MMcNamara

About me

The last time I bought a bed was in 1997. My father gave it away in 2000. I have kept a journal since I was five years old. I hate airplanes, love airplane food. I am only superstitious in Africa, and have several stories and a few talismans to prove it. My Chinese mother and Irish father are the opposing, complementary forces that harmonize my life. I believe that every experience, and how you react to it, changes and creates who you are, bringing a distinct energy to the world.

Why I travel

To push the limits of my own ideas of security, knowledge, understanding and awareness. To avoid the constraints of conditioning and to learn through doing. To live in this world and to make it my responsibility to expose myself to all of it: the joyful, tragic, shocking and sublime.

Travel style

I love to travel with no set itinerary, a few decent maps, and some divine luck.

Ideal place to watch the sunset

Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

Ideal place to watch the sunrise

1. Black Rock City, 2. Over the Indian Ocean in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, 3. Merzouga, Morocco

Before I die I'd like to

Visit the Mongolian Steppe and my grandmother's village in China, write a novel, laugh a lot, return to Morocco to visit my friends in the souk in Marrakech, inspire people to be passionate about the world, and ultimately, to have my beliefs mirror every action I do.

I felt the most immersed in a foreign culture when

I rode on a bush taxi with eighty people across Madagascar for 72 hours non-stop. No sleep, no real food, and a lot of Celine Dion blasting out of two broken speakers. Our truck overturned into a ravine once, and we had to crawl out of the window. After arrival, I spent one day in the capital and got on another bush taxi for the return journey for 75 hours. I made lots of friends and nearly got myself killed. Very integrative experience.

Let's collaborate

I'm a journalist and producer looking to collaborate with others on stories - including print and documentary.

Favorite artist(s)

Photographer: Sebastiao Selgado, Writer: John Pilger

Sports I do

running away from tourist traps

I want to make a difference by

opening minds.

Tunes I rock out to

Jackie Greene, Babyshambles, Death Cab for Cutie, Just Jack, Bright Eyes, The Martinis, Marta Gomez, Modest Mouse, Chet Baker, Bon Iver, The Airborne Toxic Event, Jimmy Cliff, Metric, Old 97s, Ray La Montagne, Otis Redding, Remy Zero, Royksopp, Ryan Adams, Serge Gainsbourg, Shins, Sigur Ros, Tegan and Sara, Thievery Corporation, This Mortail Coil, Tindersticks, Tito Beltran, Tom Waits, Tosca, Vincent Gallo, Whiskeytown, Wilco, Williams Traffic, Yo La Tengo, etc., etc.

Favorite books

The Zanzibar Chest, Aidan Hartley; The Alexandria Quartet, Lawrence Durrell; Freedom from the Known, Krishnamurti; La Vita Nova, Louise Gluck; The Songlines, Bruce Chatwin

My links

http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/connect.the.world/ http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world http://www.culturalfilmfund.com http://www.bradtguides.com http://www.travelchannel.com http://www.lanternbooks.com