I’m Caleb, a 23 year-old Canadian currently living in Bangalore, India with my girlfriend of two years and my dog, Asia. I’ve spent a significant portion of my life living abroad with my family, and this atypical upbringing has shaped my personality more than anything else.

Travel is second nature to me, but adventurous/meaningful travel is something that I’m learning more and more about as I get older and step away from the hotel/tourist van/buffet breakfast-style travel that I was raised on. These two sides of the travel coin are a part of who I am as well: I love the thrill of hitchhiking, going on adventures with strangers, and pushing myself to the limit, but I also really enjoy indulging in luxury every now and then.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

A friend introduced me to Couchsurfing in 2015. She told me that it was a great way to save money while travelling, and that’s the mentality that I brought with me when I first used Couchsurfing while travelling in Southeast Asia in 2017. However, I quickly discovered that it was much more than a means of backpacking on the cheap. These days I use Couchsurfing to meet amazing people that I wouldn’t otherwise have met, go on adventures that Lonely Planet’s top 10 lists can’t compete with, and expand my comfort zone in ways that hostels/hotels fail to.

Interests

Photography: I’m a photographer by trade, but it’s also one of my passions. It’s an excuse to go places and meet people that I wouldn’t otherwise meet.

Hitchhiking: Sometimes I choose to travel in as uncomfortable a way as possible. I’ve slept rough, dumpster dived, and hitchhiked, all in order to stretch myself and become a stronger person, travel-wise.

As for the rest of my interests, you’ll have to enquire when we meet. Think of them as potential icebreakers!

• photography
• movies
• surfing
• snowboarding
• wakeboarding
• philosophy
• religion
• hitchhiking
• gaming

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Lord Huron - The Night We Met, Glass Animals - Youth, Jonathan Bree - You're So Cool, Gus Dapperton - I'm Just Snacking, Mac DeMarco - Ode to Viceroy

Movies: Victoria, Lion, Thor: Ragnarok, Fargo, Toy Story, Short Term 12, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Requiem For A Dream, Room, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Books: The Gentle Art of Tramping - Stephen Graham, Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

While living in Ethiopia, I successfully completed a 40 day water fast. It was probably the most challenging thing I've ever done in my life, but I'm glad I did it - I learned so much about my body and mind from the experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

If there is one thing that I have learned from travel, it is that planning too much spoils a trip. It is best to choose a tentative point B, and leave the rest up to chance. There's an author that I really like, Stephen Graham. He wrote this:

"The adventure is not the getting there, it is the on-the-way. It is not the expected; it is the surprise; not the fulfillment of prophecy but the providence of something better than prophesied. You are not choosing what you shall see in the world, but are giving the world an even chance to see you."

Over-planning eliminates the anxiety that comes from not knowing - not knowing where you will sleep, who you will meet, what you will do, or where you'll end up - but it also eliminates the opportunity to wander down the goat trails, the opportunity to say yes to the detours that enrich the travel experience.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can take an excellent portrait of you with my DSLR for you to post on your Instagram, Facebook, or Couchsurfing account! Check out my Instagram to see my work: @caleb_friesen

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Peru