All about Freelance Stock Travel Photographer 'Travelling Tim' Makins

About 'Travelling Tim'

A voyage of discovery into other minds and cultures.

I'd like to start with a quote by Mark Twain. It applies to me, and to lots of other people as well. Does it apply to you? Probably...

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Photo of Travelling Tim, taken in Nova Scotia, Summer 2009

This is Me

Thing's I've Done

Visited 118 different countries, and all 7 of the 7 continents
Had breakfast at Tiffanys, New York
Hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu (twice!)
Ridden on elephants - just me and the elephant
Been in a Space Shuttle trainer, touched a Saturn 5 rocket
Slept on desert islands
Been arrested by Russian police (falsely !)
Panned for gold in the Brazillian jungle, and found some
Climbed to 16,300 feet in Nepal, 17,500 feet in India
Been to the lowest place on earth: The Dead Sea -409m (-1342ft)
..and the 2nd lowest place on earth: The Turpan Depression -156m (-512ft)
Been to the driest place on earth: The Atacama Desert (average annual rainfall < 1mm)
..and the wettest place on earth: Mawsynram (average annual rainfall > 11870mm)
Stayed in the most expensive hotel-room in Istanbul
..and one that cost just USD 0.20c/night in Bodh Gaya
Swam with two Manta Rays and a lot of tropical fish
Crossed the Equator 12 times
Trekked the Great Wall of China
Sniffed the Spice Farms of Zanzibar
White Water rafted in Canada
Overlanded more than 250,000 miles - that's more than 4 years on the road
Nine visits to India, my favourite country - that's another 2+ years!
Explored the lost cities of Petra, Machu Pichu, and Fatehpur Sikri
Survived a typhoon in the Sea of Japan and 2 hurricanes off Canada
Seen a tiger in the jungles of India
Walked with lions and cheetahs in the jungles of Africa
Was the first British vegetarian to work in the Antarctic
Seen a living Goddess - the Kumari, in Nepal
Survived the Logging Roads of Gabon and the Congo
Stood next to the erupting Tungurahua volcano, in Banos, Ecuador
And sat on the steps of 10 Downing Street (when you could)
Climbed to the top of one of the pyramids in Giza, Egypt
Rode the Trans Siberian railway, the Shinkansen, and the Flying Scotsman
Seen some Moon-Rock (from the Moon) in South Africa and the USA
Canoed down the Zambesi River, amongst crocs and hippos
Seen Comrade Lenin in his Red Square mausoleum
Worked on oilrigs all around the North Sea
Had a gorilla sit on my foot in Nigeria
Paddled in the Volga River
Cooked french-fries on the bottom(!) of the Aral Sea
Visited the Rat Temple of Deshnoke (real rats)
Photographed the body piercing and dripping blood of the Thaipusam Festival
Slept in 6 major deserts - Sahara, Atacama, Taklamakan, Thar, Gobi, Karakum
and trekked around for a while on camel-back
Seen the sunrise from the top of Mt. Sinai, Mt. Bromo, and a bunch of others
Was walked on by Albanian nuns at the top of Mt Sinai
Travelled the Skeleton Coast, the Kyber Pass, & the Mountains of the Moon
Bathed on the black-sand beaches of Krakatoa (its actually WEST of Java!)
Flown as the only passenger in a private jet belonging to an Arab Prince
Seen the midnight sun, 200m north of the Arctic Circle
Journied Coast to Coast across Canada
Been to the top of the World's two tallest buildings
Snorkelled in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, South China Sea
Been shot at by Peruvian bandits
And bombed by the Philippines Air Force
Explored the Fetish Markets of Togo
Crewed on a square-rigged tallship off North America for 9 weeks
Been interviewed by the BBC (twice)
Crossed over the Berlin Wall, while it still was a wall
Enjoyed the Nightlife of Veracruz
Ridden on a San Francisco cable car, and visited Alcatraz
Wandered through the bazaars of Central Asia
Journied the full length of the Silk Road
Seen the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey and the Sudan
Spent the night on a nest of Scorpions
Floated by balloon over the Valley of the Kings (3 times)
Watched whales in S.America and the Southern Ocean
Driven along the highest road in Africa
Flown with ?? different airlines - actually I've lost count !

And have travelled by ....... foot, car, bus, truck, van, jeep, steam train, diesel train, electric train, camel, horse, mule, donkey, elephant, ox cart, rickshaw, tractor, propeller aeroplane, jet aeroplane, hot-air balloon, helicopter, Cessna light aircraft, bicycle, tricycle, motorbike, moped, tram, trolley car, underground train, scooter, snow-mobile, roller skates, snowboard, rowing boat, dugout canoe, dhow, felucca, raft, yacht, narrow-boat, ocean liner, ice-breaker, square-rigged 3-masted barque, hydrofoil, ferry boat, tug boat, water skis, pony and trap, donkey cart, dune buggy, fishing boat, taxi, cable car, chair lift, inflatable, hovercraft, monorail, Rolls Royce, and stretcher !!