Australia, 2023 for the first footsteps on the Oceania continent after more than a decade in Indonesia!

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LIFEPATH

After several years of traveling between Europe and Asia (India, Nepal), I settled in Jakarta at the end of 2010, where I met my wife Santi.
In 2017, I got the chance to get employed in Bali, "Island of Gods" for several years.

Growing up in a small village near the famous Loire Valley in France, I could enjoy Scotland's outdoors during my final Bachelor year. Later, as I worked in research labs, I could enjoy the region around Grenoble, also called the capital of the French Alps, as it is surrounded on all sides by mountains!

A profound interest in Asia grew up when I came several times from 2008 to 2010 to Nepal, where I have friends with whom I am still in touch, like a family.
I also remember India's solo trip, during 4 months in 2008-09...

Finally, I fixed myself in Indonesia, another amazing country with endless natural wonders and welcoming people :-)

I like to meet new people, and exchange knowledge, especially about the place where live and/or come from, local traditions, and history.

I feel important to explore, go out of the beaten tracks, get lost (hard today with GPS and internet), and meet locals, to feel a place, rather than only visit tourist places.

I am very curious and talkative, so don't hesitate to stop me... unless you are also very talkative!!!

I enjoy outdoor sports activities (trekking, skiing, canoë, diving), that's why I chose to live for some time in Grenoble ... went to Nepal and Ladakh several times to trek or bike.

When traveling, I don't like to stay for a long time in big cities. They are a good starting point but to really feel a country and its people it is a must to go to the countryside to experience an authentic taste of local life.

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PHILOSOPHY

Important for one's life are qualities like honesty, sincerity, sociability, and open-mindedness.
More solidarity and comprehension are what we need for a better world.

Environmental awareness and human rights are important matters concerning me.

My favorite sentence is from "Antoine de St Exupery":
Make your life a dream, and this dream reality

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We should always keep in mind that
"Magic always happens out of our comfort zone."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I lived in Grenoble (France), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Jakarta (Indonesia), I enjoyed several CS meetings.
I started to host in Grenoble back in 2009, then received more guests when I had my own home in Jakarta, and later in Koh PhiPhi (Thailand) during my very short dive instructor career...

I was hosted several times mostly while I was traveling in India (2008) and Madagascar (2010), as well as Indonesia, Italy, Vietnam, and Sweden more recently.

I am definitely interested to meet other Couchsurfing members, not only for surfing or hosting but also to hang out, have interesting discussions, and help each other with any useful information or contacts...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

CS meetings in Grenoble (France), Kathmandu (Nepal), Jakarta, and Bali (Indonesia).

Hosting in Grenoble, Jakarta, Bali, and Phiphi (Thailand)

Surfing in India, Nepal, Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy, Vietnam, and Sweden.

Interests

Outdoor sports, geography, photography, board games, reading (adventure books, environment, cultural guidebooks, articles, blogs), documentary movies.

• photography
• board games
• geography
• history
• trekking
• diving
• sciences

Music, Movies, and Books

*Movies:
Science fiction, adventure, thriller.
Dance with the Wolves, Lord of the Rings, Last Samouraï, 7 years in Tibet, Avatar, Abyss, 5th Element...

*Documentaries:
Those from National Geographic, Planete, BBC World...
FR5 Channel: "Echappées Belles" ; "Superscience"
FR2 Channel: "Vue du Ciel" (Yann Arthus Bertrand), Faut Pas Rêver.

*TV Show:
Stargate TV shows

*Books:
-SF authors: Barjavel, Arthur C. Clarke, Jules Verne, Bernard Werber.
-Adventure/Thrillers: Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Michael Counts
-Travel diaries: "On a roulé sur la Terre", "La marche dans le ciel", (Alexandre Poussin). "Latitude 0"
(Mike Horn). Magazines "Au Bout du Monde", "Geo", "National Geographic".
-Comics: "Blake & Mortimer", "Yoko Tsuno", "XIII", "Largo Winch", "Blueberry", "Alix"...
-Books about globalisation, environment and energetic challenges, but also philosophy or spirituality ("Celestine Prophecy", "Bhagavad Gita"..)

* Music: mostly Pop-Rock like Indochine, The Cranberries, Dire Straits, U2...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I don't know which one is the most incredible experience (an adventure in the wild, human exchange...), then there are among few experiences that I will remember for a long time:

-Walking 3 weeks through the Himalayan Zanskar of North India, up to 6000m at the top of Stok Kangri, away from the modern world, in September and October 2008
-Harvesting rice with a Nepali family while the economic crisis in the "West" was at its peak in November 2008.
-2 weeks spent in the middle of Sahara (Niger/Ténéré) in March 2006, lost in the desert, listening for touareg stories around a cup of tea, sleeping each night outside under a river of stars, then watching a total sun eclipse
-Diving in Komodo and Raja Ampat among manta rays, sharks, and turtles, among the highest concentration of coral and other marine biodiversity in the world.
-3 weeks road trip in July 2018 with Virender CS from Delhi, my wife Santi, and Aidil CS from Borneo, inside a small Maruti Suzuki, looping from Delhi 3000km up to Kashmeer and Ladakh, with an 800km/4days bike trip between Pakistani and Tibeto/Chinese borders in Nubra valley.

Teach, Learn, Share

-Learn: Other countries history, geography, languages, cultures. Travel experiences...
-Share : Photographs, experiences, long discussions...
-Teach : Science, Geography, History...

What I Can Share with Hosts

Accomodation, travel advice about Indonesia and South East Asia, diving, exchanging about our lives and travel experiences, sightseeing together if I have free time.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nepal, United Kingdom

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