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Destinations

Destination stories + blogs + book literature + photos February 08, 2016

© Nothing Declared: About

© Nothing Declared creator Brandon Niles Cox is an avid traveler with a dream of inspiring and helping others reach epic reach off beaten destinations. Working as a leader in the aviation industry, a travel consultant and sommelier. Nothing Declared focuses on adventure travel, international conflict research, photography, and the wine we enjoy along the way.
This site features detailed travel tips, how to guides, photography and informative short stories on rarely visited part of the world. The world is remarkably accessible, and we all need guidance on how to efficiently get there!

Brandon has spent over 120 months in 170+ countries on all 7 continents as an avid traveler, independent international conflict researcher, author, and photographer.

Currently he lives with his wife Emily in London, UK having recently moved from Paris, France. Brandon has worked as a leader specializing in building joint venture alliances, revenue & inventory management, pricing, capacity optimization and network management. He worked for the Coca-Cola Company after graduating from Georgia Tech studying Industrial Engineering, Management and Marketing. He has studied at Oxford University, as well as in Australia, France, New Zealand and Japan. His passion for adventure travel and conflict resolution began on a sporadic excursion from Japan to South Korea in 2003. Since then, his research has taken him to all 7 continents, over a hundred countries through over 34 active conflict zones. He has produced and directed documentaries in Ukraine, and researched conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Somalia during a 9 month overland journey through Africa from South Africa to Jordan and back.
Brandon Niles Cox’s work has been featured by CNN, Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech Alumni Quarterly, MTV, and Delta Air Lines Inc.

Recent Posts

Afghanistan – Safety & Checkpoints, Checkpoints, SO many Checkpoints - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – Crossing the border from Tajikistan - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – Bamyan. The Buddhas and the City of Screams - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – Mazar i Sharif & Balkh Independent travel - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – Reflections - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – The Ancient City of Herat - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – Torkham border crossing to Pakistan. Independent travel - 17 May , 2024

Afghanistan – Exploring Kabul - 16 May , 2024

Categories

Destinations 22
Conflict Research and Travel 22
Adventure Travel 21
Travel Tips 7
Photography and Video 4
wine 2

Recent Comments

Brando Niles Cox on Afghanistan – Mazar i Sharif & Balkh Independent travel
T on Afghanistan – Mazar i Sharif & Balkh Independent travel
Myra Feuquay on Afghanistan – Crossing the border from Tajikistan
John on Turkmenistan. 2024 Travel guide – Independently explore this mysterious country
Oreilly on Senegal & The Gambia: Traveling overland from Dakar, Senegal to Banjul, The Gambia

nothing_declared

Which Turkmenistani neutrality / war / independenc

Which Turkmenistani neutrality / war / independence memorial is your favorite?

When your guide only speaks Russian. So you guide

When your guide only speaks Russian. So you guide yourself around Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 🇹🇲
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Looking back, we probably could have used a bit more information about what we were seeing
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#turkmenistan🇹🇲 #turkmenistan_inst #turkmenistan #viajerosporelmundo #mochileros #solotraveling #letsgoeverywhere #travelpassport #meettheworld #traveltips #travelinspiration #москва #travel #instagood #nature #beautiful #россия #moscow #красота #followme #красноярск

Turkmenistani secret police hopped out of the bush

Turkmenistani secret police hopped out of the bushes and yelled at me for taking this waving photo. I'm not even joking 🌳 I asked what I did wrong and their response, "no waving, just stand" 🧍

Am I in North Korea? Nope! Halk Hakydasy Memorial

Am I in North Korea? Nope! Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex is a huge place which pays tribute to Turkmenistan's fallen war and earthquake victims.
🇹🇲
The memorial covers 650,000 square meters, or over 160 acres!

Ashgabat 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan. You can build an

Ashgabat 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan.
You can build anything, but it must be white and constructed from marble....and please make it look epic
🏢
Also, your car needs to be white, please ⚪
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If you want a non-white car, that's ok, but you can't drive it inside the cities and you will need to park it outside the city where there are massive parking lots for cars which aren't white or are too old, or if it's dirty...im not joking. It's the law

Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 (Part 1 - Ashgabat) We were

Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 (Part 1 - Ashgabat) We were nervous entering one of the most difficult countries in the world to gain access and explore freely.
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Everything is highly controlled and monitored by the government. But, once inside we met incredibly kind and open locals, who were surprisingly well connected and super down to earth.
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Oh...and the sights will absolutely blow your mind 🔥 link in bio
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#turkmenistan🇹🇲 #turkmenistan_inst #turkmenistan #ashgabatcity #ashgabat #everycountryintheworld #nothingdeclared #everycountry #travelworld #thediscoverer #worldnomads #traveldeeper #türkmenistan #adventuregram
#adventuretravel #reelsinstagram

Welcome to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 also kn

Welcome to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 also known as the "white city" because it's entirely constructed of white marble imported from Italy
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Turkmenistan is one of the most difficult countries in the world to gain access, but once inside, you will find a treasure trove of interesting sights and amazing people.
👆Follow us as we explore this fascinating place.

New adventures ahead!! 🇹🇲

New adventures ahead!! 🇹🇲

This isn't a mountain. It's an ancient city with a

This isn't a mountain. It's an ancient city with a terrifying past.
👻 🇦🇫
This is the 2000 year old City of Screams,outside Bamyan, Afghanistan. The siege of Bamyan took place here in 1221 during the Mongol pursuit of Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, the last ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire.Mutukan, son of Chagatai Khan and favourite grandson of Genghis Khan, was killed in battle by an arrow from the besieged walls, which led Genghis to massacre the population of the city and its surrounding region (the origin of the city's moniker "City of Screams”)
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#afghanistan #travelawesome #solotraveler #everycountryintheworld #viajerosporelmundo #mochileros #letsgoeverywhere #travelpassport #traveltips #travelinspiration
#solotravel #borntotravel #exploretheworld #travelinspiration #worldnomads #travelpassport #traveltips #lifewelltravelled #travellust #traveltagged #budgettraveler #mybudgettravel #ilovetravel #travelpassion #livetotravel #everycountryintheworld #everycountry

Was taking pictures of the flowering fields (see p

Was taking pictures of the flowering fields (see photo 6) in front of the ancient carved Cliffs of the Buddas of Bamyan and these children approached me and asked if I would take their photo also ❤️ Adorable

Two Hazara woman gaze upon the ancient buddahs of

Two Hazara woman gaze upon the ancient buddahs of Bamyan 🇦🇫 - they share an eerily similar hope for the future. Two years ago women in Afghanistan lost their ability to pursue education higher than the 6th grade. The battered, mostly destroyed UNESCO site infront of them was blasted to pieces in 2001 by the TLB, ending a silk road history dating back over 2000 years.

Swimming from a swan (?) in Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Swimming from a swan (?) in Afghanistan 🇦🇫
In the cleanest, bluest lake you have ever seen!
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📍Band I Amir National Park, Afghanistan
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Spooky? Because it's Halloween!
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#adventuretravel #adventuregram #reelsinstagram #afghanistan #afghanculture #bbctravel #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanettraveller #cnntravel #reelsinstagram #traveling #voyaged ##natgeoyourshot

These are the spectacularly blue Band-i-Amir lakes

These are the spectacularly blue Band-i-Amir lakes, Afghanistan's first National Park. In August 2023, the TLB officially banned women from entering the park, with the acting Minister of Virtue and Vice alleging that women had not been observing hijab inside the park.
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Two years since the fall of Kabul has come at a high cost for women…no longer able to attend schooling past grade 6, or even visit a park, gym or university. Recently beauty salons were banned. I was passing a huge demonstration and fighting at a restaurant the other day. Their offense? Playing music. The country is struggling to come to terms with a Higenerational and ideological crossroads which will define success or set a path towards failure in the coming years.
💧
The lakes are a series of 6 intensely blue lakes created by natural dams high in the Hindu Kush in the mountainous desert of central Afghanistan. The lakes formed from mineral-rich water that seeped out of faults and cracks in the rocky landscape. Over time, the water deposited layers of hardened mineral (travertine) that built up into walls that now contain the water. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, who helped the Afghan government set up the park, Band-e-Amir is one of the few travertine systems in the world.

Bamyan, Afghanistan 📍

Bamyan, Afghanistan 📍

the roads of Afghanistan 🇦🇫 🫣 . . . . . #

the roads of Afghanistan 🇦🇫 🫣
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#adventuregram #afghanistan #afghanmusic #traveltheglobe #everycountryintheworld #reelsinstagram #wonderlost #nothingdeclared

Atop the City of Screams, a 2000 year old city out

Atop the City of Screams, a 2000 year old city outside Bamyan, Afghanistan. The siege of Bamyan took place here in 1221 during the Mongol pursuit of Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, the last ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire.Mutukan, son of Chagatai Khan and favourite grandson of Genghis Khan, was killed in battle by an arrow from the besieged walls, which led Genghis to massacre the population of the city and its surrounding region (the origin of the city's moniker "City of Screams”)

Did you know donkeys could move this fast?! He is

Did you know donkeys could move this fast?! He is a young member of an almost extinct nomadic group called the Kuchi,

whose tribes have pursued a migratory life herding livestock for centuries, supplying famous Afghan staples from kebabs to carpets.

Their colorful clothes and black tents are an iconic symbol of Afghanistan. Three decades of conflict have left the Kuchis

extremely vulnerable, unable to claim the protection of local commanders as they wander a fragmented country, over difficult

terrain, where harsh deserts and soaring mountains are threaded with narrow green valleys of farmland. The arid environment of

Afghanistan struggles to support grazing animals for more than a few days, making it impossible to raise livestock in one location.

Because movement is difficult and unsafe, many Kuchi are now forced to adopt a more sedentary life of farming. 🇦🇫 🐎

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#adventuregram #adventuretravel #afghanistan #PassionPassport #reelsinstagram #yourshotphotographer #everycountry #travelinspiration #travelawesome

Where can you find this much diversity in one plac

Where can you find this much diversity in one place? Snow capped mountains, rolling sand dunes, green fields, forests and 3000 year old ruins 🗻⌛🌴

This ancient fort in Afghanistan is NOT a tourist

This ancient fort in Afghanistan is NOT a tourist attraction.

I found this outside Bamyan. It's not a place where tourists go.

It's a long abandoned fortress sitting in the hills where people once lived and took refuge amongst ancient trading routes

a magical place, outside a local village. No tourist office. No signs. No ticket office.

This is the amazing undiscovered beauty you will find exploring Afghanistan.

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#wonderlost #solotravel #borntotravel #exploretheworld #travelinspiration #worldnomads #travelpassport #traveltips #lifewelltravelled #travellust #centralasia #asiatravel

I stopped at this village on the road from Kabul t

I stopped at this village on the road from Kabul to Bamyan (because it looked Beautiful) and they welcomed me as though I was a long lost family member returning home from a long journey (because Afgans are amazingly hospitable).

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