Emotional Travel: Episode 241 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

A few years back, an editor I was writing for asked me to write a series about dark tourism. Until this request of his, I didn’t even realise I’d taken part in dark tourism, but I had: by visiting difficult historical sites like the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps in southern Poland, I’d joined the ranks of travellers who don’t just have fun on their travels, but see places where atrocities have occurred.

There is nothing fun about these kind of travel experiences, and yet they are hugely important. Guests on this episode agree – and while some of their stories can be distressing, it’s so important to hear.

Show notes: Episode 241 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Emotional Travel

Some travel is for fun; other travel is for a huge range of reasons. And some travel turns out to be really emotional – that’s the kind we are looking at in Episode 241 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast.

First up, I chat with Henry Gold. He’s the son of two Holocaust survivors and tells the story of visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp with his mother when she was in her late seventies, when she could show and tell Henry and other family members about some of the horrid experiences she had there. It’s quite a story.

Next, I speak with Carolanna Lisonbee and our emotional travel story centres on Hiroshima in Japan. Carolanna also travelled there with her mother and they both found it a very important trip.

Finally, I talk to Tim Tricker about the emotional aspects of irresponsible animal tourism, when he tells me about some difficult and distressing parts of a visit to Bangkok a few years back.

Links:

• Henry Gold, founder of TDA Cycling (Tour D’Afrique)
• Carolanna Lisonbee – her poetry collection is Wisp of Fog Moment
• Why I’m Glad I Visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps
• Join the Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers 

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