The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the October 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Monisha Rajesh about her book "Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train".

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.co...

Bangkok called my name again in September, and this episode recaps my experiences spending five days in the Thai capital, for a mix of work and fun purposes (of course, even the work parts were fun!).

Along with explaining what activities I got up to in Bangkok, I decided to rate each day in terms of how much of a "thoughtful traveller" I was, so listen in to see my daily score out of ten, and my final result.

My trip included some...

Now that we're worried about crowds and overtourism, the idea of visiting lesser-known places is a real winner. I've always loved to go to the places that aren't listed frequently on travellers' itineraries and maintain that many of the best experiences happen there - and the stories from the three guests in this episode seem to confirm that.

First up, I chat with Jonny Wright about his love of going to places nobody knows about. H...

Is travel good for your mental health? If you believe my guests in this episode (and me), then it's a resounding yes. I chat first with Kaila Yu who explains some of what she thinks helps your mental health when travelling, including some chat about the miraculous quiet of being under the sea when scuba diving. Next, Heidi Brown describes her mental journey before, during and after a trip, identifying some of the precise reasons th...

Chatting with author and journalist Monisha Rajesh was just as delightful as I expected (and I had high expectations!). Long-distance train travel is basically synonymous with being a thoughtful traveller, and our chat ranged from a favourite train (you are allowed to have favourites!) through some of the most interesting passengers she's met and a little taster about the thrills of sleeper train travel, which she delves into more ...

In this episode of the Van Life Diaries: Europe 1985, we move on to Scandinavia. Starting off in Denmark, we looked for Lego, noticed the size of the Little Mermaid, and enjoyed spending time in Copenhagen. From Denmark it was a short ferry ride to Sweden, and while my Dad and I muse that we don't have many strong memories from our time there, my Mum's diary does the heavy lifting contributing details about our time in some seaside...

Di Westaway is the founder of Coastrek and Wild Women on Top, and she has had the most fabulous career building up these businesses - topped off with many well-deserved accolades like an Order of Australia medal for services to women's health, fitness and charity services. It was so much fun to chat with Di about how her impulsive decision to attempt to climb South America's highest peak, Mount Aconcagua, even when she'd never done...

Creativity is an important part of my life, and I have so often observed that when I'm travelling, and also on my return, my creative thinking gets a huge boost. In this episode I chat with other travellers who feel the same.

First up, I talk to author Spiri Tsintziras. Spiri has written several memoirs related to her experiences and travels in Greece, and explains beautifully how being away from home impacts her creativity so posi...

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the August 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking about Chris Broad's book "Abroad in Japan".

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/g...

Getting to know new people is one of the fun parts of travelling, and sometimes these encounters turn into long-term and even lifelong friendships. In this episode, my guests have wonderful stories to tell about the friends they have made on a trip - I found it very uplifting!

First up, Heidi Brown describes how taking solo trips to indulge her love of U2 has led to a delightful network of similarly U2-obsessed friends, who continu...

When my friend Tracy Collins messaged me to say hey, I'm doing a new series on the Global Travel Planning Podcast and I want to interview you first - I said yes as fast as I could. Tracy had an idea to guide me through a chat about a number of my very most special travel experiences and I knew it would be fun.

In fact, I think it turned out to be such a great chat that I asked Tracy if I could share it here with all my audience too...

This is the fourth part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this ...

Solo travel might seem daunting, but as you'll hear from my guests today, the benefits can be amazing. While this episode features women who travel alone, the advantages they talk about are definitely relevant to anyone. 

First up, Heidi Brown shares her love of solo travel and explains that she's developed a unique strategy for finding great restaurants when she's travelling alone - it's surprisingly effective and has somethi...

Did you know that one in ten jobs worldwide is in the tourism industry? I think we're all sometimes guilty of merrily going on our travels without giving much thought to the people behind the scenes that make this possible. In this episode I chat with three people in very different careers in the travel area and hear some of the behind-the-scenes of what makes tourism tick.

First up, Suyash Keshari, founder of Ameliya Safaris, give...

Two of my favourite things in life are reading novels and travelling, so it's about time they appeared in a podcast episode together - especially since so many other people love this combination of joys, too!

Starting with a bunch of wonderful "novel on a trip" experiences from listeners, I next hear from Carol McQuaid about the long list of novels she created to read on a round-the-world trip, along with continued reasons to read ...

This is the third part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this y...

When you're given an intriguing invitation or an interesting opportunity on your travels, do you say yes?

I try to whenever possible, and that's led to some very memorable experiences - and the same is true of the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. 

First up, Carl Klein explains what happened when he was invited to tag along with a family he'd got to know in northern Colombia, as part of a very impo...

Whether it's a bus, train or subway, using any kind of public transport or transit system when you're travelling can be very eye-opening (and a lot of fun!). In my opinion it's a much better way to get to know a place you're visiting, and of course it's also usually the most budget-friendly way of getting around, another bonus.

In this episode you'll hear from four guests who have stories to share about their use of public transpor...

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the June 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Ash Bhardwaj about his book "Why We Travel".

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is 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://fac...