There and Back Again

Kanan Gole

A travel podcast that centers how travel is a transformational experience. Welcome to “There and Back Again” an audio project that centers mindful travel full of respect, reflection, love, and the understanding that all of us in this world are far more similar than we are different. About me - Nice to meet you! I’m Kanan (she/her). I’m a photographer and writer and I’ve been traveling my entire life. Thank you for listening!

Episodes

  1. 2. Healing and Solo Travel ft. Manasi Mishra

    06/09/2024

    2. Healing and Solo Travel ft. Manasi Mishra

    I will say it and say it again, and then say it one more time. Solo travel can be one of the most rewarding, transformational, and healing things we can do for ourselves. It is deeply empowering, and I firmly believe that it makes us more confident, open-minded, curious individuals. Solo travel brings not only so much dimension to our understanding of the world, but also our understanding of self. In Episode 2 of There & Back Again, I talk to my dear friend Manasi about her first-ever solo adventure, to Colombia, and the impact it had on her healing journey towards being more comfortable in her solitude. She shares what she learned about herself in her two-week adventure and offers reassurance to anyone who is feeling nervous about taking a solo adventure.  Manasi Mishra is an activist and social justice communications professional based in Seattle. She is passionate about healing justice, particularly about how communities heal together and in connection with nature. Connect with her on Instagram @maa.nuh.see.  Thank you, Manasi, for sharing your journey on this project. And thank you listeners for being here!  For more of my creative work - ⁠https://linktr.ee/kanangole⁠  If you’re feeling like you want to solo travel, but you’re nervous about it and don’t know where to begin, check out my first audio project, “A Brief Guide to Solo Travel”. It’s in this list of episodes.  Thank you! See you next week :).

    42 min
  2. A Brief Guide to Solo Travel #1 - Introduction + An Introspective Exercise

    30/09/2023

    A Brief Guide to Solo Travel #1 - Introduction + An Introspective Exercise

    Welcome to the project! Let’s examine some of the roots of this fear of being out in the world. What’s stopping us?  From the introspective exercise: Questions for you to answer (we will revisit these in a future episode):  Question 1 - If fear wasn’t in the equation, if anxiety wasn’t in the equation, where would you go first? It doesn’t have be a far off country. It can be the next state over. If you’re not someone who goes anywhere alone, it could be as simple as the next town over. Question 2 - Why do you want to take this trip alone? What appeals to you about the idea of “solo travel”?  Question 3 - What’s stopping you from having this experience for yourself? Is it fear of men? Of loneliness? Of making mistakes on the road? Of cultural taboos? Is it something that you read on the news about the places you want to visit? Question 4 - Ok, now let’s think about where you currently live. On a day to day basis, do you navigate your city on your own? Do you have any fears in doing so? Think about times when you were navigating your hometown on your own. Question 5 - Are you comfortable in your solitude? Do you like to go and sit at a restaurant by yourself? Or get a drink at a bar on your own? Or have you spent a weekend entirely on your own and did you enjoy it? If not, why not? Question 6 - Have you had any experiences in the past that made you afraid of being alone in public or living alone?  Question 7 - Now a bit of homework. I want you to research everything about this place that you indicated in Question #1. If you’re worried about safety, I want you to research safety in that place. Don’t come to any conclusions, just see what’s out there.  If you have any questions, please add them in the comments below - perhaps I can address them in future episodes.  Please leave a rating or a comment below if you enjoyed this episode and please do share with your networks. Thank you!

    11 min

About

A travel podcast that centers how travel is a transformational experience. Welcome to “There and Back Again” an audio project that centers mindful travel full of respect, reflection, love, and the understanding that all of us in this world are far more similar than we are different. About me - Nice to meet you! I’m Kanan (she/her). I’m a photographer and writer and I’ve been traveling my entire life. Thank you for listening!