This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the June 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Ash Bhardwaj about his book "Why We Travel".

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 June 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Ash Bhardwaj about his book "Why We Travel".
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>&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;
&nbsp;

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 20: Why We Travel by Ash Bhardwaj

Two of my favourite things in life are reading novels and travelling, so it's about time they appeared in a podcast episode together - especially since so many other people love this combination of joys, too!

Starting with a bunch of wonderful "novel on a trip" experiences from listeners, I next hear from Carol McQuaid about the long list of novels she created to read on a round-the-world trip, along with continued reasons to read novels related to her travels. 

Next, Louis Hall has a fabulous argument for why reading fiction might even be more relevant to your travels than the typical non-fiction travel narratives we often read when preparing for a trip.

And finally, Jonny Wright joins me with some deep thinking on the impact of reading during our travels, both for the books we read and the places we read them in.

Links:
Festival of Fiction in Perth - https://festivaloffiction.com.au/ 
Carol Mc Quaid - The Illustrated Vagabond - Carol’s pre-trip reading list - https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com/blog/reading-list-jkbjz 
Carol's South American Sketchbook - https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com/shop/p/southamericansketchbook 
Louis Hall - https://www.louisdhall.com/ 
Louis’ book In Green: Two Horses, Two Strangers, a Journey to the End of the Land - https://amzn.to/3FP0J52 
Jonny Wright on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/goandfindoutpod/
Jonny's podcast Go And Find Out - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/go-and-find-out/id1807777446
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/356

 

Two of my favourite things in life are reading novels and travelling, so it's about time they appeared in a podcast episode together - especially since so many other people love this combination of joys, too!
Starting with a bunch of wonderful "novel on a trip" experiences from listeners, I next hear from Carol McQuaid about the long list of novels she created to read on a round-the-world trip, along with continued reasons to read novels related to her travels.&nbsp;
Next, Louis Hall has a fabulous argument for why reading fiction might even be more relevant to your travels than the typical non-fiction travel narratives we often read when preparing for a trip.
And finally, Jonny Wright joins me with some deep thinking on the impact of reading during our travels, both for the books we read and the places we read them in.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Festival of Fiction in Perth - <a href="https://festivaloffiction.com.au/">https://festivaloffiction.com.au/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Carol Mc Quaid - The Illustrated Vagabond - Carol&rsquo;s pre-trip reading list - <a href="https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com/blog/reading-list-jkbjz">https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com/blog/reading-list-jkbjz</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Carol's South American Sketchbook - <a href="https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com/shop/p/southamericansketchbook">https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com/shop/p/southamericansketchbook</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Louis Hall - <a href="https://www.louisdhall.com/">https://www.louisdhall.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Louis&rsquo; book In Green: Two Horses, Two Strangers, a Journey to the End of the Land - <a href="https://amzn.to/3FP0J52">https://amzn.to/3FP0J52</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Jonny Wright on Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/goandfindoutpod/">https://www.instagram.com/goandfindoutpod/</a></li>
<li>Jonny's podcast Go And Find Out -&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/go-and-find-out/id1807777446">https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/go-and-find-out/id1807777446</a></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/356">https://notaballerina.com/356</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

356 Connecting Novels and Travel

This is the third part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts. 

In this episode, we move on from Italy to Switzerland, where much of our fun involves mountain and snow. Growing up in Western Australia, none of us had any experience with snow, and we were all thrilled to play in the summer snow we found in alpine Switzerland. You need to listen to find out what we wore during these snowy adventures! We then spent time in Austria, and thanks to my Mum's diary we know we had some good times there too - curiously, neither my Dad nor I remember it well. Travel memories are strange!

A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it.

Links:
Context Travel - https://bit.ly/contexttravel - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk
Listen to Part 1 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 348 - https://notaballerina.com/348 
LIsten to Part 2 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 351 - https://notaballerina.com/351 
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/355 

This is the third part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts.&nbsp;
In this episode, we move on from Italy to Switzerland, where much of our fun involves mountain and snow. Growing up in Western Australia, none of us had any experience with snow, and we were all thrilled to play in the summer snow we found in alpine Switzerland. You need to listen to find out what we wore during these snowy adventures! We then spent time in Austria, and thanks to my Mum's diary we know we had some good times there too - curiously, neither my Dad nor I remember it well. Travel memories are strange!
A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Context Travel - <a href="https://contexttravel.com">https://bit.ly/contexttravel</a> - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk</li>
<li>Listen to Part 1 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 348 - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/348">https://notaballerina.com/348</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>LIsten to Part 2 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 351 - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/351">https://notaballerina.com/351</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="https://notaballerina.com/355">https://notaballerina.com/355</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

355 Van Life Diaries: Europe 1985: Switzerland and Austria

When you're given an intriguing invitation or an interesting opportunity on your travels, do you say yes?

I try to whenever possible, and that's led to some very memorable experiences - and the same is true of the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. 

First up, Carl Klein explains what happened when he was invited to tag along with a family he'd got to know in northern Colombia, as part of a very important day.

I then chat with Tracy Collins about her brave "yes" moment, which led to a lifetime of fun and friendship.

Finally, Chiara Barbera explains that although her cousin tried to put her off agreeing to a particular offer in Italy, saying "yes" led to quite the epiphany and a major passion and goal in life.

Links:
Carl Klein - Lost Canyon Imports -  https://www.lostcanyonimports.com/ 
Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning https://uktravelplanning.com and Global Travel Planning at https://globaltravelplanning.com 
Chiara’s Assaggio platform - https://experience-assaggio.com/
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/354

When you're given an intriguing invitation or an interesting opportunity on your travels, do you say yes?
I try to whenever possible, and that's led to some very memorable experiences - and the same is true of the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast.&nbsp;
First up, Carl Klein explains what happened when he was invited to tag along with a family he'd got to know in northern Colombia, as part of a very important day.
I then chat with Tracy Collins about her brave "yes" moment, which led to a lifetime of fun and friendship.
Finally, Chiara Barbera explains that although her cousin tried to put her off agreeing to a particular offer in Italy, saying "yes" led to quite the epiphany and a major passion and goal in life.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Carl Klein - Lost Canyon Imports -&nbsp; <a href="https://www.lostcanyonimports.com/">https://www.lostcanyonimports.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning <a href="https://uktravelplanning.com/">https://uktravelplanning.com</a> and Global Travel Planning at <a href="https://globaltravelplanning.com/">https://globaltravelplanning.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Chiara&rsquo;s Assaggio platform - <a href="https://experience-assaggio.com/">https://experience-assaggio.com/</a></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/354">https://notaballerina.com/354</a></li>
</ul>

Book Club 20: Why We Travel by Ash Bhardwaj

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