Indie Travel Podcast

In the last podcast we talked about how awesome South Australia is, but we ran out of time just talking about Adelaide and Kangaroo Island. And there's even more to the state than that! Northwest of Adelaide is the Eyre Peninsula, where you can swim with sharks or tuna, visit national parks, ancient caves and the Nullarbor Plain among other adventures. If you're looking for places called Eyre (perhaps you're a Charlotte Brontë fan?) Lake Eyre might be worth a visit. The lake is dry for most of the time but occasionally fills with water, especially after times of heavy rain in the north. The flooding in Queenstown this year and last has meant that the lake has had water in it for the last couple of years, and in 2008 we were lucky enough to see the lake for ourselves. If you don't have pilots as family members you can do a scenic flight from Coober Pedy, William Creek, Marree, Adelaide or even Brisbane, though it's a rather expensive day out. You could also choose a tour by 4x4 that takes you to the edge of the lake to see it from the ground. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/

Let's be honest - South Australia isn't Australia's biggest drawcard. The states of New South Wales and Victoria host the biggest and most vibrant cities, Queensland has the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, and the Northern Territory has Uluru to draw people in. Even Western Australia has the advantage of being a short flight to many Asian cities, so is a popular stopover on the way to the eastern states. But South Australia is there in the middle, largely ignored by tourists to the country. That's okay though, they're the ones missing out! There's a lot to do in South Australia, and we're not just saying that because it's packed with wine regions. Adventure sports are on the rise, and there's plenty of opportunity to get up close and personal with the wildlife.

Some small travel items are essentials, others are luxuries. Choose the ones that will work for you. For more information, links and photos, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com.

We couldn't resist a little navel-gazing as 2010 finished up. In this podcast we relive our favourite moments in each country we spent time in this year. (There's no photos in this episode due to time constraints. Apologies!)

Round-the-world travel is nothing unusual for Kiwi, Dave Dean. He tells us about his travel in Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. For more information, please see http://indietravelpodcast.com/travel/roundtheworld-travel-dave-dean/ Dave's website is: http://whatsdavedoing.com

London is, quite simply, an amazing city: a meltingpot of cultures and experiences. It’s the home of dozens of world-class galleries as well as boasting thousands of excellent restaurants, theatres, fashion houses and attractions. London is a sprawling metropolis that grew up along the banks of the River Thames, which weaves through the city like a serpent. The M25 motorway marks the outermost boundaries of the city, but most of the city's attractions are a lot more central. Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are located on the northern bank of the river, with the London Eye and the aquarium just on the other side. A wander along Southbank will take you past a wide variety of theatres and galleries, and you’ll soon see the Tower of London (on the north side) and Tower Bridge. From Big Ben, Mayfair and Hyde Park are to the west, Regent's Park is to the northwest, the City of London is along the river to the east, and Greenwich (of Greenwich Mean Time fame) is to the southeast. For more, please visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/europe/england or http://indietravelpodcast.com/england/london-travel-guide/

Laos is a truly beautiful country, with high, mist-covered mountains dropping into steep river valleys. We were lucky to have a lightening-fast 10-day tour through Northern Thailand and Laos. And we loved it... We had no problems checking out of Thailand, and caught a small boat across the river to Laos. Border control there was hectic and badly organised but, although it took forever, we had no hassles. Every ATM in the country was out of operation for the first two days were were in Laos, so we were glad Dave had recommended we carry cash in from Thailand. For photos and video, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/laos/travel-laos-luang-prabang-vientiene

Travel can be stressful, physically, mentally and emotionally. You're constantly moving, and being exposed to new foods and diseases, which puts stress on your body. Your mind is being exercised as well, as you plan your trip and deal with challenges as they arrive - maybe you have to speak a new language, or alter your plans at the last minute. All of these stressors will have an impact on your emotional health, which is subject to its own problems - after all, you have to interact with people, which can be tough on your emotions. For more, visit

World travel as a way to cut down your debt? That's exactly what this family started doing a few years ago. We talk family travel, work and travel and debt reduction. When they set off, the plan was to work in Cairns, Australia and make the most of the amazing diving opportunities right next to their apartment. What they didn't realise was that having a "dependent" (a child, in non-government parlance) meant they couldn't get the work and holiday visas they were relying on. With no time to change their plans, they still went to Australia hoping to make something work. It was next to impossible, so they moved down to Auckland, New Zealand where they were quickly able to find work and -- although the diving didn't happen -- a lifestyle. Travelling from there the three of them found a workable pattern of travel and Baker put a pile of work into his personal finance blog, Man Vs Debt. The family proved it was possible to cut down their US consumer debt and travel the world with a child. To read more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

Travel Cambodia with us: we visit Phnom Penh, Battambang, Phnom Penh and cross borders on the way to and from Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

If you travel for any length of time, it's likely that at some point you'll encounter rain. Be prepared for it. A lightweight or heavy-duty jacket. If you're heading into summer, just pack a lightweight shell for emergencies. But if you'll be spending a winter or a rainy season somewhere, get a really good waterproof layer. Goretex is a good choice. Consider something that has a warm inner shell and a waterproof outer shell, then you can mix and match depending on the weather. An umbrella. Definitely not an essential, but if you plan on spending a lot of time in cities it might be worth carting one around. I like to be able to put it up and down without changing my clothes or carrying around a wet jacket (for some reason, a wet umbrella isn't as bad). We just have one between the two of us. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

Two subjects today: Denver, Colorado and community-centered tourism with Milan Doshi from the Queen Anne BnB located in the city. We talk about waste and ecological developments in hospitality then move on and get a great overview of things to see and do in the "mile high city".

Washing your clothes while travelling is something you'll have to do if you're travelling for more than a week. And even if you're travelling for a week, you can pack lighter if you're prepared to do a little bit of washing along the way. The most important thing to remember when travelling is to pack light. This means you need to take fewer clothes, but you should also consider what each item weighs, and how easy it will be to wash - and of course, since you will have fewer clothes with you, you'll need to wash what you do have more often. Avoid very heavy things like jeans and bulky jumpers, as they are hard to wash and even harder to dry. Leave the big towel at home and pack a sports or travel towel, which takes up a fraction of the space and dries quickly. If you're going somewhere cold, the trick is layering. Pack lightweight trousers and thermal underwear to put under them. Instead of one thick jumper, pack three thin ones - it'll weigh the same or less, you can rearrange them for a change of wardrobe, and they'll dry so much faster when you wash them. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/

Scandinavia is a fantastic region of the world. We'd been wanting to spend time there for a while, and apart from a weekend in Helsinki in 2007, didn't manage to get there until earlier this year. Mostly, we'd been put off by prices - we'd heard that everything was expensive, especially accommodation, transport and alcohol, and this had been proven correct during our brief time in Finland. But thanks to eurail.com and couchsurfing.org, we managed to have a great time on a leaner budget than we'd expected. For more, and links to everything we talk about in this show, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/

Benny the Irish Polyglot isn't your typical crazy Irishman. He spends his time completing language missions and currently speaks eight languages. Learn how to learn a language with Benny. When he graduated from university with a degree in electronic engineering, he was fluent in only one language - English. He'd studied German at school, but didn't get anywhere with it, and after six months living in Spain was in a similar situation. But one day, he made a dramatic decision - he *really* decided to learn Spanish. He cut English out of his life as much as possible (he still had to work and talk to his parents) and spent the rest of the time speaking Spanish. It was the start of an epic journey. Benny learned that the big secret to learning a language is to speak the language from day one. Don't wait until you're "ready" - you'll never feel ready. But you can communicate immediately, using what you have. In Spain, he used his body and extrapolated new words from ones he knew and ones other people used. He learned that it's important to be confident and social. Just start talking to people with confidence and it will seem like you speak better than you actually can. To start, learn some phrases (Benny likes Lonely Planet phrasebooks) and leave the grammar to later - the point isn't to speak perfectly, it's to communicate. Break each task into small pieces and use creativity to help you learn - singing, for example, will help you remember phrases faster. It can be difficult to get around the problem of people wanting to practice their English by talking with you, but it's possible. Benny always helps them by explaining how they can improve their Enlgish (websites, couchsurfing etc.) but he explains it in their language - giving him more chance to speak his target language. Download Benny's book from http://indietravelpodcast.com/fluent