The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Can you imagine that we didn't used to talk about overtourism? It's really only a decade since this word entered common usage but it seems we hear about it constantly now. In this episode I chat with two guests who have great perspectives to add on this issue, and I also share some tips on how we can deal with overtourism as travellers.
First up, I chat with Christine Newell, who spent a year living in Seoul, South Korea, before it became a big deal on the international tourist radar. She talks about how it has changed over the past two decades and gives examples of mitigation efforts like curfews keeping tourists out of particularly affected areas.
I then speak with Bex Thomas, who started giving serious thought to issues like overtourism and economic leakage in tourism some years back when she and her friend made an effort to book locally to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. She highlights how being more mindful about our tourist time and dollars can also lead to a better travelling experience - win-win!
Finally, some tips on how we can deal with overtourism to both make our own trips better and impact the places we visit positively instead of negatively - drawing on my own experiences and a great blog post from Erin Hynes.
Links:
Christine Newell - https://www.christinenewell.com/
Christine’s book Five Seasons in Seoul - https://amzn.to/4hHQmhb
Bex Thomas - Sabbatical Stories Podcast - https://bexthomas.com/podcast/
Community Back Pocket - https://communitybackpocket.com/
Erin’s post on overtourism - https://pinatravels.org/avoid-contributing-to-overtourism/
Erin’s post on economic leakage - https://pinatravels.org/what-is-economic-leakage-in-tourism/
Episode 378 Seoul Trip Report - https://notaballerina.com/378
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Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/379


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I last saw South Korea's fabulous capital Seoul way back in 2002, so when my 15-year-old son spotted a great flight price in November I was very keen to take him there! This podcast episode reports back on our week in Seoul, and I even persuaded my son to come on and chat about our trip, too.
I'm a big believer in being a thoughtful traveller in all phases of a trip, so in this episode I start off explaining the three things I did to prepare for our trip (at short notice - we booked a fortnight before we left) - and they do not involve planning a day-by-day itinerary. My son Ruben and I then chat about some of our favourite parts of the trip, including the best day out, most delicious meal and our most fun shopping experiences. I give us a rating on the thoughtful travel scorecard and then finish up by explaining our budget - for once I had all the figures to hand and several people had asked me. Listen and tell me if you think our budget was appropriate or not!
Links:
Korea travel reading list - https://amzn.to/45Oxn0l
Ruben’s YouTube channel of Pro Clubs (FIFA) gaming, Reginald Ramen - https://www.youtube.com/@ReginaldRamen
The best moments of my trip to South Korea were not on my itinerary - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/p/the-best-moments-of-my-trip-to-south
PLK Travel for DMZ Tour - https://www.plktravel.com
My Seoul Map - https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1s8N441QUJAOnjRQUMH0X9D6H6unt6cU&usp=sharing
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/378

*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.

How often do we go somewhere with a preconceived idea and find it hard to really see other perspectives ... well, speaking for myself, pretty often! In this episode I share three stories which highlight ways to learn about and understand different perspectives - but are also just great stories on their own.
First up, Kiliii Yuyan tells me about his experiences in Palau, and shares a fascinating story from Palauan culture which is vital to helping their coral reefs recover from algal blooms in a way I wish other reefs could. Next, Jamie Burr explains some of the results of his research into Chinese attitudes to carbon offsets - quite honestly, a perspective I'd never considered, and an interesting one indeed! Finally, Monisha Rajesh shares two examples of overlooked, alternative perspectives, one from her travels in Tibet, and another from a fellow tourist in North Korea.
Links:
Killii Yuyan’s website - https://kiliii.com/
Kiliii’s new book - Guardians of Life: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Science, and Restoring the Planet - https://amzn.to/3YcpYUx
Jamie Burr - https://jamieburr.com/
Monisha’s website https://monisharajesh.com/
Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train - https://amzn.to/4mm4UEN
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/377

*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.

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the December 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about book "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner - https://amzn.to/47KtLea
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 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.

The end of 2025 is imminent and it's time to look back on our discussions and travels and then get ready for a thoughtful and fun 2026! In this episode I'll tell you which episodes were the most downloaded during 2025 and share some other podcast highlights.
And then it'll be crystal ball time: what will 2026 bring us? Listeners have weighed in with some of their concrete travel plans as well as some ideas that they're not quite sure about yet; and because 2026 will be the 10th anniversary of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I'll let you know about some exciting plans I have for celebrating this milestone.
Thanks to all my wonderful listeners and community members of thoughtful travellers - both for listening to episodes every week and for all your discussions and feedback. I'm so lucky to have you all! Happy New Year and wishing you all safe and thoughtful travels in 2026.
Links:
Get podcast merch - https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-thoughtful-travel-podcast
Substack subscription - listener and community special of 50% off Substack https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=00e800ba or https://www.notaballerina.com/half
Hannah Kent's book Always Home, Always Homesick - https://amzn.to/49xigL6
Event link for our February 2026 book club with Hannah Kent - https://www.facebook.com/events/884742791192736
Book Club info also available at https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com/
RISE Travel Institute's Experiential Journey https://www.risetravelinstitute.org/rise-experiential-journey
Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning Podcast - https://uktravelplanning.com/
Barefoot Backpacker - Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/
Michael Jensen - Brent and Michael are Going Places -https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.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/376

*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.