Mingalaba - Tim Cox

Kia Ora & welcome to our blog;

It may look like we've given up on the travels, but there's more to come. Soon.

Left the UK in the 90's with plans for a year or so of exploring. Finally made it home again eleven years later. Got lost along the way with a couple of years in Asia, one in Oz & the rest travelling & later living in NZ.

Highlights in no particular order include; Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, China (x2), Burma (x3), Vietnam (x3), Cambodia (x4), North Korea, Japan (x3), South Korea, Laos (x2), Malaysia (x2), Singapore (x2), Nepal, Thailand (lost count), Indonesia (x2), South Africa, Cuba, Cook Islands, Bahrain, USA (x2), Egypt, Jordan & Turkey.

Home is somewhere between South London, Wellington, Damascus & Rangoon. Yet to be confirmed.

Currently in an extended state of post travel come down & still unsure what happens next. Again. Looking for ways to keep the dream alive. Offers & ideas welcomed.....

Thanks for stopping by. Scroll down the page to see what we have been up to lately.

Enjoy.

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Joined on: April 22nd 2006
Last Login: December 22nd 2008

Blog Entries: 31
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Mingalaba, order by Date newest first.

By Mingalaba
January 12th 2008

¿Viva Fidel?

Central America Caribbean » Cuba » Oeste » La Habana

Colegio San Lorenzo
Cienfuegos

Havana - Vinales - Cienfuegos - Trinidad - Playa Ancon - La Habana 'Fidel is bad, everything is bad; the shelves in this shop are empty. We have nothing, no food, no money' The elderly man who is telling me this points his walking cane at a middle aged European tourist & the young Cuban woman at his side. He directs some spit at her feet & declares with disgust that she is a prostitute. He doesn't hate her, rather the system that has led to her fate. A few hours later we'll have left Cuba; it's taken until now to [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
September 2nd 2007

Heart Rending Departure of the Great Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Middle East » Iran » West » Esfahan

Imam Mosque
Esfehan

Shiraz (Persepolis) - Yazd - Esfahan - Kashan - Tehran If George W. Bush wants to know where Iran is hiding it's nuclear facilities, I can tell him. I have seen one of them on the A80 highway between Esfehan and Kashan. Iran is proud of it’s nuclear ambitions and makes no secret of where much of the work is taking place. After passing through, I read that the president ordered the sites be opened for passing tourists to explore. Should Bush & friends choose to drop bombs on the site as they have threatened to now & then, they may [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
July 3rd 2007

Forget Nuclear Weapons, Let's Talk sausage

Middle East » Iran » North » Tehran

The Holy Shrine
Mashhad

Orumiyeh - Tabriz - Tehran - Mashhad - Bam - Kerman - Five Finger Mountain - Shiraz 'I wanted to escape, to experience freedom. I left Iran, crossed Turkey & paid a few thousand dollars for a place on a boat, already full of asylum seekers, heading towards Greece. My own passport would get me no further; I disposed of it and bought a fake one from someone else. The journey was treacherous; the boat sailed at night and when we reached land the only way forward was up. Beyond a precarious cliff edge climb was freedom. By the time I [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
June 2nd 2007

Welcome To Iraq, Are You Tourists or Terrorists?

Middle East » Iraq » North

United Colours of Kurdistan
Erbil

Erbil - Dohuk - Suleimaniah - Erbil Eight o'clock in the morning, I've just stepped out of the shower. There is a massive blast outside & our rustic hotel room starts to shake. I climb onto my bed & from the small window high up on the wall I can see a huge plume of black smoke starting to fill the sky. Just a few miles away from us a suicide truck bomb has exploded outside a government office. Five days earlier; The first lasting impression I have of this country is of a framed photograph in our hotel of US [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
May 15th 2007

Alleged Terrorist Organisations Make the Best Ice Cream

Middle East » Lebanon » Beirut

Hariri In Soap
Assassinated former president, Rafik Hariri, made from soap; Tripoli

Tripoli - Beirut By the end of our first day in Beirut we have found ourselves sat in a tent making polite conversation with alleged terrorist leaders, sharing tea with teenagers while being shown posters of martyrs, watched an Arab megastar filming a Coca Cola advert, passed numerous civil war bomb sites alongside brand new boutique shops, been searched by soldiers with machine guns & tanks, eaten sushi and had a big night out on the town drinking beer & wine and dancing. Lebanon is expensive & Lebanon is small. We planned for no more than a week in the country, [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
May 1st 2007

Hot Face Wax on The Axis of Evil

Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus

Girls on the Pullman Bus
Hama to Twalid Dabaghein

Damascus - Palmyra - Aleppo - Hama - Damascus - Deir Es Zur Sitting alone in Damascus's Iranian built Sayyida Raqayya Mosque, a wave of utter peace engulfs me. Although essentially I am alone, I am surrounded by devoted Muslims - praying, chanting, prostrating & relaxing. These people are devoted; devoted to peace & to their faith. This is the real Middle East. These are true, every day Muslims. As I am engulfed in their peace, a hint of anger & frustration begins to reach over me. I am frustrated that a handful of supposedly religious radicals along with western governments [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
April 15th 2007

You Are Osama Bin Laden!

Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

Me & a Camel
At sunset, Wadi Rum

Aqaba - Amman - Jerash - Petra - Wadi Rum - Dead Sea - Amman We're heading north on Jordan's Desert Highway. Dusty tracks disappear off into the endless desert on either side. Road signs point right to Iraq & Saudi Arabia and ahead to Syria & Lebanon. A few hours behind us lays Egypt & although the signs make no mention of it, Israel & Palestine are just a few miles to the left. We're heading north from the tropical port city of Aqaba to the capital Amman & with signs like these you really get a feel for where [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
April 4th 2007

10,000 Camels For Your Wife...!?

Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Cairo

Fashions
Women's clothes shop, Bahrain

Bahrain - Luxor - Cairo - Dahab - Nuweiba A heart stopping high speed taxi ride through the darkened streets of Luxor at 2am in the morning gives us our first glimpse of the ancient ruins that document much of Egypt's ancient history. The vintage Peugeot 504 taxi from the airport drives into the city with its lights out -apparently to save fuel. The ride is a rip off & we are tired after a long day of planes & airports, but as we speed past Luxor Temple - a collection of giant pillars in the centre of town, it all [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
March 20th 2007

Land of a Million Elephants

Asia » Laos » West » Luang Prabang

Orange
Luang Prabang, Laos

Bangkok - Ayutthaya - Bangkok - Koh Kong - Sihanoukville - Phnom Penh - Bangkok - Vientiane - Luang Prabang - Bangkok Pregnant & naked men, topless women & naked bottom tanning. Three things that some may like to see, but others may not. People who are least likely to expect or want to see such nakedness are the local Cambodians who live & work along the beach in Sihanoukville. Conservative & likely to enter the sea fully clothed, the last thing they expect is to see a white backpacker's bottom bronzing (or not) in the sun, a middle aged man [View Full Entry]

By Mingalaba
March 11th 2007

We've moved the capital city, if you need us, send a fax & we'll get back to you when we have a spare moment.....

Asia » Burma » Bago

More Rice?
Monks come back for seconds from the giant rice pot. Bago

Taungoo - Bago - Kinpun (Kyaiktiyo) - Yangon It's not every day that a government announces it has moved to the middle of the jungle, that no one is allowed to visit & than if you need to communicate with them, send a fax & they'll have a look when they get a chance. Of course, in a country like Burma nothing is shocking. We did make vague attempts to visit the new capital city, Pyinmana - we are allowed although most locals aren't. However accommodation prices are just a little on the steep side. The government says it has moved [View Full Entry]

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