You know about that girl next door? That's me. :)

As far as basic introductions go, I am from India who works in advertising as a copywriter. I grew up in the eastern part of this country, Calcutta and have been staying in Bangalore for almost 9 years now. I did my masters in world literature, probably that's how my love from different cultures kept growing.

Now to state the obvious - I love travelling, especially solo travelling. I am all ears for stories - good stories, bad stories, scary stories. That's exactly the reason I have preferred to stay at hostels or Airbnbs - it makes me feel like I belong to a place. I absolutely love hiking and prefer nature over cities any day. Music keeps me going and I strongly believe that the world is a better place because of it. And if I had to choose between 'no music' and 'bad music', I would choose the latter in a heartbeat.

I crave the slow life and I am not in a hurry to reach somewhere or run after something unattainable. My definition of a perfect day would comprise good music, exercise, a good book, earl grey tea, a warm banana cake, and a dog chilling with me.

Instagram handle: @deepabali

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Travelling is so much better when you get to see a place from a local's point of view. I want to meet new people and have a shared cultural experience. In the past, I have mostly stayed in hostels and have loved being around fellow travellers and knowing their stories. I feel Couchsurfing adds a more immersive and local flavour to your travels.

I have a spare mattress in my living room and can just host one person at a time.

Interests

I love discovering new music and a good day for me is when I discovered a great new artist.

If you want a recommendation, try out Parcels. Songs (along with the video) that can make me happy on any day are:

I'd rather dance with you - Kings of Convenience
Love will come to you - Poets of the Fall
Sultans of Swing (Alchemy Live) - Dire Straits

• cats
• dogs
• books
• yoga
• movies
• music
• hiking
• swimming
• philately
• solo travel
• mountains
• travel
• nature
• long walks
• coasters

Music, Movies, and Books

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dire Straits, Parcels, Sufjan Stevens, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, ABBA, The Smiths, Metallica, Imagine Dragons, Poets of the Fall, Kygo, Lost Frequencies, Thomas Jack, Roosevelt, Kings of Convenience, Jose Gonzalez, Cigarettes After Sex, Kings of Leon, and a thousand more
Guy Ritchie, Woody Allen, Wes Anderson, Tarantino, Satyajit Ray...I lke to watch everything but get drawn towards good direction and filmmaking
Franz Kafka, Charles Bukowski, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Fitzgerald, Haruki Murakami, Milan Kundera, Harry Potter, Satyajit Ray, Anton Chekhov, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and many more

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Went on a solo trip to Greenland for 10 days.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: any one of the languages that I know but you don't, how to cook without oil, yoga
Learn: your language, something quirky about your culture, skiing, surfing
Share: music, my wifi password, laughter, cool hangout places

What I Can Share with Hosts

Laughter, travel stories, freshly baked bread, music recommendations, healthy recipes

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates

Countries I’ve Lived In

India