Life from the lens of a backpacker

Meet Mathias Fallmann from Austria, a 23-year-old die-hard backpacker.

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He has so far travelled to around 13 countries, with Sri Lanka being a destination he explored for nearly two months before departing last week to Nepal. He works in the IT sector and is adamant never to attend university (just as his girlfriend is insistent on pursuing her degree at medical college!). We interviewed Mathias in Jaffna where he had arrived from Arugambay.

By THE HARMONY PAGE TEAM

How would you describe travel?

It is vital for the human spirit. For me travel is about connecting with fellow humans. It is not about just seeing places.

What are the countries that you have been to so far?

With my parents as a child I have visited several countries. But this list include ones I went to on my own as an adult. I have been to Germany, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, India and Sri Lanka. From Sri Lanka I will go to Nepal.

How do you afford to travel so much at such a young age?

My priority is not earning and hording money I wish to travel and learn from the world. I fund myself by working for about a year or two and then traveling for some time. Young backpackers like me search for the cheapest flights online and we live off our backpacks and rent inexpensive places, especially home stays and hostels. Staying in luxury is not what we are looking for. We opt to stay with local communities and villages in many of the places we travel to, and we wish to support their economy by doing so.

In Sri Lanka what are the places you have visited?

Colombo, the Southern beaches, Ella, Anuradhapura, Arugambay, Jaffna, Norton, Sri Pada and Nuwara Eliya, to name a few.