Looking forward to sharing more about myself and learning more about you when we meet up. For now, I am a student of life. Not only have I studied at Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford, I enjoy learning from my dear friends, peers, and new people I meet from different countries and different cultures. I enjoy learning about opening up our minds to higher consciousness through spirituality, new friendships, travel, meditation, yoga, micro dosing or other paths to a higher, kinder, and more holistic existence.

I am also a big foodie and love to cook, share foods, taste wines and check out all the microbreweries and distilleries in Vancouver, and into whiskeys and tequila and mezcal. In the Summer I play tennis and squash, and I’m a ski bum in the Winter.

I live in the West End of downtown Vancouver. For why you might want to stay here, see

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/west-end-best-neighbourhood-vancouver

If I’m hosting you and other Couchsurfers, it means I have time to show you around town and may be able to drive you to other places like Whistler, Victoria, Tofino, etc.

For view from my place, see https://youtu.be/Y-PfN_stD5s

The place is 30 seconds to the beach, 1 minute to public transportation, 90 seconds to the supermarkets and convenience stores, 1 minute to amazing restaurants of all kinds of cuisines, and has an amazing sunset.

This is an open-minded, non-judgmental, and non-discriminatory home so you’re accepted just as you are. And hopefully you can extend the same open-mindedness and inclusivity to others also when you are staying here.

It is not compulsory, but if you want to have a higher likelihood of being accepted, include your response to one (definitely NOT more than two) of the following questions. Quality answers over just quantity of answers please. Definitely don’t feel like you have to answer everything . It’s an opportunity for us to think about if we will be a good fit.

What are the 3 most important values of Couchsurfing for you and why? There is no one right answer.

What are 3 of the most important qualities of a great friendship for you and why?

Who are your 3 closest friends and why you love having them as your dear friends?

What are at least 3 non-monetary things you can contribute to making your stay a positive experience for yourself, the host, and maybe other guests?

What are your 3 biggest passions and why?

What are the 3 things or people you’re most grateful for and why?

Who are the 3 people (historical or someone in your life) that you look up to and why?

What are your 3 favourite cuisines and/or dishes?

It’s very helpful to know whether you are a flexitarian, omnivore, on keto, a vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan, or are allergic to any foods. It helps me plan in terms of which guests I can have at the same time since it’s more complicated when I have to make separate dishes for carnivores and vegans.

Feel free to share your social media links. And if you’re bringing friends or partners, kindly ask them to describe themselves and share those responses with me. Better yet, get them to write their own requests. Your request will most likely not be successful if you don’t tell me about your friends or partner(s) who will be staying with you because it will make me feel like I’m inviting a total stranger into my home.

Please be upfront with the number of days you’re requesting. If I can’t host you for that many days, I will let you know. I find it very difficult to plan when someone asks for 1 day only as a way to ask for more days after they arrive. There are also many requests that if you don’t request for the whole length of your stay, there won’t be space most likely if you ask at a later date.

Also, I appreciate how you may be travelling on a budget with your own money and not your parents’ dime, but no judgement if you are. I also realize that Vancouver may be your last stop and you might be running out of money. That’s ok! If you’re travelling on a tight budget, please just be frank and let me know so I can plan activities or meals that are free or within your budget. I want you to have a great time in Vancouver, not feel pressured or stressed. This city has so much to offer whether you’re on $15/day or $150/day. And there are so many great things to do even if your budget is $0. You must answer this question for your request to be considered. So please do set a budget and convey that information to me. However, please look elsewhere if you are a freeloader just looking for a free bed and meals. My home is not your hostel! We can all contribute non-monetarily with love, compassion, kindness, positivity, our time and energy or with our many other resources and talents. It is inconsistent with my understanding of CS for people to leech off the generosity of others.

It will help your request to be accepted if you take some time to let me know why you would like to stay at my place and with me. Also, if you let me know some of your travel plans in advance, I can coordinate my schedule with you so it will be easier for you to go sightseeing. For example, if you want to go hike the Squamish Chief, let me know in advance and maybe I can go with you or drop you off in Squamish on my way to Whistler. Another example is if you want to see Tofino, we could either plan a road trip with other CSers or I could connect you with friends who own a hotel there.

I would also like to feel comfortable and safe in my own home. So please be considerate in that way. This may include speaking in English (especially if you’re a couple or a group of friends) so that I and other CSers do not feel excluded since we won’t understand what you’re saying and cannot participate in the conversations.

Also, please be mindful of your personal hygiene. This does not just include body odours, but also not bringing pests into my home as previous CSers have done because it’s at least a few hundred dollars to call pest control. So, if you have been backpacking in the wilderness especially, please double check yours sleeping bags and and food bags because it’s quite unnerving to find centipedes or other creepy crawlers from your journeys on my beds or sofa. I have laundry machine and dryer so you’re welcome to wash clothes for free.

And very importantly, kindly leave any bad vibes or entitled attitudes outside the door please! Let’s have a cheerful time hanging out with lots of laughter and good food and drinks during our time together.

FYI, I usually hit the sack around 11-11:30 pm at the latest, so if you want to go party, remember to coordinate with me in advance. Happy to go clubbing together.

Finally, it is extremely important to me that you feel safe, at ease, and comfortable so you can have an amazing time in Vancouver or Whistler during your stay with me. To that end, please be proactive with communicating your needs since (most of the time), I’m not a mind reader. 😉

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Share hospitality and kindness and spread good vibes.

Interests

Multiculturalism. Travel. Meeting new people and making great connections.

Music, Movies, and Books

The plays of Shakespeare, Mozart to EDM, Lord of the Rings, Inglorious Bastards, and many action movies.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbed the Pyramids in Egypt.

Teach, Learn, Share

Spirituality, tennis, skiing, tea ceremony, different languages and cultures.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Great hang out and chats. Awesome and open minded conversations.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macao, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States