I am a travel enthusiast and a hobbyist nature photographer, mainly like to shoot birds. I am a researcher by profession and a vegetarian (I thought it is important to mention this here :D). I am an easy going person and fun to be with because I frequently throw around jokes ;).

To learn more about me, please read the following sections.

Meanwhile, you can also explore my social media profiles which contain my travel stories and photographs (especially Instagram and YouTube):
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kunalswamy18

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kunalswami18/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpH0b2tF6N27HRjudcrr4w

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like the idea of Couchsurfing, I am strictly against the following idea of travel: buying a holiday package, staying in a hotel, visiting only famous tourist spots in a taxi and coming back to home! The purpose of travelling is not only visiting famous places and capturing selfies but it also involves learning, learning and improving oneself through experiences. When I say "learning and improving", I mean becoming a better human being, seeing the entire world as one family and making it a peaceful place. I believe that true traveling involves experiencing the new place both physically and mentally, it involves interacting with people, sharing experiences, food and any other thing with them as friends. It involves seeing the place from their perspective, understanding their culture and their views about other cultures. Couchsurfing provides a platform where people from different parts of the world can get together and do all these things, thus, creating mutual trust between people, no matter what country, race or religion they belong. In its own way, Couchsurfing is contributing in creating peace and trust between different countries. If I have to officially write the motto of Couchsurfing, I would quote the famous Sanskrit phrase, "वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् (vasudhaiva kuTumbakam)" which means "The world is one family".

I would also like to quote another Sanskrit shloka:
यस्तु संचरते देशान् यस्तु सेवेत पण्डितान् ।
तस्य विस्तारिता बुद्धिस्तैलबिन्दुरिवाम्भसि ॥

It means that, "The intelligence of a person who travels in different countries and associates with scholars expands, just as a drop of oil expands in water.​"

Interests

I like to capture photos of birds and therefore I always try to visit one such place (park or bird sanctuary) in every country I go to. Check out my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kunalswami18/

Nevertheless, my camera equipment is equally suitable to capture amazing portrait images in wonderful scenery :), I have captured many good pictures of my friends and Couchsurfing travel companions. As photography is one of my passion, I also capture candid portrait photos (you don't have to worry telling me, "hey, can you capture my photo here?") That's really a plus point of travelling with me, isn't it ;)?

I am interested to go to adventurous places, always ready to walk long distances and hike. For example, I hiked on the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall. I hiked all the way from Athens city centre (Syntagma square) to the top most point of Lycabetus hill; similarly, I hiked all the way from Göreme (Turkey) to Pigeon valley to Uçhisar castle to White valley to Mushroom valley and back to Göreme! It was almost a full day hike.

I am also interested in paid adventurous activities, such as hot air balloon, paragliding, etc.

• birds
• photography
• hiking
• backpacking
• adventure travel
• travelling
• research
• sight seeing
• walking in nature

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have travelled solo to most countries I have been to till now and survived as a vegetarian :D. You may not know, but at some places it is quite difficult to find local vegetarian food.

I travelled solo in extreme winter to Iceland. I was quite lucky to complete my trip during decent weather, from the very next day after I left Iceland, the weather became worse. There were no travel advisories, flight cancellations and road blockages for next several weeks.

Teach, Learn, Share

1. I can teach photography and I am open to learn anything.

2. I can teach or cook some Indian/vegetarian food.

3. I can also bring some famous dessert or food item from my country for you, please do not hesitate to request me something specific in advance :)

4. I will be very happy to help you in any household activity, so don't hesitate to ask me for any help you need. I see this as a small way of returning favor :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Please also check my "Interests/Teach, Learn and Share" section above.

Offcourse I can share my travel experiences, stories, photographs, I can teach photography. I can capture great portrait photos of you. I can cook some vegetarian food or share some food from my home. Basically, I can share any useful thing I have with you. I will also be very happy to help you in any household work as my token of gratitude, so please don't hesitate to ask me for help.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Turkey, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

India