An ongoing existential crisis and a passion for film and photography are the other reasons that drive me to travel. I feel a pulse only when I have the freedom to explore. Otherwise, like everyone else, I love the interaction with other cultures, communities and social spaces because why else would we travel and engage on CS? (:

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/davidnyk/

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'd love to meet other people (lol you don't say).

The inconvenient truth: I know the internet is not the best place for secret tips to a destination. Is it even low-key if it's online? I believe that a hole-in-the-wall eatery and the unknown sunrise viewpoint are best kept secrets of locals that most travellers miss out on.

But I'd also love to meet non-locals residing in a city/town. It's not a patronizing statement so that I fit the interests of more people. I always imagine working abroad but have yet to come across such an opportunity. I wonder about the assimilation and the excitement and would love to experience it vicariously through those who have done it, if they so wish to recount their favourite moments after making the huge decision to relocate. I also admire the beauty of being able to bare our souls to strangers from afar because of the lack of expectations from a non-transactional cultural exchange.

Most importantly, if I never formed a meaningful connection when I visit a place, was I really ever there or did I merely go through it like a passenger?

Interests

• photography
• film making
• vegetarian
• vegetarian food
• social psychology
• social media marketing
• street photography
• digital marketing
• landscape photography
• meaning of life

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC:
I love my basic top hits of the season. But I also love non-radio (or Spotify in this day) hits like this one I used for my first Olympics trip to Rio: https://youtu.be/2JBVA9Ffp9g

MOVIES:
Infinity War (because who doesn't?!)
Interstellar
The Martian
Gravity (As you can see, I'm drawn to movies depicting helplessness and survival because it suggests that life has meaning.)

BOOKS:
I spend too much time on the internet and watching TV series (see below).
The last good book I read - Anonymous Lawyer by Jeremy Blachman
The last audio book (also the only one I listened to the end lol) - Unbound: A Story of Snow and Self-Discovery” by Steph Jagger

TV SERIES:
Grey's Anatomy
Continuum
Black Mirror
Dark
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
Westworld
Humans
Revenge
The 100
13 Reasons Why
Unreal
The Magicians
(If anyone's wondering how I survive the commute to work)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

5 weeks in India/Sri Lanka for commissioned photography work with a travel company where I lived and worked alongside a lovely team of creatives from Austria, France, Germany, Romania and USA.

What I Can Share with Hosts

1. Photography tips? Only if they are total noobs because lol what do I know.
2. Questions that can lead to an existential crisis
3. Hugs and my (hopefully tolerable) company

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Singapore