The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

If you could go back in time and tap on the shoulder of your younger self as you backpack around the world, what would you say? I've been pondering this question and asked several other experienced travellers to tell me their thoughts on it too, and the results are pretty interesting!
In this episode I start off chatting with Josh Zukas, a travel writer now based in Vietnam, who had advice for his younger self that I very much agree with. Next up, sailor Tim Geisler of Nautilus Sailing reminded me of advice I'd actually received from a wise friend in my early twenties, just before I began travelling, that really impacted my travels positively. Finally, Tom Sykes talks about advice to his younger self with the focus of travelling with anxiety, and this led us to a very thoughtful conversation!
Links:
Joshua Zukas - https://www.joshuazukas.com/
Tim Geisler - Nautilus Sailing - https://www.nautilussailing.com/
Tom Sykes - https://tomgsykes.co.uk/
Tom’s book - The Years of Travelling Anxiously - https://amzn.to/4cyr2L1
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Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/392

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This special episode is the audio of the live-streamed May 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about "The Venice Hotel", a novel with very thoughtful travel themes, with author Tess Woods - https://amzn.to/4ug8Cou
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.

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.

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.

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.