The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

I had the joy of visiting Egypt in September 2026, and spending ten days seeing Cairo and cruising the Nile, visiting historical highlights including Dendera, Luxor, Kom Omob, Esna and Aswan. I'll be sharing my experiences across several episodes but to start with, I've got an overview of the trip plus a chat with my friend and travel companion Catherine Marshall. Although choosing favourites was extremely hard, we discuss some of our best meals, sightseeing spots, learnings, surprises and shopping moments of our time in Egypt. Links: Catherine Marshall on Instagram - instagram.com/zizzyballord Catherine’s course the Art of Travel Writing https://artoftravelwriting.thinkific.com/products/courses/aotwn 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/404 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With high tourist numbers in some popular places making travel less enjoyable, it only makes sense that there's an increased interest in off season travel. Choosing a shoulder or off peak time to travel makes sense for so many reasons to me, and it's often when you'll have the much better experiences all round! Last year, my son and I enjoyed an off season trip to Seoul, South Korea so thoroughly that we're trying the same time of year for a Tokyo visit soon. In this episode, I talk with three people who also have been converted to the off season way. First up, Riana Ann-Canning describes a trip to France in chilly (or was it?!) February which exceeded all expectations; Mathi Thayanan then explains the benefits of visiting Sri Lanka at non-peak times of year; finally, Theodora Chatzipavlidis tells me how she accidentally discovered how much she likes travelling in the off season when she ended up touring parts of Europe during the ultimate off season of Covid! Links: Riana Ang-Canning - https://teaspoonofadventure.com/ Mathi Thayanan’s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - https://thecuriousexperience.com/ Theodora Chatzipavlidis’s app Velout - https://www.velout.app Episode 378 Seoul Trip Report: Spontaneous Budget Travel to South Korea notaballerina.com/378 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/403 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ireland and the Irish - we all have a story to tell, right? In this episode I get the insider stories from Ireland - both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - from three brilliant guests who all agreed to answer questions about why they love living there, their favourite traditions, what surprises visitors and what we as travellers need to know before we go. What I loved most about speaking with these Ireland locals is the variety of their answers - I thought I knew a lot about this part of the world but there's so much more to learn. A huge thanks to Laura, Tony and Colin for being part of this special Chats with Locals episode. Links: Thanks to sponsor, Slowly - download Slowly to start building genuine friendships today -available for free on the App Store and Google Play - https://notaballerina.com/slowly Laura Pakenham on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laurajpakenham/ Laura’s book "Irish: History and culture through language" - https://amzn.to/3ST7Z6b Colin Johnston’s website https://racingdaydreams.com/ And huge thanks to Tony O’Sullivan 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/402 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About one in ten jobs across the globe are in the travel industry, but from the hundreds of conversations I've had over the years, I've learnt that the paths to working in tourism and travel are many and varied! In this episode I chat with four people who've found their way into this industry through very different ways. First up, Russell True describes how he ended up having a lifetime career in the dude ranch accommodation and experience industry; then I speak with Mathi Thayanan who now runs his own travel company in Sri Lanka but didn't always plan to do this. Jana Marie Bald then explains her career path from agricultural science to tourism (not what I'd expected!) and finally, Aabiskar Thapa describes how from growing up near Pokhara, Nepal and seeing tourists on the trail, he took a circuitous route to ending up working in travel himself. Links: Russell True of the True Ranch Collection - https://trueranchcollection.com/ Mathi’s business in Sri Lanka, The Curious Experience - https://thecuriousexperience.com/ Jana’s app Ørth - https://www.oerth.life/ Sharing Seeds in Nepal - https://linktr.ee/sharing.seeds 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/401 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 400 ... what?! Back in 2016, I certainly didn't imagine I'd reach Episode 400, and yet, here we are. It seemed something to celebrate so I asked my dear friend Sasha Wasley along to ask me 40 questions for 400 episodes (aren't you all lucky I didn't opt for 400 questions?!). Some of the topics I especially enjoyed discussing with Sasha were my long trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian railway, some of the changes in the way I travel since I started the podcast over a decade ago, and my not-so-thoughtful (perhaps?) love of Disneyland. She even asked me which episode I think all listeners should skip! It was a great chat covering a whole variety of thoughtful travel topics and we laughed a lot, too. Enjoy! Links: Sasha Wasley’s website - https://sashawasley.com/ Sasha's newest novel - The Society of Literary Marauders - https://amzn.to/4wWEejX Sasha's books for younger readers, under Ash Harrier - https://ashharrier.com/ Ten Year Anniversary episode - notaballerina.com/387 Paul Theroux interview in Episode 214 - notaballerina.com/214 Other interviews with me - Episode 90 notaballerina.com/90, Episode 100 notaballerina.com/100 and Episode 240 notaballerina.com/240 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/400 *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.