This episode is a joyful collaboration with Tracy of the UK Travel Podcast.

When one of your best friends invites you to his wedding in the Lake District in England, you say yes!

We first met Cham in Cambodia - back in Episode 114 - and we've holidayed with him across Asia ever since, but meeting up in the UK to celebrate his wedding was our most exciting adventure together yet. My 14-year-old son and I took the opportunity to explore some more of north-west England and northern Wales while we were there, taking in Manchester, Liverpool, the Lake District, and northern Wales, including Wrexham and Llangollen.

In this collab with the UK Travel Podcast, Tracy interviews me about my UK experience and I describe it through a thoughtful travel lens, from our planning, our experiences and then our post-trip reflection. There's also some unexpected sandwich chat!

Links:

• Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning https://uktravelplanning.com
• And, Tracy's Global Travel Planning at https://globaltravelplanning.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/326

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you think of Australia, you're bound to imagine a few stereotypes of what life here is like: sun and sand might feature, and you will perhaps imagine we're a laidback nation of permanently relaxed people. Over the last year, the topic of what people think about Australia has come up with quite a few guests so I decided to compile an episode about these ideas.

I chat first with Michael Jensen who spent half a year here on student exchange in the 1980s, and recently returned for another months-long stint: what had changed? Quite a lot, as you can imagine, and we had an interesting chat.

Alex Zeringer, a German student now based in Ireland, came to Australia on a much more recent student program just last year, and I asked him about his impressions of my home town of Perth.

Our reputation often precedes us, and Julia Kaplan told me her ideas about Australia and its people although she hasn't yet been here - but she's met enough Aussies abroad on her travels to get a good idea.

Finally, I speak with Jules Park, who moved here from South Korea, and tells me some of her initial cultural shocks, including the tale of pink hair!

Links:

• Brent and Michael are Going Places - https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com/
• Alex Zeringer on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/
• Julie Kaplan - https://www.juliekaplan.com/
• Jules Park - Amazing Sydney Life on Instagram or TikTok - https://www.instagram.com/amazingsydneylife/ or https://www.tiktok.com/@amazingsydneylife
• 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/325

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meeting new people is one of my favourite parts of travelling, and when these chance encounters turn into long-term friendships, that's just perfection! My most recent trip, three weeks in England and Wales, came about because my son and I were invited to attend the wedding of a dear travelling friend, who we originally met in Cambodia and have also travelled with in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand - and now England!

This episode features many such friendships, but the most unique is Daniel Troia's friendship with a family in a tiny, picturesque village in the Swiss Alps. He has spent many summers with these now long-term friends, despite not having a common language when he first met them.

My second guest is Rupert Grey who tells of his very special friendship with Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam, who he first met back in 1992 when travelling briefly in Bangladesh with his family.

Finally, Tracy Collins tells me about several special friends from travelling, and in particular she highlights some of the many and varied ways you can more easily find yourself making friends when you're away from home.

Links:

• Daniel Troia’s doco “We Are All In This Together” - https://www.weareallinthistogethermovie.com/
• Rupert Grey - https://rupertgrey.co.uk/
• Rupert’s movie Romantic Road - https://www.romanticroadmov.com/
• Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning https://uktravelplanning.com
• and Global Travel Planning at https://globaltravelplanning.com
• Thoughtful Travel trip to Peru notaballerina.com/peru
• 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/324

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.