CURRENT MISSION

Impossible

ABOUT ME

I have been involved on and off with Couchsurfing since 2008. I used to host regularly in England and occasionally in Hong Kong and Taipei.

The comments in the references should give you an idea of my interests. I read a lot, play music, like the outdoors, like to travel and hear stories. I enjoy surfing and hosting because of the people I meet on this site: eclectic, open-minded, humorous, generous and spirited.

PHILOSOPHY

The map is not the territory

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting, surfing, social events.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far, it's all good.

Interests

Writing, reading, mountains, music, politics, science, cracking bad puns, gazing deep into my navel and wondering about deeply pointless questions, trying foreign foods, wandering around remote villages pronouncing local words badly, eating and drinking with friends

• writing
• coffee
• drinking
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• track and field
• science
• tourism
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Kazuo Ishiguro, Saul Bellow, Eimear McBride.

Movies: Charlie Kaufman, Bill Murray, Lee Ang.

Music: Americana, Indie, Classical, World.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Summit of Stok Khangri, August 2007. Felt like I was halfway into orbit.

Teach, Learn, Share

Selected travel tips:
1) When in the Philippines, smile at strangers. Not easy for English people to get the hang of, this one, but trust me, you will put people much more at ease immediately. Try it when you get home too, although in London it delivers mixed results.
2) If you want to get really off the beaten track try the Pangi Valley in India. It's in the Himalayas. Only accessible in the summer via the worst bus journey ever, but worth it.
3) Taiwan. Go there. My favourite modern Asian country.
4) Singapore: I lived there for 5 years. Avoid the night safari, zoo, bird park and sentosa. Go to Katong or Geylang or Changi village and eat. (Eat, lah!) Try local style coffee. It is called Kopi. Go to Arab Street and drink Teh Tarik. Try roti prata. If you haven't eaten roti prata, you haven't been to singapore. Best eaten at 4am after a long night drinking.
5) Morocco: sometimes it actually rains in the Sahara. Be aware of this surprising fact.
6) Five volcanoes: (i) Gunung Rinjani. Otherworldly, spectacular, amazingly beautiful, with a lost world and hot springs in the massive crater. A total b**ch to climb. Your legs will hurt. (ii) Gunung Merapi in West Sumatra. Fabulous sunrise. Moonscape on top belching sulphur from great gaping holes. Do not hire Heri from Lake Maninjau as a guide. He is rubbish. (iii) Mt Talinis is an extinct volcano in southern Negros, Philippines, near Dumaguete. Getting to the top requires worming your way through thick jungle. Sit on the branches of the huge pine trees growing on the top. (iv) Kilaueau, Big Island, Hawaii. If you're lazy, you can drive round the rim of the crater then go see where the cooled lava has wiped out a road. Road signs are still sticking out of it. (v) Mt Mayon, Bohol, Philippines. One of the reasons I have to go back to the Philippines is to climb this. The most spectacular and perfect crater I have ever seen. Best viewed from the Whale-shark-spotting boats at Donsol, rising in the distance with a trail of smoke drifting from the top.

I'll add more stuff as it occurs to me.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe

•