CURRENT MISSION

Avoiding responsibility

ABOUT ME

For the last few years, I've been a travel writer. Here's proof.

PHILOSOPHY

Get on with it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I CouchSurf, CouchHost and CouchMeet. I also organise hikes.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Introduced by
Evan, Seattle, UNITED STATES: October '07 Hosted
In Camberley, Surrey, UK
Jonathan, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND: 6th May '08
In Rusholme, Manchester, UK
Andrea, Angers, FRANCE: 1st-3rd Jul '08
Bettina & Selina, Wohlen, SWITZERLAND: 8th-9th Jul '08
Zach & Nick, West Lafayette, UNITED STATES: 15th Jul '08
Zuzana, Helsinki, FINLAND: 19th Jul '08
Gavin, Brighton, ENGLAND: 26th-27th Jul '08
Diamond, London, ENGLAND: 31st Jul '08
Laura, Paris, FRANCE: 1st Aug '08
Paula, Munich, GERMANY: 9th Aug '08
Claudia, Marienberg, GERMANY: 9th Aug '08
In Chorlton, Manchester, UK
Lily, New Territories East, HONG KONG: 29th Nov '08
Joana, York, ENGLAND: 5th Dec '08
Shan, Singapore City, SINGAPORE: 6th Dec '08
Gel, Paris, FRANCE: 10th Jan '09
Gautam, Mumbai, INDIA: 15th Feb '09
Claudia, Stuttgart, GERMANY: 1st-2nd Mar '09
Rou, San Nicolas, MEXICO: 4th Mar '09
Malin, Umea, SWEDEN: 5th-6th Mar '09
Jacquie, Burghausen, GERMANY: 15th Mar '09
Rhys, Sydney, AUSTRALIA: 23rd-24th Mar '09
Ray, Bielefeld, GERMANY: 27th-29th Apr '09
Neil, Skegness, ENGLAND: 24th-25th Jun '09
Slobodan, Knin, CROATIA: 1st-3rd Jul '09
Camila, Brasilia, BRAZIL: 5th Jul '09
Sonya & Carolin, Kronberg, GERMANY: 11th Jul '09
Michele, Parma, ITALY: 24th-25th Jul '09
Jeffrey, Alameda, UNITED STATES: 1st-3rd Aug '09
Zhenya, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA: 6th-7th Aug '09
HoJin, Busan, SOUTH KOREA: 7th Aug '09
Meghan, Calgary, CANADA: 30th Sep-1st Oct '09
Handan, Istanbul, TURKEY: 3rd Oct '09
Balázs, Budapest, HUNGARY: 13th Nov '09
David, Diepenbeek, BELGIUM: 17th-18th Nov '09
John, Oxford, ENGLAND: 25th Nov '09
Holly, Barrow-in-Furness, ENGLAND: 19th Dec '09
Konrad, Aberdeen, SCOTLAND: 19th-20th Dec '09
Arthur, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS: 19th-20th Dec '09
Meghan, Calgary, CANADA: 15th-16th Jan '10
Amandine, Overijse, BELGIUM: 28th Jan '10
In Kačerov, Prague, Czech Republic
Yali, Deqing, CHINA: 18th-19th July '10
Julia & Donata, Basel, SWITZERLAND: 22nd-24th July '10
Lauren & Miranda, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA: 27th-29th July '10
Laurent, Paris, FRANCE: 14th Sep '10
Peter, London, ENGLAND: 4th Feb '11
Yejin, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA: 13th-15th Jun '11
In Lhotka, Prague, Czech Republic
Jin, Dezhou, CHINA: 8th-9th Jun '12
Ale & Mariana, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA: 18th-19th Jul '12
In Tisis, Feldkirch, Austria
John, Williston, UNITED STATES: 19th-20th Nov '12
Franco, Verona, ITALY: 12th - 14th Jul '13
Nadja & Kirby, Karlsruhe, GERMANY: 23rd August '13
Gosia, Feldkirch, Austria: 28th September '13 Surfed
Zachary, Kagoshima, JAPAN: 14th-15th Nov '07
Matteo, Beppu, JAPAN: 19th-20th Nov '07
Tyler, Beppu, JAPAN: 21st Nov '07
Kevin, Busan, SOUTH KOREA: 24th Nov-10th Dec '07
John, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA: 14th-16th Dec '07
Jay, Sharm el-Sheikh, EGYPT: 26th Dec '07
Jay, Sharm el-Sheikh, EGYPT: 10th-11th Jan '08
Kfir & family, Jerusalem, ISRAEL: 21st Jan-2nd Feb '08
Ariel & Hagai, Haifa, ISRAEL: 3rd-4th Feb '08
Jon, Haifa, ISRAEL: 9th-11th Feb '08
Erez, Roi & Lior, Tel Aviv, ISRAEL: 12th-15th Feb '08
Asterios, Athens, GREECE: 25th-28th Feb '08
Miranda, Jeff & Mark, Tirane, ALBANIA: 1st-3rd Mar '08
Enis & family, Pristina, KOSOVO: 5th-6th Mar '08
Kristijan & family, Skopje, MACEDONIA: 7th-11th Mar '08
Bogidar, Sofia, BULGARIA: 12th Mar '08.
Ivan, Plovdiv, BULGARIA: 13th-14th Mar '08
Milena, Tanya, Stela, Eliza, Olesya & Martina, Veliko Tarnova, BULGARIA: 15th-17th Mar '08
Tia & Frank, Bucharest, ROMANIA: 18th-19th Mar '08
Dan, Braşov, ROMANIA: 20th-22nd Mar '08
Solène, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA: 23rd-25th Mar '08
Iulian & Oana, Iaşi, ROMANIA: 26th Mar '08
Irina & family, Chişinău, MOLDOVA: 27th-31st Mar '08
Sasha, Odessa, UKRAINE: 1st Apr '08
Anna, Kiev, UKRAINE: 3rd Apr '08
Katerina & Rebekah, Bath, ENGLAND: 18th Apr '08
Rob, Liverpool, ENGLAND: 20th May '08
Nat & Victoria, Belfast, N. IRELAND: 21st May '08
Gillian, Derry, N. IRELAND: 22nd May '08
Jay & friends, Dunaff, R.O. IRELAND: 23rd May '08
Rob, Liverpool, ENGLAND: 25th May '08
Adam, Manchester, ENGLAND: 16th Jun '08
Gabor, Exeter, ENGLAND: 26th Aug '08
Nat, Victoria & Tobias, Belfast, N. IRELAND: 15th Nov '08
Seb, Cork, R.O. IRELAND: 19th Nov '08
Susana & Michael, Cork, R.O. IRELAND: 20th-21st Nov '08
Laurent, Angelica & Ed, Newcastle, ENGLAND: 24th-25th Jan '09
Jacquie, Sheffield, ENGLAND: 27th Feb '09
Vangelis, Birmingham, ENGLAND: 5th May '09
Christina, Shanghai, CHINA: 30th Aug-1st Sep '09
Jie, Beijing, CHINA: 2nd-4th Sep '09
Jie, Beijing, CHINA: 13th-14th Sep '09
Joana, York, ENGLAND: 14th Nov '09
Eileen, New York, UNITED STATES: 14th-16th Feb '10
Jenn, New York, UNITED STATES: 17th Feb '10
Edicson, Mérida, MEXICO: 26th-27th Apr '10
Anne-Claire, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS: 27th-28th Aug '10
Tom, Munich, GERMANY: 2nd-4th Oct '10
Albert, Vienna, AUSTRIA: 27th-28th Mar '11
Anna, Ljubljana, SLOVENIA: 29th Mar-2nd Apr '11
Roberto, Padua, ITALY: 3rd-4th Apr '11
Cole, Padua, ITALY: 5th-6th Apr '11
Diego, Bilbao, SPAIN: 4th Jul '11
Susana, Pamplona, SPAIN: 7th Jul '11
Vilhelm, Copenhagen, DENMARK: 28th-29th Mar '12
Noy & Hennie, Copenhagen, DENMARK: 30th Mar-2nd Apr '12
Mahmoud, Berlin, GERMANY: 2nd-4th Apr '12
Cedric, Berlin, GERMANY: 5th Apr '12
Christina, Dresden, GERMANY: 6th-7th Apr '12
Emanuele, Feldkirch, AUSTRIA: 12th May '12
Gerhard, St Gallen, SWITZERLAND: 13th May '12
Franco, Verona, ITALY: 25th - 27th Nov & 2nd - 4th Dec '12

Interests

Reading, writing, eating, film, television, theatre, art, music, football, tennis, hiking, SCUBA diving, skydiving and people watching. I occasionally find the time to do a bit of travelling too.

• arts
• writing
• dining
• cheese
• beer
• coffee
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• soccer
• tennis
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

Film
There are far too many to name here, but in summary I am generally a fan of 'Classic Hollywood' (12 Angry Men, The Apartment, Casablanca, The Philadelphia Story), 'Festival Hollywood' (Adaptation, Clerks, Memento, Sideways), World Cinema (City of God, L'Homme Du Train, Man Bites Dog, Withnail and I) and modern Bollywood (Black, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Veer-Zaara). And a cheeky dose of Spinal Tap for good measure. Television
I'm obsessed with British sitcom from Steptoe to Peep Show and everything in between - 'Allo 'Allo, Blackadder, Brass Eye, Dad's Army, The Day Today, Early Doors, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Hancock's Half Hour, The IT Crowd, I'm Alan Partridge, Marion and Geoff, The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley, The Office, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf, The Royle Family... I could go on and on. There are a few exceptional US sitcoms to include as well - Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Larry Sanders Show, The Office, Police Squad! and The Simpsons. Music
I unashamedly love Billy Joel (the only man to cry "Rock 'n' Roll!" before an elaborate sax solo) along with some other 'Oldies' - The Beatles, The Carpenters, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Queen - and a few 'Newies' - Amy Winehouse, Belle and Sebastian, Ben Folds (Five), Counting Crows, The Darkness, The Divine Comedy, Five For Fighting, King Creosote, Sufjan Stevens. I enjoy at least some music from most genres and I'm always open to further education from CSers. Books/Plays
I love the Russian literature I've read (mainly Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy), some American writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Ernest Hemingway and a lot of good ol' British/Irish fare (Martin Amis, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, George Orwell, Oscar Wilde). My favourite novel is either The Ascent of Rum Doodle or Catch 22. Or perhaps it's Anna Karenina. Or Wild Swans. Or...

Teach, Learn, Share

The rules of British 'etiquette' found in most guidebooks are over the top and outdated; please feel free to yawn in public, talk with your mouth full and firmly plant your elbows on the dinner table. As long as you remember to embrace the incessant drizzle and form orderly queues in Post Offices you'll be fine. If you're looking to save your dinner money in South Korea simply go into a bar, order a kettle of makgeolli or soju (rice wines) and you'll be treated to free kimchi and other nibbles! Some areas of Jordan have no public transport but stick out a thumb and you'll be picked up by an amiable local in no time. For God's sake, don't propose a toast in Hungary. During the occupation, Austrian troops celebrated the executions of Hungarian revolutionaries by chinking their beer glasses. Subsequently, toasting has come to symbolise the spilling of Hungarian people's blood... so why not just say 'egészségédre'? For a tasty meal in Kathmandu, Nepal try the blue-cheese steak at Kilroy 2 followed by an amazing ice coffee at OR2K. Amazing! There are ways to explore Japan on a budget. Try sleeping in a capsule hotel, minshuku (B&B) or 24-hour Internet café (they'll give you a free blanket). Bullet trains are expensive but 'local trains' can be reasonable and buses are a good option. Hitchhiking is also a possibility, although single women should take care. For affordable but tasty food try 'Kaiten-zushi' (cheap sushi) or 'Ramen' (thick noodles and vegetables). Convenience stores and bakeries have lunch offers and 100 yen shops are ideal for bulk buys. If you crave crap, McDonald's is cheap too! Egyptians often receive no wages, relying solely on baksheesh (tips) for income. So prepare to pay some cash for every service. Just to confuse everybody, in Albania, Kosovo and Bulgaria nodding your head signifies 'no' while shaking it equals 'yes'. Worse still, in the Czech Republic SAYING 'no' really means 'yes'. In China you may wonder why everyone looks so good for their age. Well, the simple fact is that the Chinese population begins life at one-year-old, and ages at the passing of every New Year, rather than on individual birthdays. Therefore a baby born after 11pm on December 31st will be two-years-old within the hour. (This is also true of some other East Asian cultures)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, North Korea, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Nepal, United Kingdom

• 

•