#039: Mindful Travel: Beyond Mere Exploration

In this episode of the Why We Travel podcast, Claus Lauter chats with A.B about mindful travel beyond mere exploration and why she promotes immersive exploration and support for local businesses.  

Topics discussed in this episode: 

• How AB's grandmother inspired her passion for travel 
• How AB started her travel journey after finishing high school 
• What challenges AB faced as a digital nomad and small business owner 
• How the pandemic impacted AB's remote working lifestyle 
• Strategies AB used to settle in and get up and running in a new place 
• Why AB believes immersive travel is different from being a visitor 
• How AB integrates into local communities and support local businesses while traveling 
• What AB's perspective is on balancing luxury and budget travel experiences 
• Advice AB offers to those wanting to start a balanced travel lifestyle

About our guest: A.B. is a well-seasoned hospitality professional with 20+ years of luxury travel and hospitality experience. She has an extensive background in large-scale event production, strategic partnerships, the culinary arts, luxury travel clubs, and lifestyle social clubs. She has worked across the U.S. and Southeast Asia, building upon her knowledge of hospitality and culinary.  She started traveling at age 7 and has been going ever since! 

You can learn more about A.B. at https://www.balancedtravel.com/ 

Visit our website at https://whywetravel.net/

Transcript

Voice over: This is the Why We Travel Podcast. The podcast dedicated to those who want to explore the world on their terms. Each week, you'll hear from amazing travelers and experts sharing their best travel stories from the road. Listen to their unique travel experiences and get insider tips about their favorite destinations.

Whether you're an experienced world nomad or just getting started, this podcast will inspire you, improve your travel skills, change the world. Change the way you travel and motivate you to get out and see the world. Discover the art of independent travel and meet fellow travelers in our online community.

Now let's get into it with your host and world traveler Claus Lauter. Welcome to the show. 

Claus Lauter: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Why We Travel Podcast. Today we wanna revisit the topic of digital. Nomad lifestyle. So we want to find out how it is to be on the road as a small business owner, how to live and work, and probably also to school your kids while being on the road and give you some ideas and tips from someone who has done this for many, many years.

So for that, joining me on the show is AB. She is a well seasoned hospitality professional with more than 20 years of luxury travel and hospitality experience. She has worked across the United States, Southeast Asia, building up a knowledge in. Hospitality and culinary. So I want to dive into that right now.

And I want to welcome her to the show. Hi, Ab how are you today? 

AB: I'm fine. Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

Claus Lauter: AB, first question as always is what is your first childhood experience when it comes to being a traveler? 

AB: Oh, really? That is that is my ideal question. Thank you. I owe my passion and the travel bug to my grandmother.

She took me to Europe when I was 7 years old and we went to Germany and Amsterdam and, um, I. Absolutely. The second I got back to the United States, I could not wait to graduate high school. And, and it just showed me how big the world was. So I owe everything to her. I remember so much of that trip. I like it was yesterday, the smells, the experiences, the food, the places we went being cold.

I remember so much of that. And I have no doubt that that's what set the tone in me. I can't, uh, I can't stress that enough. I owe that to my grandmother very much. 

Claus Lauter: Now, it's always good to, to catch the travel bug early in life was the same with me. And once it's stuck with you, it will never leave you. So you said after you finished school, you started traveling.

What was your plan there? How did you get started with traveling? 

AB: Sure. I lived in a very small town, um, and I didn't have the opportunity to travel outside of the United States until I graduated high school. But I did, um, travel within the United States, which is amazing in itself. And so I had visited Colorado.

I grew up in Texas. I visited Colorado and, um, I knew that I eventually wanted to end up here, which is where I am at this moment, kind of our home base. And so after high school, I, Um, traveled around. I started college in Florida. I have family there. And then with the goal of getting to Colorado. So I eventually ended up in Colorado, graduated high school, um, and then graduated college and then went to culinary school.

And then, uh, through culinary school, after I finished up in the States, I was able to go to, um, South France and Northern Italy and so on. And then I just stayed over there a little bit after I finished school and traveled on my own, which was amazing. Um, and so since then, since college, really, I've been all all all over the world.

Southeast Asia is 1 of my favorite places. You mentioned you're headed there. So that I hope that I'm able to spend an extended period of time. That would be next on my list for sure. 

Claus Lauter: Now coming to being a digital nomad, being a small business owner and being on the road, what was your learning curve there?

What kind of challenges did you have when you got started having a lifestyle that is not just a holiday, but it's really like a work style? 

AB: Exactly, and I think it's important that you stress that it's different when you're living the lifestyle as opposed to being a visitor. Um, people think it can be, oh, you know, glamorous you're traveling and and yes, it is, but you're, you're still having to work and and balance that and not go out every night.

Um, it is important and that's part of what. My passion is, is being immersive. You know, you're not going out every night. You are going to the market and you're meeting people. It's your restaurants and the bars or who you who you pass when you're walking your dog during the day. So, it is a little bit different than when you're going on vacation and you want the highest, you're the most trendiest restaurant or.

You know, checking things off a list necessarily. So I think, um, as far as a learning curve curve goes, I have a little bit of an advantage. My husband started his company 20 year over 20 years ago. That's a branding and marketing company. And he has always worked remotely. And we've always had a home office.

So when the pandemic hit, um, we really, it was not that big of a deal for us. I joined him about 6 years before the pandemic, actually. So we, as a family had been working remotely for a while, but kind of on the down low people at that time. You know, back then before the pandemic, people didn't realize how productive you could be.

So, which was a shame. And again, it's not for everyone for sure. But, um, our personality types and the type of work that we do, we just found it was something that we gravitated to and gave us the opportunity to work abroad. So the pandemic, we were like, Okay. This is great. Everyone else can see and it opened up a lot of opportunities for our son as well.

I think that the education reform that's came from the pandemic has really been our son's a teenager. And I, I imagine it's so different for younger children. I can't imagine. We're fortunate. Our son is a teenager. And he lives with us. So he's always been a traveler. And right as he was starting to struggle with brick and mortar school, we had the opportunity to join a private online international program.

And that has just been amazing for us as a family, because when you do something like this, you do have to buy in. Everyone has to buy in and we made sure that everyone was in agreement with what we were going to do. And no regrets whatsoever. So I think as long as you have strong Wi Fi and, um, you're not afraid to put yourself out there and ask questions.

Um, anything's possible. Anything's possible, Klaus. I mean, it's amazing how strong digital, our fiber optic, we live part time in Riviera Maya and Quintana Roo and the fiber optic in the jungle is amazing. It goes out all the time in the States. But in, in the jungle, it's, we make, we joke about that, how great our fiber optic is in the jungle.

Claus Lauter: It's actually, yeah, that's the same experience I have. Um, I'm obviously I'm German, so I will go to Germany next week. And I have been to, I don't know, 65 countries and Germany for me is the worst country to work from because the internet infrastructure is not on par. So I have been to many third world countries and developing countries where the internet connection is far better than what I.

Can expect in Germany. So it shouldn't stop your phone from traveling. You will find your Wi Fi. On that, what kind of strategies do you have when you arrive at a new place for settling in and to get up and running? 

AB: That falls in line with opening your mouth and asking questions. Um, a good cup of coffee.

I'm, I'm, you know, I'm all about finding a nice cafe, um, and introducing yourself or going to the local market. Um, You know, language can be an issue. We, I speak some Spanish, um, and some culinary French and Italian. So enough to get by, enough to put yourself out there, um, so that you do make yourself a little bit vulnerable.

I think that's very important. People I found are just so accommodating when you do make yourself vulnerable, put yourself out there, ask questions, show some interest. People are proud of where they live. Um, and often want to share that, especially if they know that you're going to be there a while. Um, it's amazing.

Um, the world, um, the world is a kind place. Um, we have to remember that sometimes. 

Claus Lauter: No, absolutely. I think a lot of people who are Dealing with the idea of being a traveler, they're sort of overthink the process. Um, just, just go and get started. And that's once you arrive somewhere, you will find a way and you make a plan.

And I agree with you that, um, once you settle down at a place longer than two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, people will see you in a different light. So that brings me to immersive travel. What's your take on being part of a community, even if it's only for a couple of months? And what's your kind of approach when it comes to, I don't know, supporting local businesses and so on?

AB: Exactly. Well, I think, well, you, as you mentioned, I think just being open to what's in front of you. I mean, obviously, you're going to have an end point and a and a B, but what happens in between there, um, kind of detach yourself from any ideals. You might have, you know, you're going to leave in 2 months, but.

When you put yourself out there, is there a festival happening? Is there is there something you can volunteer with at the school? Um, you know, one of the things that I've learned and I like to do the most classes when I'm going to be somewhere a long time. I asked the locals once they get to know me.

What's something that you wish? What's 3 things you wish people knew before they come? Um, and then I asked people that go friends that I've recommended places. What's 3 things you wish you knew before you went? And I think that reciprocal conversation is very important, especially if you're going to be there extended period of time.

People get locked in their head, or they read too much lonely planet, or, you know, if you, if you put yourself out there and you're open, what happens between a and B can be. Amazing. Um, but you have to, um, you have to use your words. You have to, you have to talk to people. Um, and that's the best way when the, the way we ended up in Kintana Roo, there was an art festival going on, um, muralists from all around the world came to this tiny little village and painted the town.

And this was during the pandemic. And so they. Ended up hosting it. Anyway, everything had just opened up, but it was very small. They didn't have a big turnout and so many people we were living there. We quarantine there for 10 months and so many. Yeah, it was amazing. We were outside the whole time. People were visiting because the world had just opened up and they didn't know about the art festival.

They just stumbled on it. And I can't tell you how many times a day. Like, I eventually my. I started a little tiny Instagram account because I was so tired of for day after day telling people about the art festival. So I created a little, um, Instagram account. So I could share information, but people were just really engaged and it got them to the Pueblo, which was not the touristy area of town.

And I saw people again later during their trip and they were so grateful. Um, and again, not for everyone immersive means something different for everyone. Some people want to go and have room service and sit by the pool. And I love that too. Um, that's kind of how balance travel came about. My background is more luxury.

And when we were brainstorming names, luxury can kind of put people off, but that can mean something different. Maybe it's just great. Wi Fi and a hot, hot shower. Um, in a hostel, even like, who cares? Maybe it's sometimes it's room service. And so balance travel kind of came out of that. What's another word for luxury that encompasses all of that?

You know, because I have room for all of that in my life. Um, when I travel, when we live long, um, extended period of time in places, obviously, that's not the case. You know, you, you budget and, you know, you do that, it's not, it's not easy, but it's definitely not as hard as people think it is when you consider, especially how much it costs live in states right now.

Claus Lauter: Yeah, totally. I agree. I think balance travel is a good name for it because every journey, you might not just stay at 1 place. You might go from 1 place to another and from time to time, you splurge on a better accommodation. on a nice hotel, on a spa or whatever it is, what makes you happy. And the other time you just roughen it up and stay in a hostel.

So, and that's all kind of the experience of being a traveler. So I always say it's the good, the bad and the ugly, and that's in any place. Sometimes things just go not completely right, but that's also, that makes, usually that makes the best stories. So, so tell me a little bit more about, um, your, your blog and your Instagram account.

What can people find there? 

AB: Sure. We started that as a way to build community. Um, it's small right now. We're just starting. Most of the people I've personally invited, I have a, a great group of, of mentors and friends that I've established over the past 20, 30 years. Plus the years all over the world, and I kind of use them as resources for some of my blogs as well as questions.

People may pose me on the Instagram account. So I'm looking to build a community there where we can share things. You know, there's events. And like, I mentioned that art festival, not a lot of. You know, you're not going to read about that, you know, you have to know people. So I'm hoping people will join the Instagram account as well as visit my website and look at my and read my blogs.

I know blogs aren't for everyone, but they're, I think, I'm biased. They're great blogs. I'm open to ideas. I love interviewing interesting people, but really throw out those ideas. You know, if you're going somewhere or there's a festival in Germany, you want to share, you know, Tag me in it, or maybe maybe I'm coming to Germany and I reach out and ask balanced travel.

You know, what's going on that week? You know, that's the way I hope that we can communicate and kind of share and promote these small businesses within a community to make it a more immersive experience on a short term, you know, it's not everyone has the luxury as you and I to go stay months on end or even weeks.

So, um, You know, if I want to stay, if I'm only staying five or 10 days, maybe I do want to get out of my resort and go see what's going on, you know, start small, just Put yourself out there. Um, so I'm hoping that the, the community will grow organically on my website. And then, uh, I'm sorry on the Instagram account and then drive people to my blogs.

Um, we also have my husband's an artist. He'll he does a lot. I'm pretty proud of my blog or my website. Um, we also have a lot of. Travel prints and, or, um, travel artwork that we're selling in a shop. That's just stuff that we've captured and created over the past few years. So it's a bit of a passion project for, for me, something that I'm hoping in homage to my grandmother, that I can, you know, you don't go into blogging to become rich and famous, but I'm hoping I can support my travel habit and, um, homage to my grandmother.

You know, up the next few years. 

Claus Lauter: Right. So we became full circle 365 or 360 degrees around there. So what kind of advice would you give a someone who wants to start this kind of balanced travel lifestyle? Um, obviously reaching out to you and other travelers to get some ideas. What kind of other homework would you recommend?

For someone to get started. 

AB: So, obviously, you want to talk to people that have been there as well as hopefully visit their yourself. But I think if you have the luxury to spend an extended extended period of time there and talk to people within the community, that's very important. I'm fortunate that my during the pandemic, my husband and my son trusted me.

They had neither. 1 of them had been to can tell who they really trusted me. And I said, it's getting cold in Colorado and, and it was 10 months before we came back to the States. Um, we went to other places as well, but, um, um, I think also, um, it's important to make sure that you can continue your work.

Like, what's your, you know, what's your work. Lifestyle going to be, you know, how are you going to organize that? How can you downsize? That's one of the biggest things since I've been back. I can't believe how much stuff I have for absolutely no reason. I like, I want to just get rid of everything I own.

Mainly because there's not a need for so much of it. I thought I was a minimalist till I started traveling more. And then I realized, um, but I think you need to realize how much you can and cannot live with what little luxuries such as, you know, hot water, good Wi Fi or ice, you know, if you're from the States, ice is, you know, it could be important.

But all those little, little amenities. Things that you kind of take for granted, depending on where you're going to go, um, I think it's important that you consider your day to day lifestyle. If you're going to be somewhere for more than a couple of weeks, and not be so set in your ways where you try to take your lifestyle somewhere, be open to where you're going.

There's a reason. They do the way things the way they do there. So don't try and force your lifestyle on to where you're going. Be open to that. Again, the differences between A and B should be unlimited. Absolutely. 

Claus Lauter: Yeah. I couldn't agree more. Um, just be open minded, um, learn about new cultures. Don't take your culture with you and, uh, you will have the greatest experience.

Where can people find out more about you? 

AB: Yes. So our Instagram is insta balance travel, and then my website's balanced travel. com. And you can reach me on either of those pose me questions, please read my blogs, um, and check out my, um, artwork as well. Um, I would love people to follow our Instagram account and, uh, be a part of the community.

Um, that would just, um, yeah, we're just, we're slowly growing. 

Claus Lauter: I will put the links in the show notes and you will be just one click away. And I hope a lot of our listeners will follow you and get in contact. I have an 

AB: article on there called act like a local. So that's a great place. That's a good start. A great place for people to start and then please post questions to me.

I'm happy. Several people have reached out and I've, you know, everyone's on a different level. And so I'm happy to have 1 on 1 conversations or pose something to the group. I'm happy to ask my people. Just, you know, don't be afraid to put yourself out there, Klaus. 

Claus Lauter: Cool. Okay. Thanks so much for your time, Evie.

Today was a really good overview of how you got into traveling and what you need to look for when you want to get started with it. And I hope a lot of listeners will reach out to you. Thanks so much for your time today. 

AB: Thank you. Enjoy your day. Travel safe. Be well. 

Claus Lauter: Hey, Klaus here. Before you leave, I have a question.

Are you a traveler? Do you have a favorite travel destination or favorite travel experiences that you would like to share with the world? Then become a guest on the Why We Travel podcast. Simply message me and I will get you all the details for becoming an interview guest and then we take it from there.

That's it for now. I'll see you in the next episode and have a great day.