CURRENT MISSION

Travel the world and in order to pay for these aforesaid 'travels' I plan to work extremely hard and win a lottery. I only wish I would start BUYING some tickets though... soon soon

ABOUT ME

Ganesh BacktoPuneCreate your badge

I've been on Couchsurfing for over 10 years now and I must admit, it has been pretty amazing all along. I love travelling, playing sports, listening to music and watching movies - I have a pretty decent collection of them. I absolutely love photography and try very hard to promote it wherever I go, I also play the guitar a little bit though I never seem to shake off that 'beginner' tag. Blah Blah... but of course, the main reason why I'm on this site is because I like to travel. I'm notorious for being slightly hyperactive, wanting to go out and see/do new things all the time. Sitting at home watching TV, concrete jungles, unnecessary 'relaxation' are all things that I despise.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm honest, I'm straightforward, I call a spade a spade. I can also make you laugh your guts out with my sense of humour. Of course, some people do not understand it and in that case they usually mumble some inaudible swear words and get up and leave but oh well...who cares about those bums anyway? I can do a pretty good drunk person impersonation when I want to get out of a boring place. I can talk about the most random theories in the world. Don't believe me? Go see http://blasphemoustheories.blogspot.com

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Besides being an ex-moderator of the Pune CS group, I've lived in Pune for most of my life and I know quite a bit about the history, geography and culture of Pune and of India. I can mark out a walking route on the map for you to explore by yourselves and if I have some time to spare, I could also show you around a bit. On weekends, I usually drive out of the city and seek more adventures and you are welcome to join me on those.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My initial introduction to CS was in 2008 when my flatmate (Sandy Patel on CS) and I hosted a number of couchsurfers in our flat in the Leeds city centre.

I officially joined CS in 2009 since then have attended and organised various CS meets in Pune and Leeds. I have also couchsurfed numerous times during my travels in the UK in 2009, in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Austria in 2010, in Italy in 2011.

Interests

Anyway, you can see some photographs from my travels on my website: http://www.ganeshgaonkar.com

• culture
• photography
• coffee
• walking
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• cars
• music
• guitar
• sports
• tennis
• badminton
• geography
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Classics classics classics... :) I'm one of those nuts who believe that good music died with the 80s though some surprisingly good recent music does hit my ears every now and then.

Even then, I read and listen to most books and music or movies without any strong prejudices. My favourite authors are Rudyard Kipling, O Henry, Thomas Hardy, H G Wells, Mark Twain etc. My favourite music bands are Queen, The Police, U2, UB40, Dire Straits, Eagles, Judas Priest, Michael Jackson etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Driving around Berlin at 3:00 AM with two couchsurfers. Later as we sat talking about the history of Berlin with the lights on and ignition off, we killed the car battery. Spent half an hour trying to wave down some cars on the street for help.
Watching the fireworks display over the river on my last day in Szczecin, Poland. Some people who I met there from Couchsurfing had become such good friends during my one month stay that I actually felt sad about leaving that day.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm happy to share whatever I know if you can bear me while I do it. ;) I've encouraged and helped a lot of my friends to pick up and improve upon their photography, badminton or table-tennis skills. Though I am not a professional in any of these, I can still teach the basics pretty well. LOL and I don't charge a lot either - buying me a cup of coffee usually suffices.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Nepal, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, United Kingdom

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