CURRENT MISSION

Trying to comprehend the insanity and breathtaking beauty that is life. One couch at a time..

ABOUT ME

I love people and I love travel. I'm a happy soul, I love good company and a natter, I see the funny side to the daftness of existence as well as it's awe inspiring beauty. I love Nature and I have a child like curiosity about everything! I like to go off the beaten track, I'm self confident and resourceful, & like to try to do things differently. I feel like I don't quite see the world the way most people do (hate consumerism, greed, dishonesty, accumulation of wealth as a way of life, poverty, ignorance and intolerance), so I can feel like a bit of an odd ball at times, but I love life, and love sharing my experiences with like minded souls along the way.

PHILOSOPHY

I bear witness to the chaos of existence in our world. I try to live as harmless a life as possible, but that doesn't mean I don't like my gadgets! For many years a passionate environmental campaigner, now drawn much more to humanitarian causes. It's taken me nearly 20 years to learn that if we cannot even care for ourselves first, then caring for everything else is pointless. People really are the future! Love is the key; integrity, honesty, humility & humour are the way.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I love the sense of community, minimal impact, friendship and adventure that can be offered by CS. I've hosted and also couchsurfed in the past, but that was before this wonderful networking tool was ever invented!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Not too much so far (at least not with CS; plenty of wonderful random encounters and free sleeps offered and accepted over the years however), but I have met wonderful hosts in Victoria, Australia; Orlando, Florida and most recently in La Paz, Bolivia. When I next travel I'm keen to meet many more!

Interests

I love climbing, reading, music, biking, hiking, diving, swimming, running and travel, I love travel, I'm getting itchy feet now just thinking about it!

• causes
• environment
• cooking
• running
• reading
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• scuba diving
• rock climbing
• swimming
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

Ooh, I'm an ecclectic and avid (if at times painfully slow) reader, I alternate between fiction / non fiction, and am mostly drawn to sci fi & fantasy (Raymond Feist, Steven King, Alistair Reynolds, Ian M Banks), as well as esoterica (Graham Hancock, Robert Buval, Lynn Picknett).

I love most music, especially dance as I was a DJ once upon a time, many moons ago, but also love world music. If I had to name a favourite band, it would be Radiohead.

I love movies too, so many, but a few of my favourites are Eternal Sunshine of a spotless mind: Bladerunner; Silent Running; The Shining; Apocalypse Now...and some of the great TV too, especially Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Bluekrantz Gorge Bungee, all 216m of it, when I was backpacking in South Africa was pretty mind blowing! (http://www.faceadrenalin.com/) So were the Nurse sharks I dived with whilst there too. Seen so many wonderful things; sunrise on the equinox at Angkor Wat, sunset after jumping the fence to get into Borobudur, seeing live eruptions from Mt Bromo in Java, or exploring the Plain of Jars in Laos by motorcycle...(that wasn't one thing was it?)

Teach, Learn, Share

I've recently learnt how to finally cook rice well after 20 years! It's so simple, and once you get the hang of it, never fails and works with any number. So..

1) use a rough handful per person.
2) add it to a large pan (you need a lid that fits)
3) add enough water to cover, and swill a few times to rinse, pour out and repeat (unless you need to save water or want stickier rice, in which case ignore)
4) fill water to a finger's width above the rice
5) boil, then set to simmer for about 5 mins
6) check to see if the water has gone, and there are lots of little steam holes in the rice
7) fluff the rice up with a fork
8) now you can turn the heat really low/off and let it steam for another 5 mins, or as long as you need, it will stay moist and fluffy for half an hour or more
9) enjoy perfectly simply fluffy rice!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Sweden, United Kingdom

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