After finishing my studies, I decided to save up for a bit before finally travelling. Currently, I’m in the midst of a two and a half month trip to South East/East Asia, but I hope to revisit soon.

I’m very passionate about guitar playing, films, and philosophy, but have recently gotten into boxing.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Whilst travelling, I’ve found myself longing for something less touristy; many of my most memorable interactions have been with locals/people living in the areas I’ve visited. I want to interact with locals, and am happy to discover things completely different from what I’m used to.

Granted, since I only know English, I won’t be able to speak to local language(s) of the areas I visit; so, I won’t be able to completely interact with locals, especially in areas where English isn’t as common. But through couch surfing, I hope to interact with a local/someone who lives in the area, that will be able to show me this local side of things, which I find to be most meaningful.

Interests

• books
• live music
• guitar
• boxing
• philosophy
• film

Music, Movies, and Books

I gravitate towards any music centred around guitar playing (I’m a big fan of Randy Rhoads, Jimi Hendrix and Van Halen). But I appreciate a wide variety of music: I could listen to stuff from Elton John, Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson to 2Pac.

When I get the chance, I like to watch films. In particular, I like Stanley Kubrick’s films (especially, Barry Lyndon), as well as Scorsese and Lynch’s works. More recently, I’ve tried to broaden my horizons and watch non-English movies (these tend to be less known in the UK), and have enjoyed the films of Park Chan-wook and Wong Kar-wai, with In The Mood For Love being a favourite of mine.

Like with music and movies, I enjoy reading. My main interests are in: philosophy (19th and 20th century German philosophy), psychoanalysis, Russian literature (writers such as Dostoyevsky, Turgenev and Tolstoy).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Naturally, I’m more introverted/shy. However, throughout the past year or so, I’ve attempted to overcome my shyness by putting myself out there more, whether that be through presenting for university reading groups, or (now) travelling to unfamiliar places.

Teach, Learn, Share

I’m happy to try and teach someone how to play the guitar (although I can’t promise to be the best teacher). But I’ll gladly talk to anyone about music, movies, literature and philosophy.

What I Can Share with Hosts

As mentioned, I’ll happily discuss any of the topics in my interests, whether that movies, music or literature. I’ll gladly go out with the host to visit the area, or even take them to places they may have not been before (e.g., in Hong Kong, I’ve heard that you can visit locations for where Wong Kar-wai movies were filmed, which I’d be willing to check out).

Moreover, as I’m a fan of live music, I’ll be happy to go to live music bars, and if the host is feeling more adventurous, I can give them a guitar lesson, or we could go to a boxing gym and do a class together.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom