler.com/">https://amateurtraveler.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Chris's previous appearances back in Episode 40 - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/40">https://notaballerina.com/40</a> and Episode 32 - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/32">https://notaballerina.com/32</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/375">https://notaballerina.com/375</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

375 Chris Christensen: Deep Dive into Travel Podcasting

Various statistics suggest that more than half of travellers want to see animals when they travel: that's why we keep returning to the topic of animal tourism and how we can do this in ways that both keep humans interested in caring for animals but without doing too much harm - and while bearing in mind that for many communities, animal tourism can be a significant part of their economy. To sum up: it's tricky!

In this episode I get a bunch of different perspectives. I start with Eryn Gordon, a travel writer who visited Thailand and had her first encounter there with an animal sanctuary that was ethical on paper but made her question this when she was there in person - something that many tourists experience.

Next, I speak with safari guide Suyash Keshari, who has many years of experience working in tourism with tigers in India (and other animals around the world), and discusses the difficult balance of tourist behaviour that does and doesn't impact animals in ways that actually change their lives.

Finally, John Roberts takes us back a couple of decades to describe some of what was happening when the world first started to consider whether it was okay or not to train and tame elephants for tourism purposes, and some of the tricky elements of this in the Thai context in particular. 

Links:
Eryn Gordon’s website Earth to Editorial - https://earthtoeditorial.com/ 
Eryn's TEDx Talk on “What it means to be a good traveler” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps 
Suyash Keshari, Ameliya Safaris - https://ameliyasafaris.com/  
John Roberts, Group Director of Sustainability and Conservation, Minor Hotels -https://www.minorhotels.com/ 
Whither Captive Elephants? by Daniel Stiles - https://medium.com/@danielstiles/whither-captive-elephants-f4e70a36aff8 

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/381

Various statistics suggest that more than half of travellers want to see animals when they travel: that's why we keep returning to the topic of animal tourism and how we can do this in ways that both keep humans interested in caring for animals but without doing too much harm - and while bearing in mind that for many communities, animal tourism can be a significant part of their economy. To sum up: it's tricky!
In this episode I get a bunch of different perspectives. I start with Eryn Gordon, a travel writer who visited Thailand and had her first encounter there with an animal sanctuary that was ethical on paper but made her question this when she was there in person - something that many tourists experience.
Next, I speak with safari guide Suyash Keshari, who has many years of experience working in tourism with tigers in India (and other animals around the world), and discusses the difficult balance of tourist behaviour that does and doesn't impact animals in ways that actually change their lives.
Finally, John Roberts takes us back a couple of decades to describe some of what was happening when the world first started to consider whether it was okay or not to train and tame elephants for tourism purposes, and some of the tricky elements of this in the Thai context in particular.&nbsp;
Links:
<ul>
<li>Eryn Gordon&rsquo;s website Earth to Editorial - <a href="https://earthtoeditorial.com/">https://earthtoeditorial.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Eryn's TEDx Talk on &ldquo;What it means to be a good traveler&rdquo; - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Suyash Keshari, Ameliya Safaris - <a href="https://ameliyasafaris.com/">https://ameliyasafaris.com/</a> &nbsp;</li>
<li>John Roberts, Group Director of Sustainability and Conservation, Minor Hotels -<a href="https://www.minorhotels.com/">https://www.minorhotels.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Whither Captive Elephants? by Daniel Stiles - <a href="https://medium.com/@danielstiles/whither-captive-elephants-f4e70a36aff8">https://medium.com/@danielstiles/whither-captive-elephants-f4e70a36aff8</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a>
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a>
Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a>&nbsp;
Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/381">https://notaballerina.com/381</a>

381 Elephants, Tigers and Responsible Animal Tourism

It's (somehow!) six years ago that we started to learn about this new virus and then find ourselves caught up in a global pandemic. While there were some truly tragic parts to that crisis, it turns out there were also some good results, too. Quite by chance recently, two guests in the space of a couple of days told me stories about huge changes in their lives brought about by their travels around Covid times, and these stories were so interesting I quickly decided to create a whole episode on the topic.

First up, I chat with Shannon O'Brien, an international school teacher who was actually working at a school in Shenzhen, China, at the start of 2020. During a school break for the Chinese New Year, Shannon flew to Sumatra, Indonesia, for a short holiday. Spoiler alert: it became a very long holiday!

I then speak with Eva Westerling, a German doctor who in 2019 had decided that it was time for a big change and was contemplating a permanent shift to Morocco. When the pandemic hit, she and her partner were in the earliest stages of setting up a tourism business in Morocco, and then of course, no tourists came. 

My final guest is Eryn Gordon, who was working a corporate job in the United States when the pandemic began, and she soon found herself out of work. Instead of laying low like many of us did during Covid times, Eryn instead decided to get a new qualification and move to the other side of the world, to work in Seoul, South Korea.

Links:
Shannon O’Brien - https://www.shannon-obrien.com/
Shannon’s memoir Stray - https://amzn.to/4bQdiKT 
Eva Westerling’s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com
Eva’s tour business in Morocco, Berber Adventure Tours - https://berberadventuretours.com/ 
Eryn Gordon’s website Earth to Editorial - https://earthtoeditorial.com/ 
Eryn's TEDx Talk on “What it means to be a good traveler” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps
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/380

 

*Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program

NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

It's (somehow!) six years ago that we started to learn about this new virus and then find ourselves caught up in a global pandemic. While there were some truly tragic parts to that crisis, it turns out there were also some good results, too. Quite by chance recently, two guests in the space of a couple of days told me stories about huge changes in their lives brought about by their travels around Covid times, and these stories were so interesting I quickly decided to create a whole episode on the topic.
First up, I chat with Shannon O'Brien, an international school teacher who was actually working at a school in Shenzhen, China, at the start of 2020. During a school break for the Chinese New Year, Shannon flew to Sumatra, Indonesia, for a short holiday. Spoiler alert: it became a very long holiday!
I then speak with Eva Westerling, a German doctor who in 2019 had decided that it was time for a big change and was contemplating a permanent shift to Morocco. When the pandemic hit, she and her partner were in the earliest stages of setting up a tourism business in Morocco, and then of course, no tourists came.&nbsp;
My final guest is Eryn Gordon, who was working a corporate job in the United States when the pandemic began, and she soon found herself out of work. Instead of laying low like many of us did during Covid times, Eryn instead decided to get a new qualification and move to the other side of the world, to work in Seoul, South Korea.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Shannon O&rsquo;Brien - <a href="https://www.shannon-obrien.com/">https://www.shannon-obrien.com/</a></li>
<li>Shannon&rsquo;s memoir Stray - <a href="https://amzn.to/4bQdiKT">https://amzn.to/4bQdiKT</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Eva Westerling&rsquo;s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - <a href="http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com/">http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com</a></li>
<li>Eva&rsquo;s tour business in Morocco, Berber Adventure Tours - <a href="https://berberadventuretours.com/">https://berberadventuretours.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Eryn Gordon&rsquo;s website Earth to Editorial - <a href="https://earthtoeditorial.com/">https://earthtoeditorial.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Eryn's TEDx Talk on &ldquo;What it means to be a good traveler&rdquo; - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps</li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/380">https://notaballerina.com/380</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
*Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program
NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
&nbsp;

380 Pandemic Travel and Big Life Changes

Can you imagine that we didn't used to talk about overtourism? It's really only a decade since this word entered common usage but it seems we hear about it constantly now. In this episode I chat with two guests who have great perspectives to add on this issue, and I also share some tips on how we can deal with overtourism as travellers.

First up, I chat with Christine Newell, who spent a year living in Seoul, South Korea, before it became a big deal on the international tourist radar. She talks about how it has changed over the past two decades and gives examples of mitigation efforts like curfews keeping tourists out of particularly affected areas.

I then speak with Bex Thomas, who started giving serious thought to issues like overtourism and economic leakage in tourism some years back when she and her friend made an effort to book locally to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. She highlights how being more mindful about our tourist time and dollars can also lead to a better travelling experience - win-win!

Finally, some tips on how we can deal with overtourism to both make our own trips better and impact the places we visit positively instead of negatively - drawing on my own experiences and a great blog post from Erin Hynes.

Links:
Christine Newell - https://www.christinenewell.com/
Christine’s book Five Seasons in Seoul - https://amzn.to/4hHQmhb 
Bex Thomas - Sabbatical Stories Podcast  - https://bexthomas.com/podcast/ 
Community Back Pocket - https://communitybackpocket.com/ 
Erin’s post on overtourism - https://pinatravels.org/avoid-contributing-to-overtourism/
Erin’s post on economic leakage - https://pinatravels.org/what-is-economic-leakage-in-tourism/
Episode 378 Seoul Trip Report - https://notaballerina.com/378 
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/379

 


*Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program

NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Can you imagine that we didn't used to talk about overtourism? It's really only a decade since this word entered common usage but it seems we hear about it constantly now. In this episode I chat with two guests who have great perspectives to add on this issue, and I also share some tips on how we can deal with overtourism as travellers.
First up, I chat with Christine Newell, who spent a year living in Seoul, South Korea, before it became a big deal on the international tourist radar. She talks about how it has changed over the past two decades and gives examples of mitigation efforts like curfews keeping tourists out of particularly affected areas.
I then speak with Bex Thomas, who started giving serious thought to issues like overtourism and economic leakage in tourism some years back when she and her friend made an effort to book locally to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. She highlights how being more mindful about our tourist time and dollars can also lead to a better travelling experience - win-win!
Finally, some tips on how we can deal with overtourism to both make our own trips better and impact the places we visit positively instead of negatively - drawing on my own experiences and a great blog post from Erin Hynes.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Christine Newell - <a href="https://www.christinenewell.com/">https://www.christinenewell.com/</a></li>
<li>Christine&rsquo;s book Five Seasons in Seoul - <a href="https://amzn.to/4hHQmhb">https://amzn.to/4hHQmhb</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Bex Thomas - Sabbatical Stories Podcast&nbsp; - <a href="https://bexthomas.com/podcast/">https://bexthomas.com/podcast/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Community Back Pocket - <a href="https://communitybackpocket.com/">https://communitybackpocket.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Erin&rsquo;s post on overtourism - <a href="https://pinatravels.org/avoid-contributing-to-overtourism/">https://pinatravels.org/avoid-contributing-to-overtourism/</a></li>
<li>Erin&rsquo;s post on economic leakage - <a href="https://pinatravels.org/what-is-economic-leakage-in-tourism/">https://pinatravels.org/what-is-economic-leakage-in-tourism/</a></li>
<li>Episode 378 Seoul Trip Report - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/378">https://notaballerina.com/378</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/379">https://notaballerina.com/379</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
 *Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program
NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

375 Chris Christensen: Deep Dive into Travel Podcasting

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