I live deep inside Kauai, surrounded by forests of bananas and coconuts and hordes of wild chickens and pigs. NB you will need a car to stay here, or love to walk, as there is no public transport this far into the island! Please don't ask me to drive you around.

I am a medical doctor and moved to Kauai for a healthier life and environment after living before in New York City and LA, and working in the Middle East and Asia.

I work pretty irregular hours at the local hospital but still get to travel frequently, for work and for fun. I collect rare fruit trees.

I get a huge number of requests. I would love to host everyone but don't always have space and time. So if I can't accomodate you don't take it personally. Bring camping gear and head for a beach or forest!

If you do want to be noticed among the flood of requests I get... offer to contribute to maintaining this household. Not cash, but help with yard or housekeeping or cooking or cleaning. There really is more here than I can handle on my own. Alternatively bring something tasty from your home town. Lilipig loves exotic delicacies. If you are an exceptionally good conversationalist and have stories to tell, that's good too. I also like it when people make art or music here. Had some good jam sessions. One couple brought a fruit tree that's doing quite well.

Basic house rules:
1. No cooking pork products including bacon.
2. No hard drugs. Alcohol and plants are fine in moderation.
3. Leave place cleaner than when you arrived. Otherwise I will get burned out and stop hosting for a while.
4. No extra or add-on guests. This is a delicate ecosystem here and even if the people you met at the hostel or on the beach seem really chill, I prefer to keep the population within limits.
5. I am not going to supervise your 1 month fast/cleansing ritual. You'll end up in the hospital, sorry. I'm not really interested in your spiritual quest.
6. Keep gate closed so pig doesn't eat the neighbors.
7. Don't ask me if you can stay longer than what we agreed upon. This is a popular spot and my schedule is tight. If you stay longer, that means other people can't come. Also, if you no-show, your room is going to go empty.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Kauai is a small island with no real urban life, far from any large cities. This is a great place if you want to get away from it all, but it often feels like you're cut off from the rest of the world. There's a small community of the descendants of sugar and pineapple plantation workers and local Hawaiians, and a few retired hippies, and a lot of tourists, but not much else. I'm looking to meet interesting and intelligent people from faraway places. If you can help garden (I've got three acres of jungle to try to control) or can entertain my pets while I'm at work, bonus and can you stay longer?

I travel a LOT for work. It's good to have friends in faraway places.

Interests

I like gardening, hiking, paddling, surfing, and travel. I work pretty hard so when I'm free I try to enjoy island life. Other interests include cooking, literature, physical training, and history.

• pets
• literature
• cooking
• gardening
• traveling
• hiking
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Out here it's all country and western and Hawaiian. Occasionally we get jazz, blues, and baroque, but they're pretty rare in these here parts. I haven't watched a lot of recent movies since CGI took over but have been working through the classics (Truffaut, Ray, Kubrick). Mostly I read travel, history, botany, and cookbooks.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once delivered a baby in the passenger seat of a pickup truck.

Teach, Learn, Share

Want to learn how to run a banana farm or hypnotize a pig? This is your chance.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My charming personality, wit, and wisdom. And Tim-tams!

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe