Name: Christopher Mintoff
Age: 26
Occupation: Architect and civil engineer
My best ever trip...
It was the only time in my life I regretted being adventurous with my food choices. I still have no idea which animal the testicle belonged to
Always the last one I’ve been on. Every time I come back from abroad I am reeling with nostalgia up until my next trip.
Yet the most impressive trip by which all my future holidays will be measured was a recent tour of south-east Asia, which included Thailand and Vietnam.
The scenery and the cultures were so different to anything else I have experienced that when I try to describe how majestic it was, my vocabulary fails me.
It would be a pity to go through life without visiting this part of the world.
I felt most relaxed...
In Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. We climbed up to a viewpoint with the intention of staying there for 30 minutes. This viewpoint was so incredible that we ended up staying there for hours on end. I just sat there, gazing out and drinking my freshly-made mango shake.
The fact that I wasn’t carrying a phone and the substantial time difference from Malta made the hustle and bustle of everyday life feel very far away. I wish that moment had lasted forever.
I lost my cool in...
Budapest’s Central Station. I was trying to order a seven-day bus ticket but the lady at the counter started shouting at me in Hungarian while pointing towards the door of her office. When I tried to open this door, she became even more furious. I tried all sorts of body language to try to explain my request, but all I got was more pointing and shouting. Screaming back didn’t help either.
I walked to the middle of the station and yelled out for anyone who could speak both English and Hungarian, and this young teenager came up to me to resolve the problem.
It quickly transpired that she was telling me that I should first go and have my passport photo taken at a nearby photo kiosk. In my defence, she was very bad at pointing.
I felt so welcome...
Every time I was hosted by friends abroad. I feel blown away every time a foreign friend welcomes me into their home and does their best to show me their country. It’s always an interesting experience as you get pulled off the tourist trail and get to sample what the locals get up to.
Notable mentions go to Enrico, who gave me a private tour of the hottest spots in Rome, and Magda, who showed me as much of Poland as possible within a week.
I couldn’t wait to leave...
Cairo. I was as keen to leave the Egyptian capital as I was to go there in the first place. Before we even stepped out of the airport, taxi drivers were pulling at us and trying to scam us with their ‘special tours’; this carried on throughout the trip.
Hawkers, bazaar owners, hotel receptionists, curators... everyone wanted to suck the tourists dry.
On just one (supposedly organised) tour, we had a total of seven consecutive tour guides, who kept popping out of everywhere, all of whom were really enthusiastic to sell us stuff, while none of them knew any of their country’s history. Tour guides indeed.
The papyrus ‘museum’ we were dragged to was just one massive shop where all the ‘exhibits’ were for sale.
During a very surreal trip to the pyramids, we found ourselves sitting in a perfumery, of all places, haggling to rent horses and camels which were supposedly the only way we could see these ancient wonders. We managed to haggle them from an exuberant €50 per ride, down to an insulting €15.
After the voyage, the camel ‘tour guide’ then took us through a narrow alley where he coerced us into tipping him generously.
The ‘tour’ had so many detours, we missed our chance to visit one of their main attractions, the National Museum. Disaster.
I partied hardest...
Every time I went out for ‘just a couple’ of drinks. The most memorable parties were in Vienna, next to the Danube at my first drum ’n’ bass party; at a London pub where an unexpected party broke out while the owner was trying to close it down, and in Koh Pha Ngan.
The latter occasion was supposed to have just been a pre-party in the middle of the jungle prior to the actual full moon party. It ended up being much better than the main attraction.
I cringe when I think of...
Vietnamese testicle soup. It was the only time in my life I regretted being adventurous with my food choices.
I still have no idea which animal the testicle belonged to because of the massive language barrier. I tried asking the sweet Vietnamese waitress which animal it came from by making different animal noises, but all she could do was laugh. Then she walked off.
As soon as I bit into the creamy delicacy, I experienced a taste so putrid, so powerful, that no amount of water, beer or chillies could remove it.
I laughed so hard in...
Orlando, Florida, ages ago. My family had taken my sister and I to all the theme parks we could fit into our timetable, which included Disney World.
During a very surreal trip to the pyramids, we found ourselves sitting in a perfumery, of all places, haggling to rent horses and camels
During the evening street parade, the chipmunks Chip and Dale picked me from the crowd to join them in the middle and made me dance with them. It was so unexpected. That moment felt magical.
My longest holiday was...
Not officially a holiday. I was studying at the University of Bologna for six months, but the train station was closer to my residence than the faculty was. This train station was connected to all of mainland Europe: I went nuts.
With every chance I got, I would leave on quick trips to visit architectural monuments in other cities like Venice and Milan, or in different countries altogether like France, Germany and Switzerland.
Seeing the buildings I studied with my own eyes was mind-blowing. At one point, I found myself travelling all over Poland.
I was so determined to make the most of my time abroad that my whole family was left with no option but to visit me for Christmas instead of vice versa.
I wish I could live in...
A reality where my day job was to travel. As much as I love my profession, travel is my addiction. None the less, no single destination has as yet enticed me enough to leave my home country for good.
I treasure the memory of...
Going to the Spanish Grand Prix with my late father back in 2001. It was the time when Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren famously broke down on his last lap.
It was just the two of us and throughout the whole trip in Spain my father treated me as his equal. For my first time I was an adult abroad. I believe this helped me build character and remains very much a part of me.
Apart from that, I treasure an amazing moment in Vietnam. We were leaving Sapa Valley after two days of trekking through the most incredible scenery imaginable.
As that fantastic view started fading off into the distance, I realised what I had just witnessed and what I had been a part of. All that beauty and all that scenery made me feel so small and insignificant. It was unbelievably beautiful.
The most delicious food I’ve tasted...
Warm crescione, a delicacy of Emilia-Romagna. They always had the finest ingredients in them: the best cheeses, the best prosciutto; even the vegetables were full of flavour.
At only €3.50 a pop, crescione became my staple diet during my time in Italy, especially during the colder days. The very thought of them makes me hungry again.
The hardest part of travelling...
Raising the funds needed to go. You can never have enough money to spend on trips abroad.
After the trip, the hardest part is missing it. Sometimes the emotional connection with a moment is so powerful, it can be very difficult to live with the knowledge that you will never be a part of it again.
I for one try to fill that void with even more travel: I believe that’s a good enough reason to continue on my journeys.
Travel has taught me to...
Always carry extra secure digital memory cards and batteries, and to record as many moments as possible. The world is incredibly small and nowadays, every single destination is reachable with enough money and patience.
My other travel lessons can’t be simplified into catchphrases or simple expressions. Every single time I travel, I feel I become a bigger and a stronger person; a wiser and better person.
Open-minded travel is, to me, the greatest source of inspiration and intellectual stimulation. I grow with these travels.
I dream of one day visiting...
Don’t get me started! I want to see all architectural monuments, every single wonder of the ancient world and every natural wonder of the world.
The Grand Canyon is apparently a good place to start. Actually, this year I think I will climb Kilimanjaro. Whatever I decide to do, my passport and luggage are always at the ready.