This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the December 2021 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, talking about Sovietistan by Erika Fatland with my co-host Justin Watson.

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the December 2021 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, talking about Sovietistan by Erika Fatland with my co-host Justin Watson.
If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at <a href="https://notaballerina.com/bookclub,">https://notaballerina.com/bookclub,</a> and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at <a href="https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a>

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.

Book Club 15: Sovietistan by Erika Fatland

Episode 400 ... what?! Back in 2016, I certainly didn't imagine I'd reach Episode 400, and yet, here we are. It seemed something to celebrate so I asked my dear friend Sasha Wasley along to ask me 40 questions for 400 episodes (aren't you all lucky I didn't opt for 400 questions?!).

Some of the topics I especially enjoyed discussing with Sasha were my long trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian railway, some of the changes in the way I travel since I started the podcast over a decade ago, and my not-so-thoughtful (perhaps?) love of Disneyland. She even asked me which episode I think all listeners should skip! It was a great chat covering a whole variety of thoughtful travel topics and we laughed a lot, too. Enjoy!

Links:
Sasha Wasley’s website - https://sashawasley.com/
Sasha's newest novel - The Society of Literary Marauders - https://amzn.to/4wWEejX 
Sasha's books for younger readers, under Ash Harrier - https://ashharrier.com/ 
Ten Year Anniversary episode - notaballerina.com/387 
Paul Theroux interview in Episode 214 - notaballerina.com/214 
Other interviews with me - Episode 90 notaballerina.com/90, Episode 100 notaballerina.com/100 and Episode 240 notaballerina.com/240 
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/400


*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.

Episode 400 ... what?! Back in 2016, I certainly didn't imagine I'd reach Episode 400, and yet, here we are. It seemed something to celebrate so I asked my dear friend Sasha Wasley along to ask me 40 questions for 400 episodes (aren't you all lucky I didn't opt for 400 questions?!).
Some of the topics I especially enjoyed discussing with Sasha were my long trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian railway, some of the changes in the way I travel since I started the podcast over a decade ago, and my not-so-thoughtful (perhaps?) love of Disneyland. She even asked me which episode I think all listeners should skip! It was a great chat covering a whole variety of thoughtful travel topics and we laughed a lot, too. Enjoy!
Links:
<ul>
<li>Sasha Wasley&rsquo;s website -&nbsp;<a href="https://sashawasley.com/">https://sashawasley.com/</a></li>
<li>Sasha's newest novel - The Society of Literary Marauders - <a href="https://amzn.to/4wWEejX">https://amzn.to/4wWEejX</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Sasha's books for younger readers, under Ash Harrier - <a href="https://ashharrier.com/">https://ashharrier.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Ten Year Anniversary episode - <a href="http://notaballerina.com/387">notaballerina.com/387</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Paul Theroux interview in Episode 214 -&nbsp;<a href="http://notaballerina.com/214">notaballerina.com/214</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Other interviews with me - Episode 90 notaballerina.com/90, Episode 100 notaballerina.com/100 and Episode 240 notaballerina.com/240&nbsp;</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/400">https://notaballerina.com/400</a></li>
</ul>
 *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.

400 Forty Questions for Four Hundred Episodes

For those of us with the great fortune of being taken travelling in our childhood, I'm certain that there are many ways this impacts our lives - changing our mindset and exposing us to so many new ideas, cultures, languages and people. In this episode, three guests concur: starting with James Wild, who tells the story of his first safari in Africa as a teenager. Tim Geisler then shares the experiences of his childhood growing up across several countries, and the long-lasting impact of these moves. Finally, Theodora Chatzipavlidis explains her gratitude to her parents for taking she and her four siblings travelling frequently and muses on the effect this has had on her career and life choices.

Links:
James Ward - Rewild Safaris - https://rewildsafaris.com/ 
Tim Geisler - Nautilus Sailing - https://www.nautilussailing.com/ 
Theodora Chatzipavlidis’s app Velout - https://www.velout.app 
Episode 94 How Travel Changes Kids - notaballerina.com/94
Episode 275 Kids Are Shaped By Travel - notaballerina.com/275 
Van Life Diaries series - notaballerina.com/vanlife 
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/399

For those of us with the great fortune of being taken travelling in our childhood, I'm certain that there are many ways this impacts our lives - changing our mindset and exposing us to so many new ideas, cultures, languages and people. In this episode, three guests concur: starting with James Wild, who tells the story of his first safari in Africa as a teenager. Tim Geisler then shares the experiences of his childhood growing up across several countries, and the long-lasting impact of these moves. Finally, Theodora Chatzipavlidis explains her gratitude to her parents for taking she and her four siblings travelling frequently and muses on the effect this has had on her career and life choices.
Links:
<ul>
<li>James Ward - Rewild Safaris -&nbsp;<a href="https://rewildsafaris.com/">https://rewildsafaris.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Tim Geisler - Nautilus Sailing - <a href="https://www.nautilussailing.com/">https://www.nautilussailing.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Theodora Chatzipavlidis&rsquo;s app Velout - <a href="https://www.velout.app/">https://www.velout.app</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Episode 94 How Travel Changes Kids - <a href="http://notaballerina.com/94">notaballerina.com/94</a></li>
<li>Episode 275 Kids Are Shaped By Travel - <a href="http://notaballerina.com/275">notaballerina.com/275</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Van Life Diaries series - <a href="http://notaballerina.com/vanlife">notaballerina.com/vanlife</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/399">https://notaballerina.com/399</a></li>
</ul>

399 Impacts of Childhood Travel

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the July 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about book "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck - https://amzn.to/4sGQFOu 

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, sign up for our updates at https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com/

You can also read more about it at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers 

*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.

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the July 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about book "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck - <a href="https://amzn.to/4sGQFOu">https://amzn.to/4sGQFOu</a>&nbsp;
If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, sign up for our updates at <a href="https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com/">https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com/</a>
You can also read more about it at&nbsp;<a href="https://notaballerina.com/bookclub,">https://notaballerina.com/bookclub,</a>&nbsp;and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at <a href="https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a>&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.

Book Club 15: Sovietistan by Erika Fatland

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