This special episode is the audio of the live-streamed February 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting with author Hannah Kent about her book "Always Home, Always Homesick" - https://amzn.to/3Kxcb7M

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

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NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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We often focus on the visual when we travel ... after all, travellers go sightseeing, not "sound-hearing" or "taste-tasting"! But when we look back on our travel memories, it's often a smell, taste, sound or feel that actually has the most long-lasting impact.

In this episode we hear from three travellers about their own experiences with non-visual senses, starting off with travel writer Tom Sykes, who also emphasises why this is important for writer as well. I then chat with Hannah Ballint about some of her fondest travel memories, which often involves sound and smell, across Vietnam, the United States and Australia. Finally, Ethan Kavanagh takes us through some of his highlights of a trip to Ireland with a focus on the feel and taste, too.

Links:

• Tom Sykes - https://tomgsykes.co.uk/
• Tom’s new book (coming March 2026) - The Years of Travelling Anxiously - https://amzn.to/4cyr2L1
• Tom’s book recommendation, Sven Lindqvist’s Exterminate All The Brutes - https://amzn.to/4u1LAlo
• Hannah Balint - https://www.hannahbalintcoaching.com
• Ethan Kavanagh - The Perth Tourist - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-perth-tourist/id1823861279
• Ethan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/noisepilotau/
• 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/384

*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.

One of the most memorable parts of travel is the people that we meet - not just the friends we make or the people we stay with but also the incidental encounters along the way. Speaking with people on our travels is one of the ways we learn the most about the places we're visiting and it's amazing how long these people stay in our minds, even when we don't know their names.

In this episode I share some of my own small but memorable encounters, as well as including stories from four guests. Eryn Gordon starts us off with a tale from Thailand, where the people are stereotypically friendly and she proves it to be true. Amy Willis then shares a place she goes where it's easy to make a connection with the local people wherever you are. Nomad Bianca Rappaport explains how she's managed to both make and maintain connections during her years of housesitting in many places around the world, and finally Heidi Brown highlights one of the big benefits of repeated visits to a beloved place.

Links:

• Eryn Gordon’s website Earth to Editorial - https://earthtoeditorial.com/
• Eryn's TEDx Talk on “What it means to be a good traveler” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQYSdm-5ps
• Amy Willis from Ker & Downey https://kerdowney.com/
• Amy's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amynwillis/
• Bianca Rappaport Website: https://wanderwell.club/
• Bianca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wanderwellclub -
• Heidi Brown - https://www.heidikristinbrown.com/
• Heidi’s memoir The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self - https://amzn.to/44Mky6T
• 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/383

*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.