I AM CURRENTLY TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD
(yes I am a lucky bastard!)

... so please don't send any requests.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

the past 10 years i have hosted lots, and stayed with so many people! i've got heaps of memorable experiences both surfing and hosting :) it's made my life more colorful and got me priceless friendships.

also, i was part of the AMT (amsterdam meetup team), a CS committee that organizes meetings for couchsurfers. you'll find loooots of useful advice about amsterdam on its profile: www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=2TKKD7F.

because of other priorities and an attempt at doing less with more attention, i've been less active as a host.

i am currently making a dream come true, traveling the world, with the love of my life! we created a platform called Wishes Inc. (you can find it here: facebook.com/wishesinc and www.wishesinc.nl). it’s a home to extraordinary stories about the wishes and dreams of people we meet randomly while traveling. some of these stories are tiny treasures to us :)

Interests

things i like? taking analogue pictures of pretty things and people, drawing, writing, reading, yoga, mindfulness, swimming, arthouse cinema, traveling, hitchhiking, adventures (skydiving, piloting airplanes, diving and rafting? yeah baby!) seeing friends and going to concerts & festivals, cruising the canals with my boat penelope, having a picknick, going to flea markets, daydreaming on rooftops..

• animals
• cats
• arts
• writing
• coloring
• concerts
• festivals
• dancing
• flamenco
• dining
• cooking
• indian food
• coffee
• yoga
• walking
• drinking
• clubbing
• flying
• boating
• shopping
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• cars
• drawing
• music
• cycling
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• skiing
• rock climbing
• tennis
• swimming
• table tennis
• law
• tourism
• hitchhiking
• tours
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

movies: amelie, la vita e bella, little miss sunshine, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, c.r.a.z.y., una estrella y dos cafés, black cat white cat, mr. nobody... i can go on forever :)

books: the kite runner (khaled hosseini), angela's ashes (frank mccourt), life of pi (yann martel), water for elephants (sara gruen), wild (cheryl strayed).

music: adele, air, amos lee, architecture in helsinki, ben harper, ben howard, beirut, bell x1, bright eyes, carla bruni, the cat empire, cocorosie, coldplay, counting crows, damien rice, das pop, dave matthews, emiliana torrini, erlend oye, feist, fink, the frames, gabriel rios, hanne hukkelberg, heather nova, james blake, joe purdy, john mayer, kakkmaddafakka, kate nash, kings of convenience, the kooks, kt tunstall, lisa mitchell, miike snow, mumford & sons, nneka, nizlopi, patrick watson, patrick wolf, pete murray, postal service, radiohead, regina spektor, snow patrol, sparklehorse, the whitest boy alive, 2 many dj's, the xx

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

* flying lesson in a cessna airplane
* climbing the dunes in the namib desert and seeing the sun colouring the landscape in the early morning
* skydiving above the namib desert and the feeling of flying
* staying in the middle of the most dangerous township of the world, johannesburg's soweto, which didn't seem dangerous at all :)
* hitchhiking to a lot of different places, often contests with friends
* travelling through morocco with my friend daphne and saving our asses to escape nasty situations. sleeping in a cave house. berber skiing in the sahara. hitching too.
* diving in incredible clear water with wrecks and bizarre animals
* winning a trip to australia and the solomon islands, while raising money for 6 charities. wonderful and bizarre trip. deeply impressed by the people at the solomon islands.
* collecting stories on wishes inc.

Teach, Learn, Share

are you surfing in amsterdam? then i have some advice for you... ready? steady? go!

1) borrow or rent a bike (http://www.macbike.nl -> close to central station) and just cycle through the city as much as you can. it's a very nice experience, compared to walking or taking the public transport. and when you cycle, you always bump into interesting things that are happening on the streets. be careful though, don't get stuck in the tram tracks ;)

2) go on a boat trip! my friend Marc Paping can take you any place you like in the city on his lovely silent boat that’s solar powered; we love to do this a lot ourselves! Much nicer than a crowded touristy canal tour. Only 7,50 per person, per hour. Contact Marc on +31653897887 or tours@rederijpaping.nl / www.rederijpaping.nl

3) visit the neighbourhood jordaan with all its lovely canals, little shops and bars (where i was born!) especially worth checking out are the 9 streets (negen straatjes). 9 cosy and picturesque shopping streets in the middle of the unesco heritage canal belt. Full of quirky little shops, hidden cafes and charming restaurants (http://www.de9straatjes.nl/en/home).

4) although it sounds boring, visit the amsterdam public library.. it's uber hip & modern, close to the central station. brilliant view from the top floor! there's a nice and affordable restaurant as well. (http://www.oba.nl)

5) for more nice views: climb the westerkerk (church)! the highest church tower of the city. it's open from april until november (monday to saturday 10-17:30). guided tour every half hour. http://www.westerkerk.nl

6) go to the museumplein (museum square). you can check out the beautiful buildings of the rijksmuseum, van gogh museum and the concert hall. and don't forget to visit them if you want to :p

7) go to the biggest park of amsterdam: the vondelpark. have a drink in the blue teahouse! http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/placestogo/t-blauwe-theehuis-blue-tea-house/96ab2ad1-b441-473f-b9e1-05160cb3d39f

8) check out the concerts at paradiso and the melkweg, located very close to the leidseplein. they're the best places to see wicked music and go completely crazy. http://www.paradiso.nl and http://www.melkweg.nl

9) one of the nicest laid back bars we have is called 'basis'. they only serve (cheap) drinks and bites, but you can bring your own food and heat it in their microwave, or use their old school phone to order something delicious. they have plates & cutlery and will even do your dishes! how awesome is that. http://basisamsterdam.nl/

10) bars & clubs
the nicest night club we have is definitely 'trouw' at wibautstraat 127, situated in an old newspaper factory. brilliant combination of rough industralism & awesome international dj's. http://www.trouwamsterdam.nl
another cool bar/club is 'canvas', opposite of 'trouw' at the wibautstraat, on the 7th floor of another old newspaper factory. you should also visit 'roest', great old warehouse turned into a cafe/bar/art exhibition and meeting place for creatives (www.amsterdamroest.nl). you can have a great time @ OT301 http://www.ot301.nl and check out this cafe: 'de bloemenbar' or in english, the flowerbar http://bloemenbar.nl/. a nice laid back & alternative place to go out and dance to great tunes is the 'nieuwe anita' (http://www.denieuweanita.nl). closes early though. try 'club 8' if you're really into playing pool or glow in the dark table tennis (http://www.club-8.nl) and 'club up' is one of the latest places to be (http://clubup.nl/).

11) good places to eat:
* my personal favourite is not too expensive: http://www.cafefestinalente.nl nice atmosphere of a livingroom, including a house cat and a lot of games, situated right at the heart of the jordaan (truely the nicest area of amsterdam). there's an english menu on their website, address: looiersgracht 40b.
* hannekes boom - a great new (summer) spot in the heart of the city, next to the public library you also need to see! http://www.hannekesboom.nl
* the nicest place in town for spanish tapas is duende, where you can also learn how to dance the flamenco: http://www.cafe-duende.nl/
* fier - sweet belgian cuisine, affordable and good vibes. a place where people start and end their nights. http://www.fieramsterdam.nl/
* opposite fier you'll find cafe/restaurant louter. also a cool spot to have a bite. http://www.cafelouter.nl/
* radijs - a cute, small restaurant in the west that i'm a big fan of. http://www.radijs-amsterdam.nl/ just as cafe cook, with its lovely terrace and record player where you can decide what you want to hear yourself. http://www.cafecook.nl/
* wanna take your girlfriend somewhere special? take her to hotel de goudfazant. it's in the north, at an industrial area, and the food is mighty good. candlelight and white tablecloths, rusty cars parked in the same warehouse. awesome combination. http://www.hoteldegoudfazant.nl/
* noorderlicht - also in the north, a biological place in a glass house http://www.noorderlichtcafe.nl/
* latei - cute little place in the centre where you can buy everything you see, from the furniture to the lamps - they serve nice coffee and pies & from thursday till saturday indian food as well, zeedijk 143 ->http://www.latei.net
* wilhelmina dok.. next to the water, nice cosy place (also take-out-your-girlfriend worthy!), easily reachable by the ferry that departs every few minutes from the water side of the central station.. (the ferry doesn't cost anything.. take the one on the far right) website: http://www.wilhelmina-dok.nl. a big ship once invaded this place. by accident.
* a new creative hotspot in the north is pllek. has an awesome view, next to the water. biological food. http://www.pllek.nl/
* restaurant @ the lloyd hotel, used to be a prison, they serve good food and it's a very interesting building :) website: http://www.lloydhotel.com/article-241-en.html?lang=en
* thai snackbar bird, zeedijk 77 ->http://www.thai-bird.nl/ cheap & GOOD.

12) waterlooplein: a nice market everyday // noordermarkt: even nicer market, on mondays and saturdays. // the best flea market of all: every month, we have the biggest flea market in the country with hundreds of people selling nice stuff (check http://www.ij-hallen.nl for upcoming markets). it's easily reachable by the ndsm ferry that departs every half hour from the back of the central station to the ndsm wharf (the ferry doesn't cost anything.. take the one on the far left). after you've strolled around, go for drinks at cafe noorderlicht (meaning northern light, http://www.noorderlichtcafe.nl). the ndsm wharf is an experimental area: lots of artists, festivals and underground events happening here.

13) feel like a day trip outside of town? Cycle to the lovely, tiny island of marken! Beautiful dutch scenery, perfect for picknicks along the route. Or take the train from Amsterdam Sloterdijk to Haarlem; only 14 minutes away. Haarlem is one of the most beautiful old cities in the Netherlands. It is a delightful, historica and cosy small city.

14) would you like to know the inner city from a whole other side? A fascinating, sometimes grimm, but definitely not dull side? Then a walk with a professional guide from Amsterdam Underground is surely something for you. their city guides are living a nomadic existence and want to share their experience with others. They take you on a discovery passing along boats, parks and porches. They explain how to get money, booze and dope when you're homeless and addicted. They give you a peek into the world of the homeless. An existence where you can trust no one and where the law of the jungle applies. Be surprised by a fascinating personal story full with interesting facts and humour! For enjoying their city walks you have 2 options. By reservation: 7 days a week (via www.amsterdamunderground.org/en/home, reservations page). Without reservation: join their Saturday walk, every Saturday at 14:00h.

What I Can Share with Hosts

when staying at somebody's home, respectful and humble is what i am. i always try to do or give something in return, but what - i'll keep a secret.

Countries I’ve Visited

Angola, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Panama, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, South Africa

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