CURRENT MISSION

to leave this world better than i found it

ABOUT ME

a nomad… i have travelled 7 out of 7 continents. the ends of the earth, dived most of our oceans. when i'm not tripping over myself in a rainforest, keeping my tent from flying off in a storm, swimming in the company of dolphins or piranha, shooting (camera) wildlife, scuba diving in oceans, rafting down rivers and skinny dipping in lakes or waterfalls, getting lost on the slopes of a lesser known mountain, hanging off cliffs or jumping off airplanes, i'm a student of anthropology and economics, an environmentalist, (think- plant trees not vegan) mediocre mountaineer and organic farmer. yes i know its quite boring work really, a space shuttle technician (IT guy) i'm certainly not. one more thing i am maybe is a wannabe minimalist... less is more

PHILOSOPHY

everyday wake up and learn more about the world we live in and try and help your fellow man, you'll be surprised how far that gets you.

perspective, A lot of the heavy lifting is deciding what you are about, getting your ideas in order and going from a general idea to a specific objective. For me, that’s always been kind of a mysterious process, partly intuitive, partly from what you see and experience. i think i have it partially figured out.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

a bunch of folks ask me, why i do what i do, come visit me ? bring your tent and sleeping bag, but of course i'll give you my farm campsite and water and some food. interested ? why the farm ?

Important Disclaimer (pls read)

1. I don't live in Panchgani but in the middle of nowhere 45 kilometres away or about an hour or more away from Panchgani and or mahabaleshwar.

2. It's hard living where I do, it's in the farm with difficult access and you have no food there, you have to carry what you want to cook. if you dont like outdoors, its not for you.

3. Accommodation is very rough so nothing except basic camping - I don't need much but I would not advise Indian people who are used to creature comforts and a sit down toilet to come over to where I am expecting hospitality for its "into the wild".

you might be better disposed to check out one of the camp sites nearby.

http://icampresort.com/ is closeby to where i am, but he is better organised, else you would be better advised to stick to the beaten trail and look at panchgani or mahabaleshwar options. Don't bug me.

Why ?
cos i'm not much of a city dweller, can help with pune logistics though. and there is something about the earth that touches my senses differently, its an emotion i cant really put my finger on, i feel differently when i work the land for a living over sitting at a desk in a box with a keyboard, its as close as i could get possibly with being at peace, farming though it doesnt pay much, provides me with that greater sense of equanimity which i consider worthy of my life.

a distant second could be playing with my dogs.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

nil so far, i began participating on this site because i couldnt find any hostels in minneapolis neither did i find any friendly people so minneapolis, goodbye lets just see how this goes from here...

Interests

this year 2017 was climbing in the garhwal himalaya and driving all over india from gangotri to kerala. 2016 was diving in the andaman archipelago in the Indian Ocean and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia - did the great Aussie traverse from the north - south and the coastal great ocean road. self drive over 7000 kms. climbing in nepal and alaska through may, june and july. Then drove all the way to prudhoe bay to homer and back in Alaska about 2308 miles / 4000 Kms.

2014-15 after finishing the south pole and climbing vinson in antartica, i set my eyes on the next possibilities. diving and climbing, I was climbing denali (may 2014), Scuba diving in raja ampat, thinking about arctic and antartic deserts, aconcagua again, africa, (the serengeti made me a wildlife photographer), climbing in the caucasus & remote tibet. growing trees, working on renewable energy projects & living it up, really well; oh also, pottering about with studying my subjects, getting back to being a student after 20 years is not easy, but it is very interesting, reading a little, cycling a little to keep off the extra weight and observing the world sometimes from behind the lense of a camera...

• dogs
• wildlife
• dining
• flying
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hunting
• adventure races
• mountaineering
• scuba diving
• boxing
• rock climbing
• swimming
• anthropology
• economics
• geography
• history
• lakes
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

movies by; guy ritchie, martin scorsese, christopher nolan of course woody allen and danny boyle -

authors; V S Naipaul, Robert Pirsig. i've handled profound things, but well its not necessarily part of my eclectic tastes -

music; floyd, straits, sting, jazz, pop -

food; indian tandoori, argentinian asado, african nyama choma, south east asian stir fry, russian shashliks and so on and on

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have climbed some of the worlds highest mountains in difficult geographies, led expeditions which made some history and challenge myself in my enterprise, i hv traveled half the world as an adventurer, a explorer, trying to redefine - who i am & still seek answers. I may be driven by a need to push ourselves over what we know to better our potential.

Teach, Learn, Share

i spend a lot of time thinking about; the next big mountain, geography, what to eat, experimenting with my life, chaos and the universe, funny/profound things folks say or do, cultural differences, travel plans & how to leave this world better than we found it, did i say what to eat...

What I Can Share with Hosts

a campsite, water, food...

lat long 17.941911, 73.734227

important ; i don't live in panchgani or mahabaleshwar and i'm definitely not interested in knowing or hosting tourists, 'tourists' please give me the go by. mail or messages asking me for space as a standby in case you don't get a hotel reservation is very unwelcome. i'm not who you are looking for. thank you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United States