A Questionable Volunteer Experience

What are you really looking for when you travel? 

Sarika Bansal is a travel writer, editor, and former editorial director of Afar magazine. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Vice, and she focuses on ethical storytelling, global perspectives, and the deeper impact of travel. She currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya, with her family. 

In this episode, Co-host Paige McClanahan talks with Sarika Bansal about how travel shapes us, from living in Kenya to trekking in the Everest region, and how those experiences influence the way we think about travel itself. 

This conversation explores what happens when we shift from collecting places to truly engaging with them, and how that shift can completely change the way we experience travel. Sarika shares stories from her own journey, from trekking in the Everest region to building a life in Kenya, and reflects on how stepping outside your comfort zone can reshape your worldview in unexpected ways. We also get into the idea of country counting, the value of returning to places, and how different stages of life influence not just where we go, but how we show up when we get there. 

What do you think matters more in travel, the number of places you visit or the depth of your experiences? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. 

Co-host Paige McClanahan is a writer, editor, and former journalist based in Paris, France. As the author of The New Tourist: Waking up to the Power and Perils of Travel, Paige is passionate about making sure our travels have a positive impact on the world. Get in touch and follow her on Substack. 

Tune In To Learn: 

• Why Sarika’s move to Nairobi reshaped her daily life, pace, and perspective 

• What drove her to travel writing and how growing up between the U.S. and India influenced her approach to storytelling and travel 

• What a “questionable” volunteer trip taught her about ethics in travel early on 

• How trekking in the Everest region while pregnant forced her to slow down 

• What it’s like exploring quieter trails, monasteries, and local life beyond the Everest “highway” 

• How climate change is visibly impacting fragile destinations like Everest Base Camp 

• Why the idea of “country counting” breaks down when you question what it means to visit a place 

• Sarika’s analogy between travel metrics and personal health, and why both can become misleading 

• How different life stages, like traveling with kids, change how and where you explore 

• Unexpected ways to experience Kenya, from DIY safaris to birdwatching and coastal towns 

• And so much more 

Resources: 

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Want More? 

• Ethical Wildlife Tourism With Kristen Diederich 

• The World’s Most Traveled Person on the Ethics of Gamifying Travel, Best Regions in the World, and Why To Keep Traveling With Harry Mitsidis of NomadMania 

• How To Be a “New Tourist,” the Powers and Perils of Tourism, Embracing Tourist Traps, and the Impact of Travel With Paige McClanahan 

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