MAGAN'S WORLD:MANCHÁN MAGAN 's tales of a travel addict.
THE ONLY PIECE of career guidance advice I feel qualified to give budding world travellers is that I had to turn down a lot of opportunities in life to end up where I am today. I was, and still am, largely unemployable in any serious capacity, and thus for most of my life have been underemployed. Any minor accomplishments I may boast are principally the result of prolonged bouts of idleness in far-flung destinations. I began making travel documentaries purely because my family felt I needed to be rescued from a slothful sojourn in India during which I wandered too far out along the boughs of sanity.I know it sounds trite, but in my experience recessions really do open as many opportunities as they close; freeing one from predictable paths and providing access to new ones. I would never have ended up travelling for a living had I not left school in the jobless 1980s without hope of real employment.
I went straight to Frankfurt where I stocked shelves until I had enough Deutschmarks to get to Africa, and from there suddenly the world looked vastly more complex and multi-
faceted than I had been led to believe. I determined to roam as far as I could for as long as I could, which I did, interspersed with periods of shelf-stacking and potato-digging in Frankfurt and Co Wicklow.
The more I travelled, the more bizarre jobs I was offered. Most of them I turned down, although I did run an organic fruit farm in Ecuador in 1993 and acted as medical supervisor to a leper station in 1996.
If I were leaving school today, I would be tempted to head straight for one of three idyllic locations to ride out the recession: one in the Himalayas, another in the Andes and a third in Africa – each more beautiful than the other. In each, one can live well on €60 a week.
The first, Almora, is right on the border of India, Nepal and Tibet, set amidst tiny terraced fields of rice and tea, and orchards of plums and apples. With its cobbled streets, colour-
faded facades and tight-packed bazaar overlooking the Himalayas, it has been considered a Shangri-la since Swami Vivekananda visited in the 19th century. Gandhi believed the energy of the place was the most powerful he had ever come across, and the counter-cultural icon Timothy Leary, evidently agreed as he settled here in the 1960s.
Gurus, babas, sadhus and yogis are constantly passing through. Its elevation of 1,800 metres lends it a cool, temperate feel. I would spend the first week in Deodars Guest House (ylog.org/deodars/), a quaint, old colonial bungalow with gracious wood-panelled ceilings, hunting trophies and spectacular views of snow- covered Himalayan peaks. From there I’d find myself a cheap cottage in the forest.
My second choice is Vilcabamba, the famed Valley of Longevity in the Ecuadorian Andes where octogenarians whose parents are still alive are common. It too has a perfect spring-like temperature and is regarded as a vortex of spiritual energy, attracting counter-
cultural figures, eco-homesteaders and spiritual health nuts who come for the potency of the place: the lush fruit trees, fast-growing vegetables and the rich Podocarpus rainforest in the highlands. Either hire a room on the dusty, colonial town square, or, far better, stay at izhcayluma.com, a budget-
priced hosteria with cabañas set amidst water-gardens, mango and papaya trees, and giant aloes. Alternatively go volunteering at Rumi Wilco Ecolodge (rumiwilco.com), run by the heroic botanist Orlando Falco.
If India or South America don’t appeal, try Fort Portal, Uganda, surrounded by the world’s greatest national parks. Stay at the Dutch-run Ruwenzori View (ruwenzoriview.com) guesthouse until you find somewhere cheaper to stay long-term. The owners will fill you in on the latest community projects, eco-initiatives and business potentials.
After completing semesters in all three places you’re officially a graduate of the Magan’s World Travel University and a career of slothful idleness awaits.