The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Amanda Kendle
  • 4.8 (64)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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.

  1. MAY 2

    391 Enviable Travel Jobs

    It's easy to be a little envious of anyone who gets to travel to interesting places as part of their work, but when the work itself is also truly fascinating, then I think it's fair that we can all be rather jealous! Nonetheless I loved chatting with these four guests about the experiences their careers have afforded them around the globe. First up, Tudor Morgan explains how his lifelong love of the polar regions has translated into a range of rewarding work opportunities. Next, Kerstin Pilz tells of a very special job that she did during her academic career, on The Scholar Ship. Cade Martin then explains how his initial work in photography came about via a National Geographic project, and finally, Neil Laird describes the making of his graduate school film in Egypt, which led to a lifetime of travelling the world making documentaries. Links: Tudor Morgan of HX Expeditions - https://www.travelhx.com/en-au/  Kerstin Pilz - https://kerstinpilz.com/ Kerstin Pilz’s book “Loving my lying, dying, cheating husband” - https://amzn.to/422vCdn Cade Martin - https://www.cademartin.com/ Wheelchair Mafia short film on rescue dogs in Thailand - https://www.cademartin.com/exploration-wheelchair-mafia  Neil Laird - https://neillaird.com Neil’s Prime Time Travelers novels - https://amzn.to/48jqoNB  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/391     *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. Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    23 min

  2. APR 25

    390 How to be a Good Volunteer Abroad

    The world of volunteer tourism is a tricky one. Getting the balance right between enabling people to volunteer in another country, and meeting the needs of the places they volunteer at, isn't easy, and the guests in this episode have many thoughts about what can go wrong and what are better ways to go about volunteering abroad. I first chat with Kim Krowne and Edward Lyimo, who in fact first met when Kim went to Tanzania to volunteer at a program where Edward was involved. After that, I speak with Jonty Crane who has recently done long volunteer stints with his wife in Timor Leste and Fiji, organised through New Zealand's Volunteer Service Abroad program. Finally, I discuss giving back on your travels with Bianca Rappaport, who has a long-term digital nomad has found many varied ways to donate her time or expertise in many different parts of the world. Links: Edward Lyimo and Kim Krowne - Pristine Trails - https://pristinetrails.com/  Jonty Crane - https://jontytravels.com/ Exploring Timor - https://www.exploringtimor.com/  Bianca Rappaport - Wanderwell Club - https://www.instagram.com/wanderwellclub/  Give Back Guide - https://giveback.guide/  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/390   Long term volunteer programs: NZ: Volunteer Service Abroad Australia: AVI (Australian Volunteers International) US: Peace Corps Canada: VCP (Volunteer Cooperation Program) Germany: GIZ (Deutsch Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) UK: VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) Japan: JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) South Korea: KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    25 min

  3. APR 15

    389 How Travel Transforms Our Thinking

    The more I travel (and the older I get!), the more I realise how little I know, and how wrong I've been about so many things! In this episode, I chat with three guests about various ways their travel experiences have transformed their thinking and perspective, and the general consensus is that everything's more complicated than we first think. I speak with Nikki Padilla Rivera about her experiences in Vietnam and Cuba, two very different work trips that introduced her to local knowledge and culture in varying ways and smashed her preconceived ideas about these places. Next, my discussion with Tom Sykes harks back to our younger years of travelling and how we now reconsider our old thoughts and attitudes, and in general how much travel teaches us about the nuances of the world, politics, culture and more. Finally, I round out the episode with a story from James Ward about a perspective shift in his daughters after he took them to Zambia. Links: Nikki Padilla Rivera of She Shapes History NYC - https://sheshapeshistory.com/nyc  Tom Sykes - https://tomgsykes.co.uk/ Tom’s book The Years of Travelling Anxiously - https://amzn.to/4cbKPPC  James Ward - https://jameswardphotography.com/  James’ Rewild Safaris - https://rewildsafaris.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/389   *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. Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    22 min

  4. APR 4

    388 Iceland: Chats with Locals

    Iceland is a place many travellers dream of visiting; if, like me, you've been lucky enough to see Iceland, you probably desperately want to return. In this Chats with Locals episode, I talk with three Icelanders about their country: why they like living there, what Icelanders are really like, and all about their favourite Icelandic traditions. I also ask them what surprises visitors to Iceland, why they think it's such a popular place for travellers, and what important information we need to know before we go. The Chats with Locals series, sponsored by Slowly, a global penpal app, is something I've been wanting to do for ages: some of the best moments of our trips come from speaking with local people, learning about what's the same or different where they live compared to us, and getting the unexpected stories that you don't know about (for me in this episode, it's about the fame of cats in Reykjavik - there's an intriguing reason!). Since Iceland is one of my all-time favourite places, it seemed a great place to begin! A huge thank you to my three guests Ragnhildur, Alda and Halli for so openly and warmly sharing information about their home country, Iceland. 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 Ragnhildur Jóhanns, artist -  https://www.instagram.com/ragnhildur_johanns/ Ragnhildur's shop The Heart of Reykjavik -  https://www.hjartareykjavikur.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theheartofreykjavik/ Alda Sigmundsdóttir - https://aldasigmunds.com/ Alda's books about Iceland - https://amzn.to/4s8cXYC Alda's new book The Shape of Silence, coming soon Haraldur (Halli) Thorleifsson - https://www.haraldurthorleifsson.com  Halli's Ramp Up - https://www.rampup.team Iceland reading list on Amazon https://amzn.to/4dpAyR3 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/388   *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.     Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    31 min

  5. MAR 24

    387 Ten Years of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

    A decade ago to the day - 25th March 2016 - I launched the first episodes of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. Somehow, I have just kept interviewing great people about their thoughts on travel, put together episodes almost every week, and magically, I've now been running this podcast for a full ten years! To celebrate, I've compiled some of my very favourite snippets of stories my guests have told me over the years. I've got the sad stories, the hilarious stories, and the ones that gave me advice I've both ignored and also followed! A huge thanks to every listener and every guest over this decade - I appreciate you all so much, because without guests and listeners, this would be a very boring podcast indeed. Here's to another decade! Links: James Mwenda in Episode 246 - Deep Dive Interview https://notaballerina.com/246  Dean O’Shea in Episode 133 - The Big Trips That Changed Everything https://notaballerina.com/133  Nicci O’Mara in Episode 174 - Life Lessons from Travel https://notaballerina.com/174  Matt Eakin in Episode 78 - Border Crossings https://notaballerina.com/78  Bex Thomas and Angela Correll in Episode 344 - Learning Languages and Making Mistakes https://notaballerina.com/344  Stephen Henson in Episode 1 - Food in a Foreign Language https://notaballerina.com/01  Tim Tricker in Episode 224 - Big Purchases on Your Travels https://notaballerina.com/224  Narelle Wilson in Episode 128 - Travel Planning and Research https://notaballerina.com/128  David Soto Jr in Episode 13 - Slow Travel https://notaballerina.com/13  Heidi Brown in Episode 358 - Solo Travel for Women https://notaballerina.com/358  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/387 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    31 min

  6. MAR 18

    386 It Could’ve Been Much Worse: Surviving Travel Dramas

    Some travellers have a much keener sense of adventure and embracing physical risk on their travels, and others just stumble into a travel drama they didn't anticipate; we have all kinds on this episode about things going wrong! First up, Tudor Morgan, a veteran of many Antarctic stays and current Antarctic Ambassador for HX Expeditions, calmly explains a near-disaster he experienced some years back when working for British Antarctic Survey. Patrick Nash then explains a tricky border crossing from the 1980s between then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), and the Central African Republic. Over the years, I have heard a number of harrowing border crossing tales from my guests and this is up there with the best of them! Finally, I chat with Shannon O'Brien about an accident she was involved in while travelling in Myanmar. To go with the theme of this episode it could, of course, have been so much worse - though it was already pretty bad, I reckon! Links: Tudor Morgan of HX Expeditions - https://www.travelhx.com/en-au/  Patrick Nash - https://www.patricknash.co.uk/  Patrick’s book Shots Across the Water: Tales of a Journey Through Africa - https://amzn.to/4cMl0UQ  Shannon O’Brien - https://www.shannon-obrien.com/ Shannon’s memoir Stray - https://amzn.to/4bQdiKT  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/386   *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. Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    21 min

  7. MAR 8

    385 Women in History and Travel - International Women’s Day 2026

    It's International Women's Day again and I've got a different focus this year: some of the ways history and travel is not the same for women! When we travel, especially on our own, we can be confronted with cultural differences and people's opinions in a starker way than others, and I loved hearing more about this from listeners who contributed to a chat on this in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group.  History is also not the same for women - and women are often omitted from the history we learn about a place when we travel there. I chat with Nikki Padilla Rivera of She Shapes History about how this happens and what this fabulous Australian-born tour company is doing about it. Links: 2025 International Women’s Day Episode 340 - https://notaballerina.com/340  She Shapes History walking tours and more - https://sheshapeshistory.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/385 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    21 min

  8. MAR 1

    Book Club 24: Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent

    This special episode is the audio of the live-streamed February 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting with author Hannah Kent about her book "Always Home, Always Homesick" - https://amzn.to/3Kxcb7M   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 ProgramNotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    54 min
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4.8
out of 5
64 Ratings

About

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.

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