The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Travelling in Cairo and cruising the Nile in September will forever be one of my favourite trips, and reliving that by sharing these two interviews makes me want to return to Egypt immediately! In this episode, I speak with two very experienced travellers in Egypt. Firstly, Alice Ager of Uniworld Boutique River Cruises tells me about her initial experience of Egypt and how she continues to love returning. I then chat with the Egyptologist who led our group, Hatem Abdel Aziz, about the knowledge required to do this job, and how thoughtful travellers can prepare for such a trip. These interviews took place in ships on the Nile - definitely the most picturesque place I have ever recorded! Links: Episode 404: Egypt and the Nile - Cruising with Catherine - https://www.notaballerina.com/2026/10/egypt-nile-cruising-episode-404-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html  Uniworld’s Egypt River Cruise - https://www.uniworld.com/au/destinations/egypt  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/406  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.edSupport the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 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.

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 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 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.