The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
Where does your wanderlust lead you?
To Melbourne’s cafes or the vast deserts of the Empty Quarter, a New Zealand vineyard or the pavements of New York… what’s your neighbourhood?
Join travel journalists and editors Kirstie Bedford and Belinda Jackson for inspiring stories and inside information from across the world.
Website https://theworldawaits.au
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The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
EP 61 Stargazing around the world; best Aussie towns & making travel memories
When was the last time you really soaked up the night sky? Spotted a full moon? Admired the Milky Way? Saw an aurora?
Marnie Ogg joins us to talk about astrotourism. Marnie designs and leads stargazing tours, and she is also the founder of the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, which educates people about light pollution. So stay with us to learn the best places on Earth to go stargazing, aurora hunting and spotting all sorts of celestial bodies. See darkskytraveller.com.au
We also reveal the best little town in Australia: it's official, with the winner of the Top Tourism Town Awards, and we've got some tips about how to make the best memories when you travel. See toptourismtowns.com.au
Finally, it's giveaway time, thanks to Lonely Planet - win a guidebook to Vietnam, or their new book, Stargazing Around the World: A Tour of the Night Sky. To be in the running, email us at hello@theworldawaits.au
Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au
Welcome to The World
SPEAKER_01:Awaits. Travel tales to inspire your wanderlust. I'm Kirsty Bedford, journalist, editor and travel writer. And I'm Belinda Jackson, author, travel journalist and columnist, and we're your weekly co-hosts. Welcome back to The World Awaits. How are you all? Hi everyone. How are you, Kirsty? I'm all good, but do tell us where you are at the moment, Belle. Well, I'm recording this at home in Melbourne where it's raining. But while you're listening, I'm on the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greece. So next week, I will be popping into your ears from Bulgaria. So that's all very exciting. I can't wait to tell you all about it. I can't wait to hear about it. It's going to be so good. This week, first up, we have yet another giveaway. So we've got two copies of Lonely Planets Stargazing Around the World, A Guide to the Night Skies. They are beautiful books. They're valued at$49.99 each, and they include guides to 45 of the best dark sky sites and national parks in which to stargaze. And they've got tips for observers. So if you'd like to win a copy of Stargazing Around the World, simply drop us a line at hello at theworldawaits.au and tell us why you'd like to win. And this giveaway ties in beautifully with this week's episode because my interview this week is exactly about that. We're all about stargazing. So stay tuned. Amazing.
SPEAKER_00:What a great prize. So a few weeks back, you may have heard us talking about Airbnb's list of the best tiny towns to visit, and you may have had fun laughing at my pronunciations. But this week... That's okay, we forgive you. This week, we're visiting Aussie towns with the official Australia's Top
SPEAKER_01:Tourism Town Awards. Yeah, so these awards are measured by population size, along with their attractions, the amenities and the infrastructure that's designed to host travellers. So there is a competition at state and entry level. You've got to win that. And then you go into the national awards, which are held in September at Parliament House. So it's all about highlighting the great towns around Australia. and drive tourism to the communities who are doing great things for the tourism industry.
SPEAKER_00:And the winner for top tourism town is Devonport in Tassie, which is such a pretty little spot along the northwest coast of Tasmania where mountains meet the sea and the Mercy River flows. It has a new waterfront precinct and lots of parklands and is the hub of the Cradle Mountain region. And who doesn't love the Cradle Mountain region?
SPEAKER_01:Love the Cradle Mountain. Congratulations, Devonport. Of course, that's where the ferry comes in, isn't it? And we're not going to go through them all because we'll be here all day, but we're going to give you the top three of each category. So the silver award for the top tourism town went to Bendigo here in Victoria, which as everybody knows, has a rich history, gorgeous gold rush architecture. And the bronze went to Roma in Queensland, which is the heart of the Maranoa region of southwest Queensland, where the country meets the outback. So you get a taste of the outback along with the charm of country life. Oh, that
SPEAKER_00:sounds amazing. I'd like to go there. Now to the small tourism town winners and the, because this was all based on population and the gold award goes to Exmouth and WA. So here you can find the Cape Range National Park and the region is most popular for swimming with a whale shark and the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef Marine Park. And Silver went to Daylesford, known as Victoria's spa country, home to Daylesford and Hepburn Springs and the tranquil Lake Daylesford and the town has There's a very strong arts community with loads of galleries and studios and gorgeous restaurants. And stay at the Lake House if you're going there, if you want a really luxurious, amazing culinary experience. And there are also lots of little wineries and distilleries. And yeah, I just love Daylesford. I mean, it's pretty cold there most of the year, but it's so pretty. And you have those warm mineral waters to
SPEAKER_01:warm you up. Yeah, absolutely love Daylesford. And in third place was Richmond in Tassie, which is in the Coalfields. sorry, in the Coal River Valley. You know, their main attraction there is that iconic convict-built Richmond Bridge, which is just gorgeous, cobbled stone streets, boutique shops. It's so shishy. It's just, yeah, it's gorgeous. And you can enjoy all of that gorgeous, fresh Tassie produce at the local farms. And last but not least, the tiny tourism town winners. I love how Australia's smallest towns, they've got, these are towns with a population of less than 1,500 people. They're also recognized for their efforts as being great places to visit. And the top tiny town in Australia went to Huskersen on the water's edge on the New South Wales South Coast. This is in the heart of Jarvis Bay. It has 16 beaches. It's great for kayaking, free diving, marine wildlife viewing, and cultural experiences led by local Aboriginal custodians. This is such a gorgeous part of the world. I think it's totally well-deserved. I was swimming with, sort of swimming with whales in this region recently. So, yeah, I think it's well deserved. And the next one, the Silver Award, is also a favourite town of mine. The
SPEAKER_00:Silver Award for the Best Tiny Tourism Town went to Stanley and Tassie, which is at the base of the Nut, which is a cooled lava pond from an extinct volcanic plug, a very formal description there, where you'll find historic cottages and restaurants serving locally caught seafood and locally grown beef. And Bronze went to Gundaroo, which is 35 minutes from Canberra and is renowned for its amazing, gorgeous colonial architecture and also award-winning dining establishments like Grazing, which recently won its 14th Chef Hat Award. It's also got a thriving local art scene and pretty little streets which seems to be the common thread of all these towns where you can get great produce and there's quaint villages and of course you're in areas that aren't overcrowded. So grab a cuppa and sit down and peruse the list and we'll put the link in the show notes.
SPEAKER_01:You're listening to The World Awaits. Subscribe through our website at theworldawaits.au Music This week, my guest is Marnie Ogg, and we are talking about astrotourism, which is traveling to gaze to places to gaze at the night skies. Marnie designs and leads stargazing tours, and she's also the founder of the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, which educates people about light pollution. So stay with us to learn about the best places on Earth to go stargazing, aurora hunting, and spotting all sorts of celestial bodies. Marnie, welcome to The World Awaits. It's so great to have you here. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me on. It's my favourite topic. Travel with dark skulls. Perfect. Brilliant. Well, it's been kind to astrotourism. So just right at the very top, tell us what astrotourism is.
SPEAKER_00:Look, I think initially astrotourism really focused on getting those astronomy nerds, and I say that with all joy and love towards them, out into fields so that they could mount their huge telescopes, look up to the dark sky and see those wonderful stars Deep space objects, you know, far, far away galaxies and clusters of stars, etc. And I think that's where it's sort of started. But really, it's taken a little bit of a broader perspective now. And I think that's partly through the dark sky movement, where people have realised that it's not just about looking at the stars or focusing through expensive telescopes, etc. Just embracing that beautiful, dark and quiet environment. And it might be specifically to go and find something like a total solar eclipse or a comet or, you know, Perseus or all those sorts of wonderful things that happen in our night sky. Or it could just be simply sitting and soaking up. the night environment, listening to nocturnal animals, listening to frogs, just having a piece of the day that you can reflect on and really, you know, either really become very introspective or you can become very universally introspective So yeah, it's a big thing. And then there's also cultural connections as well in that. So First Nations people really embrace the night environment. That was their entertainment. And so we've started to talk a lot about cultural connection to the night sky particularly as well. So it's a very big topic now, astro-tourism.
UNKNOWN:What were they saying?
SPEAKER_01:about life, the universe and everything then on this podcast today. So tell me, how did you get involved in astrotourism? Tell us a little about yourself and where you fit into the equation.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I'm not an astronomer and I guess my love of being out in the dark really came from my father who was an amateur astronomer. He had a telescope. And if we'd go out on holidays, we spent time looking up at the night sky, looking for the first satellites, trying to find the planets, looking for the Big Dipper, all those things that you do as a kid. And it was really him and my mother, actually, who had come back from a tour in Turkey. Actually, it wasn't Turkey. I'm lying. It was Libya. And they had especially gone to Libya with all sorts of problems, aircraft falling out of the sky and campsites not working, etc. But when they got there, they were seeing an eclipse of three minutes and there were four and a half thousand people camping in this Libyan desert. People flock to it because it is such a moment of awe. and they just watch people soak this up. I've been in tourism since I was 18, really, in all sorts of avenues, flight attending, tour guiding, hotel management, et cetera. They came back and said, why don't you start Astro Tourism Company? We don't think there's anyone in Australia doing anything like this at the moment. And there's a total solar eclipsed in Australia in six years' time. And would you think about inviting Professor Fred Watson, astronomer, to host the tour? And so all those objects came together. And yeah, we've been doing it for 18 years. And Fred and I ended up getting married. So yeah. It was a successful venture. Unbelievable. Oh, my goodness. It's
SPEAKER_01:a business. It's a love. It's a love of everything, really, isn't it? It's a passion. It's definitely a passion. That sounds sensational. So you lead tours around the world. What are the most popular things that people want to see when they go, okay, night sky gazing, what is the top of the bucket list? Go on. Is it the Northern Lights?
SPEAKER_00:It is. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It is the Northern Lights, particularly for Australians. I don't know. You know, we occasionally get some Europeans and some Americans joining our tours. But for Australians, yes, of course, we can see the Aurora Australis from Tasmania, if we're lucky. And we've had some really good dealings over the last couple of months. But actually getting into the Arctic is really... memorable for many reasons for Australians. And I think partly, you know, getting there in winter, experiencing that deep, cold, polar nights, you know, not even sometimes not seeing the sun. We've been up there during polar nights and not seen the sun for the entire period that we've been there. And that's just a really raw and different experience for many Australians, getting on dog sleds, et cetera. But then when you do get that majestic experience green glow above you that's dancing like a ballerina or floating like a butterfly. And we've seen some dramatic aurora that you couldn't replicate with modern fireworks or drones or anything. It's just awe-inspiring. And I think that moment of seeing it is something that stays with many people. And it is on many people's bucket lists. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:They are definitely the show ponies of the sky. My question then is, do we have to go to such extremes to go to the polar night and the polar darkness to go stargazing? Does it have to be exotic like Svalbard or the Atacama Desert? You know... I have to share this. Quite a few years ago, I was on a ship on the Norwegian coast, up there looking at the Northern Lights. really not the best place to do photos, of course, because the ship is moving. So your camera's always going to be moving. We're there for the experience. The funny thing was that there was a couple of Australians, we all started chatting, and one guy pulled his phone out and showed us this astonishing photo. And we're like, oh my goodness, did you just take that now? Because there's not a lot of action going on. He said, no, my friend from Tassie just sent it to me. And so, you know, everyone had spent, you know, a substantial load of of money and time to get to those places. What about in our own backyard? Do we value our own stargazing experiences and
SPEAKER_00:should we? We don't. To back up a bit, it was about seven years ago that we'd taken a tour group through Europe and we tried several times to go stargazing. When we got back, we were late home one evening. I went down to put the chickens to bed. and came back and above me was the most glorious night sky and it was better than anything we'd seen while we were away, you know. And I kept having this experience and it was when I said to Fred, you know, we've talked about creating a dark sky place in Australia. There's nowhere that I know of that's really fully valuing the beauty of our night sky because as a continent we have a relatively dark continent with very few people End. The blade of the Milky Way that runs above us is actually probably better than anything else you can see anywhere else in the world. It certainly can't be seen from the northern hemisphere, what we can see. And nobody's doing anything to protect that space. So that's where I've become involved with the Dark Sky Alliance, creating that and doing a lot of dark sky education and actually trying to create pockets of environments where we can go to see these beautiful dark skies and appreciate these pockets of beauty You're absolutely right that we don't value it and I think that's a global thing generally. We think our day ends at dusk, we go and turn our house lights on and we go inside and we forget about the day. There are many beautiful phenomenon that happen above us in Australia and we can see the aurora australis. It's not quite the same because you're actually looking across the horizon and seeing the bottom of the aurora rather than seeing it directly above your head. But it's still beautiful. We've got the big, the dark emu, the constellation that the Indigenous Australians saw. So rather than seeing the dots and looking for the Southern Cross, et cetera, they actually saw the dark patches in the night sky. And that's absolutely fabulous, watching that rise above your head and seeing this big, beautiful emu coming across the night sky. Thank you. I think it's a matter of, and then we've also got the beautiful clear night skies, you know, comparison to Northern Europe, et cetera. We have mostly clear night skies. So these are activities that we could be doing almost anywhere in Australia, any time of the year and seeing, you know, fabulous things, but we don't do it as much as we should. The big draw card that's coming up, of course, is that we've got total solar eclipses in 2028 and 2032, which will basically go completely across Australia. Having experienced those a couple of times around the world and then seeing what happens with the communities that host these dark sky events or these eclipse events, you suddenly get this huge engagement of people realising how special the United Environment is or the space environment, the planet trees, the planets around us, etc. I think that maybe 2028, we might start engaging a little bit more and see what happens there. But so many beautiful experiences to take place in Australia. Yeah, you're right. In
SPEAKER_01:that recent Aurora action that we had down here in Melbourne, it was incredible. The amount of people that, because I live near the coast, so I literally went to the end of the street, you know, about half a kilometre away, and there, well, I was just being served up on a platter, but that's interesting that you're explaining where it's appearing in the eye, because I have seen the northern lights, and as you say, they're overhead, so that's interesting. That's a really interesting experience. But you're right. I agree with you. I think we don't protect our night skies. We don't have that awareness of light pollution as well. If you had to name your top... viewing area. So I'm going to ask you for a little list on this one. I'm going to give you Australian and then international as well. So Australia, where would you go where you can have a great experience? You can go pretty much outside anywhere because we've got such a concentration of population and so many dark spaces in between on the ground as well as up in the sky. So where would you go that... I've got a few in my back pocket. I always have this walk down on the... in southern Victoria that I've been planning to do at Wilson's Prom forever. Yeah, yes. I haven't been there myself, but I'd love to do it, yeah. Yeah, fantastic. All right, maybe it'll happen. So where would you recommend people strike out for in Australia?
SPEAKER_00:Gosh, it's a hard question because, you know, as I said, you can pretty much go anywhere. I think it's also, it's not just about the night sky. It's about... And this is what I always plan with my trips. It's about the environment that you're in. So one of the places that comes to mind, which I've had a lot to do with, is Milporinka. And it's a tiny little ghost town which is being converted into a tourist town. It's historical. It's on what's called Sturt Steps. It's on the corner country, so you can go out and travel in the footsteps of Sturt. But it's a gold mining town with a bank and a pub and not much else, except we've created a dark sky park out there. Not officially designated, but a little park which is dedicated to the night sky. And the moment that I went out there and saw this space, I was just immediately in love because you've got that red soil there. You've got emus around at dusk. You've got this historical site, you know, colonial historical site. You've got a very strong Indigenous connection. And the star, because it's so dry there, the stars really pop out. You know, it's a crisp, clear sky. Sometimes on the coast, you might get a bit of humidity. You might see it less clear there. So I think that would be the one that's sort of top of my list. Of course, then there's the Warrumbungles with the crooked mountains and, you know, the beautiful sandstone reflections as the sun goes down. I think he's pushing it. Arcaroola, which is just recently designated as the Dark Sky Sanctuary. Up in the north of South Australia. Yes. Yes. That trail is really lovely. So, yeah, there's so many beautiful places really.
SPEAKER_01:And then what about internationally? Because, you know, we go to Scandinavia a lot, the Atacama Desert, which I think probably is so high. I mean, I think Chile is another hotspot for stargazing, isn't it? And the Atacama has those similar conditions to what you're talking about in the Kwanaka
SPEAKER_00:here in Australia. Yeah. So the Atacama Desert really is the place for... global astronomy. That's where they're setting up all these billion dollar telescopes and doing huge projects. And it's because it's high, dry and clear. Although, you know, climate change is actually changing that as well. So they're starting to experience rains for the first time in hundreds of years and all sorts of aspects like that. The Atacama is absolutely stunning to go and see, and of course you've got all the beautiful villages and things through there, and just the paradox of having nothing there and driving for hours without seeing anything is amazing. Some of the places that I've really enjoyed have been in America, actually, even though they're not the darkest places because they have quite a bad light pollution issue in America. Places like Chaco Canyon and Bryce Canyon, some of the canyons are just beautiful. And again, I think it's that feeling of feeling connected both to the sky and to the land that makes those areas particularly special. Yeah, I think they're probably, yeah, some of the places in America would be high on my list, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I would not necessarily have picked the US for that just because of the distribution of the population and therefore the light pollution that goes with it. But you do lead tours. Where are you heading on to in the next 12 months?
SPEAKER_00:Well, we're back up to the Arctic. This will be our seventh trip up there in January and then over to Iceland and then Greenland. So it's going to be a very cold winter for us. We'll be away for a four and a half weeks up there doing all things astronomy. That sounds great. Some of the other projects that we've got in mind are actually to... We focus not just on the astro stuff happening in the sky, but the history behind it. We're going to Poland and looking at Copernicus and Johannes Hervelius, who built the longest telescope in history. That was a 100-foot long telescope, which didn't work, but he was very clever in putting it together. So we go on trips like that. And then another aspect that we're looking at is Japan, which has a big space agency and some big telescopes, not necessarily in the best places because Japan's particularly light polluted as well. But the very aspect of a telescope is always beautiful because they're in some of the most pristine areas of the world just because they don't want the population around it as much as possible. So there's always something beautiful
SPEAKER_01:to see. I was just actually reading about a new one in Cyprus, Trudos, which has just been built by a group of Australian architects, which is particularly fantastic. And it just opened recently in an area that's, you know, set away from the population and just this long blade of a building that the roof slides back and opens up to the skies. And it sounds magical. So... Now, the last question which we ask all our guests is, I'm up for your most bizarre travel experience. So should I, before you offered to tell me about hairless dog concerts and... possibly, and always dying. So I'm freaking to know what it is. Is there any celestial bodies
SPEAKER_00:involved in this one? My most weird experience doesn't necessarily involve celestial bodies, but it does involve astronomy. So it was an astro tour. In fact, it was called Astro Musica. And we were on this tour and it was combining astronomy and music. And we were actually in Estonia. We just come across a Macizask, who is an Estonian composer, and he'd actually started the Estonian revolution by creating a crowd of singers. So they had 100,000 singers calling for revolution before they changed out of the USSR. And so we had somehow magically got an invitation to go to his conservatorium, which he had also created as a planetarium. And I was thinking, oh, this is fantastic. It's an observatory. He'll do a concert for us. It's all astronomy-themed music that he creates mostly. This ticks all the boxes for our astronomy people. We drove two and a half hours to the middle of nowhere, got to this manor house that had become dilapidated, and I'd gone off to pay the bill for the concert for the group and came back and walked into this room and thought I was in a school– house or a prison or something it was just gray and dilapidated there was broken plastic chairs and there was a piano in the middle without any panels on it was just basically the notes and he was sort of doing this concert and it was good but it was really weird um and i sort of kept looking at everybody thinking what is going on here anyway he um Magically, through one of the pieces, he turned off the lights, and above us, he had placed those glow-in-the-dark stickers, 2,222 of them, exactly in the right places for a constellation. So that was the planetarium. I was like, okay. Yeah.
UNKNOWN:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Anyway, we were sort of coming to the end of the concert and he said this was going to be his finale and he wanted to do something really special for us. So we started playing some notes on the piano and his wife came in and started playing those notes, just basic, that basic riff. And then he'd pick up a tambourine and play something and then a recorder and then the didgeridoo. And he was sort of just doing all this coming backwards and forwards. But the piece de resistance was a Mexican hairless dog that basically finished the piece by walking up and down on the keyboards. And I was like, okay, well, we've just driven two and a half hours to the middle of nowhere to see plastic stars on the roof. What are my guests going to say about this? And anyway, he said, look, if you've enjoyed the concert, I've got some CDs that you could buy. And my group just tore up to the front, bought every single CD, were paying for pieces of paper to be signed for him because it was such a moment that we could never, ever have experienced anywhere else in the world. But yeah. But it was his passion. If you ever listen to his music, he's actually very passionate about the Australian southern sky and has written a lot of music about it. And this has been performed as well in Australia with groups under the stars, which is beautiful. So another connection to astro-tourism. Real stars as opposed to…
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, real stars, not plastic stars. Love it. Okay. Well, we will put his name in the drip notes so that listeners can track him down.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, he's sadly just passed away, so they won't see him performing live, but his music is very interesting and very astronomical.
SPEAKER_01:And will live on. Marnie, thank you so much for joining us on The World Awaits. We've absolutely enjoyed talking about astrotourism and thank you for doing the good work in protecting our skies too. Thank you so much. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:It's so fascinating to learn about dark sky sanctuaries and learn how we can preserve
SPEAKER_01:Our tip this week is from Trulie, which provides eSIMs in more than 200 locations around the world. Trulie is sharing some tips about how you can make the best memories when you travel. So their first suggestion, which I thought was quite interesting, Kirsty, is to take a photograph every five minutes while you're traveling. I mean, that sounds a bit extreme, although I do do it for work. Drives my family crazy. But they say that by doing this, it significantly minimizes the chances of becoming lost because of the visual trail you leave behind you. So when shooting regularly, you're creating a geotagged photo trail that kind of works like digital breadcrumbs, so you can retrace your steps. And sharing geotagged photos with friends or on social media also lets them know the various locations you visit in real time. So it is a precautionary measure that somebody knows you're aware about.
SPEAKER_00:I do it too and it drives everyone nuts. In fact, the boys were taking my phone off me when we were in Europe and actually counting and it was a running joke to see how many photos I'd taken and each, you know... A couple of times a day. Oh, let's see how many photos mum's taken now. And it says other strategies for orientation are getting familiar with traditional maps and knowing landmarks in the area. So take time to study and understand the physical maps of the destination, because this in general gives a broader understanding of the area that would not require constant digital referencing. I did this last time we were in Europe, actually. I found it so helpful. Plus, I'm a bit old school and I just love maps. So we would get them at the hotels. You know, they'd always seem to have one. a map sort of sitting there for you even if it's just a little paper map an A3 paper map and I love doing it marking out where we're going
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, look, I am a raging map nerd as well. And as you say, it gives context as to where you're going. So why you don't walk here, it's because there's a big mountain there or you can see borders as well through rivers and things. Love a good map. Another tip to
SPEAKER_00:make the best memories is to, of course, ask locals for directions because it gives meaning to the experience. And besides, they might actually help you find a better or easier way
SPEAKER_01:to get where you're going. If you can both speak a common language. That is, yeah, but yes. That's one that you've got to keep in mind. Also, they suggest taking mental pictures of your surroundings. I quite like this because sometimes if you stop, you know, and you put your mind into what you're looking at and you take a snapshot and you hold it in your mind, it's about being more conscious about the surroundings. And so you can capture a lot more detail that your picture might not be able to. So, you know, taking in all the senses, what the smells are, what you're hearing. It's not so easy if you're traveling with whingy kids, but, you know, sometimes you can just leave them behind at the hotel for a bit, assuming they're old enough or you have a reliable babysitting service,
SPEAKER_00:which I've done. And truly also says keeping a travel journal as another piece of advice so you can reflect on the journey and document your experiences. So, I mean, that's what Insta's for, right? But anyway, but the journal does actually go deeper than that because it says that you can write down observations, thoughts and feelings a bit more detail than you can on Insta or do sketches or audio recordings. I do love that idea. it. Like when you sent me a video from Iman of the picking of the rose leaves. Do you remember that, Belle? And there were some goats bleating in the background. Actually, the sounds from that video, I just loved it so much. It really gave me a sense of place. And I think that's what I love about a good audio recording.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, well, you know, I do love a good audio message. And it's faster and more personal than texting as well. And you're not just sort of sitting there, you know, thumping away at your phone and sending a message out. So, yeah, yeah. I love having, well, you know, it's just another chat really, isn't it? You know I love a good chat. Jeez, watch out if you're
SPEAKER_00:travelling with Belle, right? She might
SPEAKER_01:actually record you. Yeah, but I think that that's the blessing of travelling alone. Like, you know, when I was in Spain, standing at the bar because the single person stands at the bar, that's where you go to eat. You don't take a table because a table is for like four people or ten people. You know, Spanish travellers love the group. But when you are on your own, you're at the bar. And, you know, you get to talk to the people standing beside you, talk to the staff if they've got time. And it adds all of that context and depth to your experiences. And even if you're not talking... You're observing, you're watching how the place works. So one of the tapas bars I was leaning up against in Seville, it's got such a strong mental photo and memory for me. It's called El Rinconchilo. Oh my God, I knew I'd mess this up. It's called El Rinconchilo. I'm sure I've messed that up. It is easy to find because it's the oldest tapas bar in the city. It's been serving tapas since 1670. And they don't give you a bill. If you're standing at the bar, they just write your order on chalk in front of you, on the bar in front of you, And when you've paid, they wipe it off and they start all over again. So just being there alone, watching the theatre and the tradition of the bar has left me with such strong memories that I just imprinted in my mind. And then, of course, chucked it in a story later on.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. I make it my mission when we travel, especially with the kids, to do something that we interact with the locals because, you know, even like a bike ride around local villages or somewhere where you can see local life and not just see it, but making sure that you're going to places where you're buying something, the money goes back directly to those communities. If you'd like to help support our production costs, you can buy us a coffee at coffee.com slash the world awaits. That's ko-fi.com slash the world awaits so we can continue to bring you inspirational travel interviews with the world's best. Next week, we're chatting to Belle about train travel through Greece and Bulgaria. She's just back from a slow journey from Athens to central Bulgaria with Eurail, travelling with Greek-Australian cook Ala Matas. So expect some spectacular food recommendations and scenery in that chat.
SPEAKER_01:And we also love ratings and reviews on Apple Podcasts. Click on our profile, scroll down to the bottom to ratings and reviews and hit those five stars if you're feeling it. And if you're on Spotify, go to our main page, click on the three dots underneath our photo or just drop us a line at hello at theworldawaits.au. We'd love to hear from you. That's a wrap for The World Awaits this week. Click to subscribe anywhere you listen to your favourite pods. And where can people find you, Kirsty?
SPEAKER_00:I'm at Kirsty Wrights on Instagram. That's K-I-R-S-T-I-E Wrights, W-R-I-T-E-S. And where can people find you, Belle?
SPEAKER_01:You can find me at globalsalsa.com or on Insta at global underscore salsa.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks
SPEAKER_01:for listening.
SPEAKER_00:See you next week.
