CURRENT MISSION

to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before

ABOUT ME

Worked in Paris. Then travelled around the world for 5 years. Then worked in Paris again. Then in Singapore for 3 years. Then Cape Town 2 years. Now finishing up work in Puerto Rico. On the move until 2024.

PHILOSOPHY

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust

"No, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." -Martin Luther King

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I learned of CS while travelling and have met loads of cool folks on all continents, both hosting and as a guest.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfed lots. Hosted lots. Coffee & Drank lots.

Interests

Travel, hiking, discovering, learning. Anything unique and special about a place or culture or person intrigues me.

• coffee
• traveling
• hiking
• biology

Music, Movies, and Books

Kubrick, Wong Kar-Wai, Lynch, U2, Mahler, Wagner, Catch-22, Guns Germs & Steel, The Bottom Billion, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Year of Living Dangerously, Eyes on the Prize, Ghost Wars, A Farewell to Alms

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Slept in a wild cave in the Carpathians. Stayed in a Sufi cult in Syria, a dervish village in Iran, and in assorted buddhist and orthodox monasteries. Smoked in an underground shisha bar in Iran with a photo of the deposed Shah on the wall. Met a serial killer. At front line of Bangkok red vs yellow shirt civil war in 2010. Been arrested and interrogated by secret police or military police at least 8 times. Passed within 20km of a city being missile-attacked by NATO in Iraq. Slept in headhunter and cannibal villages. Visited San Pedro prison in La Paz. Smuggled liquor into Kuwait. Chewed gum in Singapore. Guided in the Paris catacombs. May have been the last western tourist to have crossed from Abkhazia to Georgia before the Russian invasion across that border. Climbed inside an active volcano (and up to the lip of several more). Climbed higher than 4000m elevation on 4 different continents. Have worn the same plastic Timex watch for 20 years until it was lost in Mexico. Haven't paid more than US$15 for a haircut in the last 20 years.

Teach, Learn, Share

Biologist by training but an explorer at heart.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, Northern Ireland, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French part), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, U.S., Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Canada, France, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, United States

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