Travltalking

It's the last episode of season 2! To wrap up a great season we sat down in the studio with our contributor and shoestring traveller Abbey Christensen to talk about travelling on a budget. Abbey has just travelled through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Hungary - you name it! - all on a tight budget, and shares her top tips with us on travltalk.co. Rhiannon, Abbey and Jo discuss when to stay in a hostel and when to stay in an Airbnb, how to save money eating without sacrificing experiencing the local cuisine, how far in advance to plan and book to make the most of your trip, and travelling between different countries and cities without breaking the bank.

This podcast is dedicated to the Lonely Planet, without which, the road of travelling off the beaten track would have never been paved. Pauli and Rhiannon met on the corner of Huntington Beach Rd in California, when they were in their early twenties. Pauli is from Austria and Rhiannon is from Australia. Since that chance meeting, and after sharing a flat on Newport Beach during their student exchange at the University of California, Irvine, they have travelled to 18 countries together, including Mexico, Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia and also learned so much about one another's culture along the way, despite being from opposite sides of the world and not speaking the same common language. 16 years later, Pauli has just joined Rhiannon and the Travltalk team as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining, Pauli worked as a senior exec in the finance team at Telekom Austria, where he managed the different regions and territories within them. It was an easy decision to join Travltalk, as it was always a dream of Pauli and Rhiannon's to have a hostel, or build something that connected them to travel - and the excitement of discovering new places, exploring and getting off the beaten track. This episode takes listeners on a transformation - starting back at a time when the Lonely Planet was the only reliable source of information on the road, and was and still is adored by world travellers. It also gives an insight to how people grow as travellers over time and reveals that while the destination may change, it's all about a discovery of hidden treasures, cultures, experiences and the stories you get to tell once you return home, but above all the memories you end up with those whom you've met along the way.

This week we're talking to Emiliano about his spontaneous decision to move to New Zealand from his home country of Argentina. From not knowing where New Zealand was or knowing what a hostel was to travelling through Asia and moving his entire life to New Zealand, it's been an interesting journey! 

Have you ever watched a film so beautiful it made you want to book flights to that place immediately? For Mitch that film was Call Me By Your Name, Luca Guadagnino's 2017 coming-of-age drama set in northern Italy. After painstaking research, Mitch spent a week exploring Crema and the surrounding towns, even making it to Elio's secret place. Rhiannon and Mitch discuss how he researched the locations, where he stayed, how he got around a much less travelled area of Italy, travelling to film locations sustainably, and the surprising lack of peach trees!

Summer is in full swing and what better way to spend it than a road trip - whether it's California in a convertible, south east Asia on a motorbike or Europe in a van.    This week we're talking to our contributor Ellyse who is currently travelling Europe in a van with her partner. We deep-dive on buying a van, what it's like driving in continental Europe, where to park, what to pack, insurance, and all the costs and details. 

Ever found yourself lost in life? Suddenly after a job ends unexpectedly, or as a result of a break up, you simply don't know what to do next. It's not uncommon, and in fact many people find travelling aimlessly for a while can recharge the batteries and alter their perspective in ways they couldn't achieve when in a routine back at home. We hear from Gabi, who after 12 years living a comfortable life working in London, was made redundant and decided to venture out to Australia, India and Nepal - all places she once never dreamed of going. We are also joined by James, who took a work sabbatical and travelled South Africa and Asia, talks about how travelling can sometimes bring on challenges you don't get in your 'normal' life, yet it is those moments of struggle that can turn into triumph when you realise you can actually do something you thought you couldn't - whether it's a yoga retreat with no yoga experience or climbing a mountain that you maybe weren't well prepared for.    

For those of us who travel, experiencing the local culture of a place is what appeals most. As the European Summer rolls in, so does the festival season. There's pretty much a festival for whatever happens to be your passion - whether it's a Golden Retriever Dog festival in Scotland, Weekend Jazz Sessions in the park in Lisbon or the more famous cultural celebrations like Oktoberfest or the Tomatina Festival in Spain. We also spend a bit of time with Josh Gibbs - who is currently on his 3rd art residency in China and gives us an insight in to what it's like to live amongst a different culture and get close to both the people and the architectural design and origins of a place.

For our last Travltalking episode of the season we'll be hearing from Arianna, a Brit on a student exchange at the University of Adelaide. Hear what exchange life is like, her criteria for picking a place to study and her tips if you're interested in finding your University experience abroad. We also hear from our photo journalist, Thom, recently back from The Vatican in Rome. Thom is a Doctor in his day job, but talks about his experience as one of our original Travltalk contributors over the last 2 months, covering places like Brussels, Bologna, Liverpool and Madrid.

A true traveller loves to get off the beaten track. In this episode we hear Rhiannon's account of being among the last to sneak in to the Buzludzha Monument - also know as the UFO - near Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. Yet a place doesn't have to be exotic to be alternative. We also hear from Jen Leonard who discovered a different side of Australia when she went to the Northern Territory - and somehow ended up in an edition of Boars and Babes magazine.   

Have you always dreamed of a trip Down Under, but wondered the key things you need to know? Like - can you go to Ramsay St. Does it really exist? And how can you do the Blue Mountains in a day and see all the best views? In our first segment, we speak to Travltalk contributor Jo Brook, who is recently back from a trip to Australia and has also joined the Travltalk team as Operations Director.  In the second half of our show, we hear from Justin de Kock, who is a South African living in London on a Dutch passport. If you are in a similar position, hear first hand what you need to know if you are on an EU passport in London and want to stay put. And we also find out what this means for Brits planning a longer stint in Europe...

Ever considered packing everything up and starting life afresh in a new foreign country? Could you hack the culture shock and would you miss home? Find out what it's really like when Rhiannon muses on her own experiences living in Poland and India. Later in the show Rhiannon talks to Jon Aspin, who hails from Radelaide, Australia and has spent the last 8 years living as an ex pat in Vietnam. Listen to his take on the experience and decide if you might want to give it a go.

Ever wondered how you could get paid to travel? Well there's so many ways you can... Find out from Gene, originally from LA, California who built and opened a hostel in Lake Ohrid, Macedonia, and a travel nanny from Australia, Ellyse who gets paid to go on luxury holidays around Europe on weekends with her family.

This Valentine's Day we are releasing a special Travltalking podcast episode to celebrate the solo traveller! Who needs a date when you've got the world as a travel partner!? We challenge the misconceptions about solo travel - that you'll get lonely, or it will cost more and also look at what makes the perfect travel buddy on the road.  

How does it really stack up to move your life from New Zealand or Australia to London, as a professional? Is it easy, what do you need to know before you come and can anyone do it? We hear from Shiv, who left his job at Deloitte behind to try his luck in London and shares his wisdom, as well as Bianca, who helps Aussie and Kiwi teachers transition in to London based roles.    

Welcome to Travltalking, hosted by Rhiannon Monks, the official podcast of Travltalk. Each week we'll be exploring the different sides of alternative travel from those who have been there and lived to tell the tale.  In our first episode we are joined by Hayley and Maddie, both travellers from Australia who are now living in London, but spend every opportunity they can jet-setting off to new destinations around Europe over the weekend.   Hear how Maddie covered 17 countries and 27 flights in one year and what her tips are if you are looking to do the same.