The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

When I learnt that past guest Renae Ninneman runs a business providing cultural intelligence assessments and intercultural training I was immediately fascinated. And when Renae offered to guide me through a CQ - cultural intelligence - assessment complete with a debrief, and was happy to record it so I could share some on the podcast, I was thrilled! Cultural differences have captivated me particularly strongly since I began teaching in Japan in 2001, when I had a perfect opportunity to learn many of the nuances of cultural differences in my conversational lessons with students.  In this episode, Renae discusses the results of my CQ assessment and we also talk about what to do with this knowledge - taking it beyond just a point of interest to help with communication in all kinds of situations, including when meeting people of different cultures on your travels. Links: Renae Ninneman - Beyond Tourism: Cultural Travel and Training - https://www.goingbeyondtourism.com/   Renae on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/goingbeyondtourism  Renae on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@beyond_tourism  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/374  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling to observe animals in the wild is a huge reason that we move around the world. The best case scenario is that we can see them without disturbing their environments or habits, perhaps take some photos, and head home. The worst case scenario is that something goes wrong and these animals become dangerous to humans! In this episode - spoiler alert, everyone survives, animals included! - we have some great stories of animal encounters in the wild. We start with Satyajit Das, author of "Wild Quests" about his experiences with ecotourism and animal encounters, and he takes us back a couple of decades to a visit to Venezuela looking for green anacondas. Next up, Ameliya Safaris owner Suyash Keshari tells us his signature "campfire story", the one he scares his safari guests with frequently - and it's about a particularly close tiger encounter in India that you wouldn't want to relive! Finally, Neil Laird, author and documentary producer, has a story to tell about a time when filming a TV series in the United States, when a non-nature-loving family had a close encounter with a bear. Links: Satyajit Das - author of Wild Quests - Journeys into Ecotourism and the Future for Animals - https://amzn.to/4eMWpP9  Suyash Keshari, Ameliya Safaris - https://ameliyasafaris.com/   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/373 *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.

One of my favourite outings in Bangkok last month was heading north to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed historic city of Ayutthaya for a day, together with my friend Vincie. Since we are both deeply into contemplating thoughtful travel - Vincie is the founder of RISE Travel Institute - we decided to record a chat about our experiences in Ayutthaya through a "thoughtful travel lens". We report the good and the bad and our conversation ranges from sustainabilty practices through tourist education and on to wildlife protection as well, and we also have a lot of fun reminiscing - so hope you enjoy this conversation too. Links: Ep 368 Bangkok Trip Diary and Thoughtful Travel Scorecard - notaballerina.com/368 RISE Travel Institute - risetravelinstitute.org  Retouch Ayutthaya app - https://www.retouchayutthaya.com/  Ep 252 RISE Capstone project: Elephants Are Many Shades of Grey - notaballerina.com/252  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/372 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new year is coming at us fast: 2026, here we come! At this time of year the reports and articles about travel trends are rife, and I like to look through them all and see what might be happening in tourism and whether or not I like it (by which I mean, of course, does it fit with a thoughtful travel ethos?). In this episode, I take you through some of the key trends identified by numerous players in the travel industry and also figure out which destinations are being predicted most often as being 2026 hotspots. I also chat with some experts, starting with Brett Mitchell, Managing Director of Intrepid Travel for Australia and New Zealand, who describes key trends Intrepid has identified and discusses their annual "Not Hot" list. I then chat with Melanie Fish, Vice President of Global PR for the Expedia Group, who explains how their "Unpack 26" study has included a new feature this year which I particularly like. Links: Intrepid Travel's Not Hot List 2026 - https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/newsroom/releases/2026-not-hot-list  Unpack 26 from Expedia - https://www.expedia.co.uk/unpack26/ Hilton 2026 trends report - https://stories.hilton.com/2026-trends Booking.com 2026 trends report https://news.booking.com/the-era-of-you-bookingcom-predicts-the-top-trends-defining-travel-in-2026-with-individuality-taking-center-stage/ Skyscanner 2026 travel trends - https://www.skyscanner.com.au/travel-trends Priceline 2026 travel trends - https://www.priceline.com/partner/pcln-promotions-2026-travel-trends-report-pr Explore Worldwide 2026 travel trends - https://www.exploreworldwide.com.au/travel-trends-2026 Trafalgar 2026 travel trends - https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/2026-travel-trends/ Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2026 - https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel  Contiki top 2026 travel destinations - https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/top-travel-destinations-in-2026/ Virtuoso best destinations 2026 - https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/articles/the-best-travel-destinations-2026 Forbes 26 best trips for 2026 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2025/08/21/the-26-best-trips-for-2026-according-to-travel-experts/ 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/371 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this final episode of the Van Life Diaries: Europe 1985, we return to England, drive through Scotland and Wales, and catch a ferry to Ireland. Then it's back to London, a farewell to our beloved campervan, on to Singapore for a few days and finally we end up back home in Perth, Australia, after six months away. What a strange feeling! This is the sixth 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 year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts.  A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it. Links: Context Travel - https://bit.ly/contexttravel - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk Listen to Part 1 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 348 - https://notaballerina.com/348  Listen to Part 2 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 351 - https://notaballerina.com/351  Listen to Part 3 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 355 - https://notaballerina.com/355  Listen to Part 4 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 359 - https://notaballerina.com/359  Listen to Part 5 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 364 - https://notaballerina.com/364  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/370  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.