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The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Amanda Kendle

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.

  • 23 minutes 33 seconds
    322 Life-Changing Study Abroad Experiences

    Although I never studied abroad myself I have no doubt at all that I would have loved every minute of it - and my three guests today certainly remind me of all of the many ways a study abroad experience can be life-changing.

    I start off chatting with Pam Petro who studied a graduate program in Wales, and not only learnt something from her course but began a lifetime obsession with all things Welsh.

    Next, I speak with Brandon Miller who studied abroad in France. He has now co-founded the Too Fly Foundation which helps students from under-privileged backgrounds access experiences like study abroad programs, as he recognised how valuable and life-changing they are.

    Finally, I talk to Alex Zeringer, who was a student I met while he was studying abroad here in Perth at Murdoch University, where I teach (among other subjects) podcasting - it was so great to catch up with him now that he's back at university in Ireland.

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    8 April 2024, 10:01 pm
  • 22 minutes 3 seconds
    321 B Corps in the Travel Industry

    For travellers like us, knowing a tourism business we are about to use is properly thoughtful, taking into account the impact we will have on the community and the environment, is important. But with an industry full of greenwashing and unsubstantiated eco-credentials, it's sometimes difficult to know what we can trust.

    Over the past few years now I've had a growing awareness of B Corps but was very keen to dig deeper, so this podcast episode is here to satisfy my own desires to know more, but also to help my listeners understand what makes a B Corp so they can make decisions about their travel with care.

    My first guest is Jonathan Coleman from Untours. When I chatted with Jonathan last year, he explained to me that Untours was, in fact, the very first B Corp back in 2007, and learning how this came about was the impetus for me to find some more people to talk to about this important topic.

    I speak next with Narelle Wilson of Volta Consulting, who knows a lot about the process of how a business applies to be certified as a B Corp, and explains it clearly! 

    Finally, I talked to Aurora Expedition's Chief Marketing Officer, Hayley Peacock-Gower, about Aurora's recent B Corp certification. She gives some interesting examples of some of the improvements Aurora is making as part of the continuous improvement that the B Corp movement encourages.

    Links:

    Jonathan Coleman from Untours Foundation - https://untoursfoundation.org/

    Narelle Wilson from Volta Consulting - https://voltaconsulting.com.au/ 

    Aurora Expeditions - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/

    Aurora’s journey to becoming a B Corp - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/blog/our-b-corp-journey/ 

    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/321

     

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    25 March 2024, 10:01 pm
  • 22 minutes 6 seconds
    320 Thanks for the Travel Bug, Mum

    This is an episode I never imagined I'd need to make; family lore was that my mum June would live to a hundred. But very sadly, after a sudden terminal cancer diagnosis in late January, my beautiful mum passed away early in February. As the biggest fan of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I knew I couldn't restart it after my time away without mentioning my mum and how she encouraged me to travel - I definitely wouldn't be here creating this podcast without her influence throughout my life.

    My dear friend Di Bortoletto and I sat in her spare room last weekend to record this chat about my mum's travel experiences and about some of the special experiences we'd had together as well, and I wanted to share that with you all. 

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    19 March 2024, 12:11 pm
  • 24 minutes 1 second
    319 Homestays When You Travel

    Staying in someone’s home is the ultimate in starting to understand the local way of life when you travel, and I’ve had some brilliant homestay experiences in the past. In this episode devoted to homestay accommodation, I first tell you my own tales of Russian homestays, with some of the delightful interactions with homestay hosts in Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Moscow and St Petersburg.

    I then chat with Nina Karnikowski who explains many of the thoughtful values of homestays, and has a great example of her own experience in India. My other guest is Iris Villarreal, who tells me about some homestays she has done in Guatemala, learning much about the local culture along the way. 

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    23 January 2024, 3:51 am
  • 26 minutes 2 seconds
    318 Gevorg Babayan: Deep Dive into Experiential Tours in Armenia and Beyond

    When I was first introduced to Gevorg Babayan and his company LikeLocal.io, which matches travellers with local experiences, I knew he'd be a good guest for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, but as I got to know him more through interactions in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook group, I soon realised that a quick chat wouldn't be enough - we would need a deep dive!

    In this chat, I learn more about Gevorg's background in Armenia, his work in tourism there and abroad in places like Cambodia, and most impressively to me, some of the unique approaches to tours he offers his visitors. I loved hearing about his creativity in coming up with different ways that travellers can get to know more about a destination and its people, and I'm sure you will too.

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    15 January 2024, 10:01 pm
  • 25 minutes 49 seconds
    317 Border Crossing Tales

    Tales of things going wrong - or almost - are always popular, and I think if you throw in the trickiness of a border crossing, these stories are top-notch entertainment! In this episode, I start off chatting with Michael Jensen about a triple-border experience in northern Thailand recently - made more fun by knowing exactly the spot he was talking about as I was lucky enough to visit that same spot just last year.

    I then talk to Antonio Cala who has not one but two border crossing tales to tell from a long motorcycle trip he and his wife took from the top to the bottom of Africa in 2022. The first involves the river border between Cameroon and the Central African Republic, a tale that had me worrying the whole time about hippos. Antonio's second story takes place on the border between Algeria and Mauritania, a spot that wasn't even a tourist border crossing at all until 2019, and let's just say, that doesn't go smoothly at all.

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    8 January 2024, 10:01 pm
  • 24 minutes 14 seconds
    316 Fathers on Travelling with Kids

    I am absolutely convinced that taking kids travelling is one of the best things you can do for them, and in this episode I've gathered together the thoughts of four fathers who agree with me!

    First up, I chat with Rupert Grey, who took his daughters across the world at a young age - in particular, he tells me about their experience visiting Bangladesh in the 1990s, and the impact that their travels has had on them now that they are adults.

    Cristian Martinus tells me about the reactions from kids on his tours in Morocco, then has a great example to share about a time when things went wrong while travelling with his young daughter - but it all turned out brilliantly.

    Peter Baines then tells me about the experience of cycling with his own children in Thailand, as well as an example of a father and son pair who were recent tour participants.

    Finally, Rick Antonson takes it one generation further with his tales about travelling as a grandfather, and in particular his trip with a ten-year-old grandson in western Canada. 

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3 January 2024, 1:10 am
  • 19 minutes 53 seconds
    315 Meeting Locals When We Travel

    Connecting with local people when we travel is a true joy for me - whether it's just a quick conversation in a queue, or a deeper day or more spent together, learning about how our lives are the same and different - I love it all! In this episode I chat with three guests who agree, and have found various ways to meet locals when they travel.

    First up, I get the tour operator perspective from Cristian Martinus, who confirms that guests who travel on his Moroccan tours particularly enjoy any opportunities for genuine connection with local people - but (appropriately, I think) he warns against "staged authenticity".

    Next, Will Hatton describes some of the ways he has met local people on his travels across the world, and we particularly get deeper into describing some of his Couchsurfing experiences.

    Finally, Dara Brewton highlights how taking a cooking class or two can be a special window into the lives of locals, with lots of time to chat (and a delicious outcome as a bonus!).

    Links:

    Cristian Martinus - Sun Trails  - https://www.sun-trails.com/ 

    Will Hatton - The Broke Backpacker - https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/

    Dara Brewton - https://travelness.com/ 

    Cookly - https://www.cookly.me/

    Episode 302 about Chiang Rai - https://notaballerina.com/302 

    Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers

    Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin

    Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/315

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    26 December 2023, 10:01 pm
  • 26 minutes 37 seconds
    314 Paul Christie, CEO Walk Japan - Deep Dive into Revitalising Rural Japan

    If you decided to escape the corporate world, would you buy up a plot of land in an isolated part of Japan? It's not my first thought, but this is what Walk Japan CEO Paul Christie did at the age of forty, and with many good consequences.

    One of these is that Walk Japan has a strong social, "giving back" element, between the Community Project in Kyushu - which springs from Paul's initial plot of land - and its emphasis on taking travellers to rural areas of Japan which can really benefit from the tourism dollars (quite apart from being some of the most beautiful parts of the country, with the most welcoming inhabitants!).

    This episode is a wide-ranging chat with Paul about his career, how he came to be in Japan and what Walk Japan is doing to give back to many local communities, and particularly in the Kunisaki Peninsula in Kyushu, southern Japan.

    Links:

    Disclaimer stuff: Walk Japan hosted me on my September/October walk in Japan, which means they covered my travel costs (thank you!). However, my opinions, as always, are all my own, honest truth.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    14 December 2023, 1:41 am
  • 24 minutes 37 seconds
    313 Train Travel in Australia

    It's common knowledge that train travel beats air travel in the sustainability stakes, but in recent months I've put this to the test a bit more than usual, in a country where it can be hard to do: my homeland, Australia. 

    It all began when Dr Susanne Etti, the Global Environmental Impact Manager for Intrepid Travel, challenged me to fly the shorter route to Melbourne and then take the train with her from Melbourne to Sydney, on our way to speak at SXSW Sydney. The Melbourne to Sydney route is one of the busiest domestic air routes in the world, and seeing how the train alternative worked was such a good idea! Susanne and I recorded our thoughts along the way, so you'll hear those in this episode, along with our answers to a bunch of questions asked by listeners about our experience.

    Once you start looking, there are other times you might take the train instead of alternatives like flying or driving. Justin Watson, another SXSW panelist, took the train from Canberra to Sydney instead of driving or flying, and I chat with him about this experience too.

    Finally, I added another train ride just in time to make this episode - travelling on the Australind train from Perth to Bunbury on my way to run workshops in south-west Western Australia. Another fantastic experience, and I tell you all about it in this episode. 

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    8 December 2023, 10:01 pm
  • 23 minutes 32 seconds
    312 Giving Back When We Travel

    The statistics tell us so: more and more of us want to give back and do good when we travel. This is heartening, right? Now we just have to start figuring out the best ways to contribute to the places we visit, in genuinely useful ways - and some of these are described in this episode.

    First up, I chat with Roger Smith of Echidna Walkabout who gives a good overview of giving back, and shares his wisdom from a tour operator perspective. I wish every tour operator thought like Roger!

    Next, I speak to Meg Jerrard and Mar Pages, two hardworking women I've known for many years, who now run small group tours under their Solo Female Travelers Club brand. Through this work, they've been giving back in Tanzania, and explain the story of Glory Thobias, who runs the Tanzanian Women Guides Foundation and trains female porters and guides to work in the lucrative tourism industry at Mount Kilimanjaro.

    Finally, I talk to Peter Baines, founder of Hands Across the Water, a company offering cycling tours of Thailand with a very important giving back purpose, aided by compulsory fundraising for the tour participants. It's a great model that's proven vital for helping some at-risk groups of children in Thailand.

    Links:

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    5 December 2023, 2:57 am
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