CURRENT MISSION

I’m from Singapore, but spent a year in Beijing from March 2019. My overarching plan is to see as much as I can, with as little money as possible. Then again, there's always all that coffee and those books to buy...

ABOUT ME

I've been said to be generally easy-going, down-to-earth and polite. I believe in being nice to people. If someone smiles at me, I smile back (never mind if it's sheepish or clumsy). Of course I'm no saint. I get angry, I get upset, and I've hurt people (usually, it's unintentional). I'm working on keeping the negatives to a minimum.

What else?
I read and write where possible. Running is therapeutic.

PHILOSOPHY

To be content with what I have, however little. Anything more is a bonus.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have mostly surfed, and spread the good word. :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first was in Krakow, Poland, where I was fortunate enough to meet a couple who were very accommodating and absolutely wonderful to hang out with.

Interests

I try to bury my nose in the literature of the countries/cities I've visitied. So at present, my bookshelf is filled with titles from parts of South Asia, Central/Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Same applies to films, although I watch whatever from wherever, so long as it interests me.
And I love buildings/architecture -- I take photos of the ones that capture my attention (and post them, along with many others, on Instagram/@kevuzingh) and I've familiarized myself somewhat with the different styles; so I should be able to hold a mildly intelligent conversation about them.

Have I mentioned volcanos? I'd always wanted to be a volcanologist, or an archaeologist. But neither were offered as subjects at schools in Singapore, and I wasn't rich enough to travel abroad. But thank God for books and documentaries.

• writing
• books
• photography
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: equally comfortable with Yann Tiersen as I am with Dua Lipa and Maluma

Movies: some of Stanley Kubrick's (especially The Shining), Before Sunset, and some Hindi films

Books: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (among many others)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'm not terribly adventurous so nothing of the jumping-out-of-a-plane sort. But here's what happened during a trip in October 2017:

We were in Iceland, a small tour group and I. The plan was to skinny dip in a hot spring. It was windy, and I was one of the first to undress but ended up being the last to jump. A drawstring knot got stuck around one ankle. So there I was, freezing my butt off for a good 10 minutes or so while someone tried to quickly help me, while marvelling at the fact that I was holding up the way I was, considering the chilly wind. It was 3-5 degrees Celsius. "Adrenaline," I said to him.

Needless to say, the time spent in the hot spring was magical and the scenery around us, breathtaking.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: languages, mostly. Hindi and Malay. and a smattering of Mandarin. and if you're from a land far, far away from my country, some history and politics of my region too.

Learn: languages too. :)

Share: my lame sense of humour, and, this one is a crowd-pleaser, doing the dishes (I'm far from being a master chef so the least I can do is the clean up).

What I Can Share with Hosts

Time where possible. A meal or two together would be nice. Bombay toast and masala chai (if we have the right ingredients).

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Singapore