Travel can change your life! It sounds like a cliched salesy headline but it's my experience that it's true, and the guests in this episode would agree. I start off chatting with Mike Clapper who had a career epiphany - and set up a now successful new business - off the back of a particular moment in Iceland. Lindsey Danis explains how she and her partner made a huge life change after contemplating what they loved so much about their honeymoon in Thailand. Finally, Tudor Morgan describes some of the ways his work is focused on travellers who are often experiencing this while on expedition trips he leads.

Links:
Mike Clapper - Able2Global - https://able2global.com/ 
Lindsey Danis - (Out) On the Road - https://amzn.to/4vIK334
Lindsey's blog Queer Adventurers https://www.queeradventurers.com
Tudor Morgan of HX Expeditions - https://www.travelhx.com/en-au/ 
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/405

*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.

Some of those academic references:

Bennett, M. (2012). An exploration of transformational learning in adults as a result of adventure travel experiences [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. Pepperdine Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/319/digitalcommons.pepperdine

Magrizos, S., Kostopoulos, I., & Powers, L. (2021). Volunteer tourism as a transformative experience: A mixed methods empirical study. Journal of Travel Research, 60(4), 878–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520913630

Pung, J. M., & Del Chiappa, G. (2020). An exploratory and qualitative study on the meaning of transformative tourism and its facilitators and inhibitors. European Journal of Tourism Research, 24, Article 2404. https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v24i.406

Tovar, L. A., & Misischia, C. (2018). Experiential learning: Transformation and discovery through travel study programs. Research in Higher Education Journal, 35, 1–15. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1194438.pdffiles.eric.ed

Travel can change your life! It sounds like a cliched salesy headline but it's my experience that it's true, and the guests in this episode would agree. I start off chatting with Mike Clapper who had a career epiphany - and set up a now successful new business - off the back of a particular moment in Iceland. Lindsey Danis explains how she and her partner made a huge life change after contemplating what they loved so much about their honeymoon in Thailand. Finally, Tudor Morgan describes some of the ways his work is focused on travellers who are often experiencing this while on expedition trips he leads.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Mike Clapper - Able2Global - <a href="https://able2global.com/">https://able2global.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Lindsey Danis - (Out) On the Road - <a href="https://amzn.to/4vIK334">https://amzn.to/4vIK334</a></li>
<li>Lindsey's blog Queer Adventurers <a href="https://www.queeradventurers.com/">https://www.queeradventurers.com</a></li>
<li>Tudor Morgan of HX Expeditions -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.travelhx.com/en-au/">https://www.travelhx.com/en-au/</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/405">https://notaballerina.com/405</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.
Some of those academic references:
Bennett, M. (2012). An exploration of transformational learning in adults as a result of adventure travel experiences [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. Pepperdine Digital Commons. <a href="https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/319/">https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/319/digitalcommons.pepperdine</a>
Magrizos, S., Kostopoulos, I., &amp; Powers, L. (2021). Volunteer tourism as a transformative experience: A mixed methods empirical study. Journal of Travel Research, 60(4), 878&ndash;895. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520913630">https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520913630</a>
Pung, J. M., &amp; Del Chiappa, G. (2020). An exploratory and qualitative study on the meaning of transformative tourism and its facilitators and inhibitors. European Journal of Tourism Research, 24, Article 2404. <a href="https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v24i.406">https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v24i.406</a>
Tovar, L. A., &amp; Misischia, C. (2018). Experiential learning: Transformation and discovery through travel study programs. Research in Higher Education Journal, 35, 1&ndash;15. <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1194438.pdf">https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1194438.pdffiles.eric.ed</a>

405 Travel Can Cause Significant Change

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the October 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about the book "Travels with Nala" by Dean Nicholson.

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 October 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about the book <a href="https://link.amazon/B03Lo49Qh">"Travels with Nala"</a> by Dean Nicholson.
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 27: Nala's World by Dean Nicholson

I had the joy of visiting Egypt in September 2026, and spending ten days seeing Cairo and cruising the Nile, visiting historical highlights including Dendera, Luxor, Kom Omob, Esna and Aswan. I'll be sharing my experiences across several episodes but to start with, I've got an overview of the trip plus a chat with my friend and travel companion Catherine Marshall. Although choosing favourites was extremely hard, we discuss some of our best meals, sightseeing spots, learnings, surprises and shopping moments of our time in Egypt.

Links:
Catherine Marshall on Instagram - instagram.com/zizzyballord
Catherine’s course the Art of Travel Writing https://artoftravelwriting.thinkific.com/products/courses/aotwn   
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/404

I had the joy of visiting Egypt in September 2026, and spending ten days seeing Cairo and cruising the Nile, visiting historical highlights including Dendera, Luxor, Kom Omob, Esna and Aswan. I'll be sharing my experiences across several episodes but to start with, I've got an overview of the trip plus a chat with my friend and travel companion Catherine Marshall. Although choosing favourites was extremely hard, we discuss some of our best meals, sightseeing spots, learnings, surprises and shopping moments of our time in Egypt.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Catherine Marshall on Instagram - <a href="http://instagram.com/zizzyballord">instagram.com/zizzyballord</a></li>
<li>Catherine&rsquo;s course the Art of Travel Writing <a href="https://artoftravelwriting.thinkific.com/products/courses/aotwn">https://artoftravelwriting.thinkific.com/products/courses/aotwn</a>&nbsp; &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/404">https://notaballerina.com/404</a></li>
</ul>

404 Egypt and the Nile: Cruising with Catherine

With high tourist numbers in some popular places making travel less enjoyable, it only makes sense that there's an increased interest in off season travel. Choosing a shoulder or off peak time to  travel makes sense for so many reasons to me, and it's often when you'll have the much better experiences all round!

Last year, my son and I enjoyed an off season trip to Seoul, South Korea so thoroughly that we're trying the same time of year for a Tokyo visit soon. In this episode, I talk with three people who also have been converted to the off season way. First up, Riana Ann-Canning describes a trip to France in chilly (or was it?!) February which exceeded all expectations; Mathi Thayanan then explains the benefits of visiting Sri Lanka at non-peak times of year; finally, Theodora Chatzipavlidis tells me how she accidentally discovered how much she likes travelling in the off season when she ended up touring parts of Europe during the ultimate off season of Covid!

Links:
Riana Ang-Canning - https://teaspoonofadventure.com/
Mathi Thayanan’s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - https://thecuriousexperience.com/ 
Theodora Chatzipavlidis’s app Velout - https://www.velout.app 
Episode 378 Seoul Trip Report: Spontaneous Budget Travel to South Korea 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/403

With high tourist numbers in some popular places making travel less enjoyable, it only makes sense that there's an increased interest in off season travel. Choosing a shoulder or off peak time to &nbsp;travel makes sense for so many reasons to me, and it's often when you'll have the much better experiences all round!
Last year, my son and I enjoyed an off season trip to Seoul, South Korea so thoroughly that we're trying the same time of year for a Tokyo visit soon. In this episode, I talk with three people who also have been converted to the off season way. First up, Riana Ann-Canning describes a trip to France in chilly (or was it?!) February which exceeded all expectations; Mathi Thayanan then explains the benefits of visiting Sri Lanka at non-peak times of year; finally, Theodora Chatzipavlidis tells me how she accidentally discovered how much she likes travelling in the off season when she ended up touring parts of Europe during the ultimate off season of Covid!
Links:
<ul>
<li>Riana Ang-Canning - <a href="https://teaspoonofadventure.com/">https://teaspoonofadventure.com/</a></li>
<li>Mathi Thayanan&rsquo;s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - <a href="https://thecuriousexperience.com/">https://thecuriousexperience.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 378 Seoul Trip Report: Spontaneous Budget Travel to South Korea <a href="http://notaballerina.com/378">notaballerina.com/378</a><a href="https://www.notaballerina.com/2026/01/seoul-trip-report-spontaneous-budget-travel-south-korea-episode-378-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html"></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/403">https://notaballerina.com/403</a></li>
</ul>

403 Off Season Travel

Ireland and the Irish - we all have a story to tell, right? In this episode I get the insider stories from Ireland - both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - from three brilliant guests who all agreed to answer questions about why they love living there, their favourite traditions, what surprises visitors and what we as travellers need to know before we go. What I loved most about speaking with these Ireland locals is the variety of their answers - I thought I knew a lot about this part of the world but there's so much more to learn. A huge thanks to Laura, Tony and Colin for being part of this special Chats with Locals episode.

Links:
Thanks to sponsor, Slowly - download Slowly to start building genuine friendships today -available for free on the App Store and Google Play - https://notaballerina.com/slowly
Laura Pakenham on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laurajpakenham/
Laura’s book "Irish: History and culture through language" - https://amzn.to/3ST7Z6b 
Colin Johnston’s website https://racingdaydreams.com/
And huge thanks to Tony O’Sullivan
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/402 

Ireland and the Irish - we all have a story to tell, right? In this episode I get the insider stories from Ireland - both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - from three brilliant guests who all agreed to answer questions about why they love living there, their favourite traditions, what surprises visitors and what we as travellers need to know before we go. What I loved most about speaking with these Ireland locals is the variety of their answers - I thought I knew a lot about this part of the world but there's so much more to learn. A huge thanks to Laura, Tony and Colin for being part of this special Chats with Locals episode.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Thanks to sponsor, Slowly - download Slowly to start building genuine friendships today -available for free on the App Store and Google Play -&nbsp;<a href="https://notaballerina.com/slowly">https://notaballerina.com/slowly</a></li>
<li>Laura Pakenham on Instagram&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurajpakenham/">https://www.instagram.com/laurajpakenham/</a></li>
<li>Laura&rsquo;s book "Irish: History and culture through language" -&nbsp;<a href="https://amzn.to/3ST7Z6b">https://amzn.to/3ST7Z6b</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Colin Johnston&rsquo;s website <a href="https://racingdaydreams.com/">https://racingdaydreams.com/</a></li>
<li>And huge thanks to Tony O&rsquo;Sullivan</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 -&nbsp;<a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack -&nbsp;<a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a></li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="https://notaballerina.com/402">https://notaballerina.com/402</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

402 Ireland: Chats with Locals

About one in ten jobs across the globe are in the travel industry, but from the hundreds of conversations I've had over the years, I've learnt that the paths to working in tourism and travel are many and varied!

In this episode I chat with four people who've found their way into this industry through very different ways.

First up, Russell True describes how he ended up having a lifetime career in the dude ranch accommodation and experience industry; then I speak with Mathi Thayanan who now runs his own travel company in Sri Lanka but didn't always plan to do this. Jana Marie Bald then explains her career path from agricultural science to tourism (not what I'd expected!) and finally, Aabiskar Thapa describes how from growing up near Pokhara, Nepal and seeing tourists on the trail, he took a circuitous route to ending up working in travel himself.

Links:
Russell True of the True Ranch Collection - https://trueranchcollection.com/
Mathi’s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - https://thecuriousexperience.com/ 
Jana’s app Ørth - https://www.oerth.life/ 
Sharing Seeds in Nepal - https://linktr.ee/sharing.seeds 
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/401

About one in ten jobs across the globe are in the travel industry, but from the hundreds of conversations I've had over the years, I've learnt that the paths to working in tourism and travel are many and varied!
In this episode I chat with four people who've found their way into this industry through very different ways.
First up, Russell True describes how he ended up having a lifetime career in the dude ranch accommodation and experience industry; then I speak with Mathi Thayanan who now runs his own travel company in Sri Lanka but didn't always plan to do this. Jana Marie Bald then explains her career path from agricultural science to tourism (not what I'd expected!) and finally, Aabiskar Thapa describes how from growing up near Pokhara, Nepal and seeing tourists on the trail, he took a circuitous route to ending up working in travel himself.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Russell True of the True Ranch Collection - <a href="https://trueranchcollection.com/">https://trueranchcollection.com/</a></li>
<li>Mathi&rsquo;s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - <a href="https://thecuriousexperience.com/">https://thecuriousexperience.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Jana&rsquo;s app &Oslash;rth - <a href="https://www.oerth.life/">https://www.oerth.life/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Sharing Seeds in Nepal - <a href="https://linktr.ee/sharing.seeds">https://linktr.ee/sharing.seeds</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/401">https://notaballerina.com/401</a></li>
</ul>

401 Travel-Related Careers

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 26: Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

We all want the places we visit to exist for longer than our lifetime (and hopefully MUCH longer) - right? Conservation in the travel space can mean a bunch of things, and the three guests in this episode each have a story to share about their own connections between conservation and tourism.

First up, I chat with James Ward of Rewild Safaris, who has had many years of experiencing planning and running safari trips that have a conservation focus. Next, writer Joshua Zukas has a tale to tell of a recent conservation meets tourism success in Vietnam. Finally, Russell True speaks to the issue of historical and cultural heritage when he talks about the preservation of dude ranches in the United States.

Links:
Episode 298 on Conservation Travel - https://notaballerina.com/298
James Ward - Rewild Safaris - https://rewildsafaris.com/ 
Joshua Zukas - https://www.joshuazukas.com/ 
Russell True - True Ranch Collection - https://trueranchcollection.com/ 
Ranch Preservation Foundation - https://www.ranchpreservationfoundation.org/ 
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/398

We all want the places we visit to exist for longer than our lifetime (and hopefully MUCH longer) - right? Conservation in the travel space can mean a bunch of things, and the three guests in this episode each have a story to share about their own connections between conservation and tourism.
First up, I chat with James Ward of Rewild Safaris, who has had many years of experiencing planning and running safari trips that have a conservation focus. Next, writer Joshua Zukas has a tale to tell of a recent conservation meets tourism success in Vietnam. Finally, Russell True speaks to the issue of historical and cultural heritage when he talks about the preservation of dude ranches in the United States.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Episode 298 on Conservation Travel - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/298">https://notaballerina.com/298</a></li>
<li>James Ward - Rewild Safaris -&nbsp;<a href="https://rewildsafaris.com/">https://rewildsafaris.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Joshua Zukas - <a href="https://www.joshuazukas.com/">https://www.joshuazukas.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Russell True - True Ranch Collection - <a href="https://trueranchcollection.com/">https://trueranchcollection.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Ranch Preservation Foundation - <a href="https://www.ranchpreservationfoundation.org/">https://www.ranchpreservationfoundation.org/</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/398">https://notaballerina.com/398</a></li>
</ul>

398 Conservation and Tourism

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.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

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