CURRENT MISSION

Balkans here we come!

ABOUT ME

Currently it's mainly Mike that uses this profile.
These days Mark does traveling and surfing, while Mike stays home and hosts!
Below is the old profile description when Mike and Mark travelled together:

Mark and Mike. Mike is from taiwan, Mark's parents are an interesting mix of malaysian and scottish. together we can speak english, mandarin chinese, german, and Mark is trying hard to learn spanish.
We've been best friends since high school,and we're still stuck together in the same class for medical school...

PHILOSOPHY

Enjoy every day. (Mark wrote the first profile so the start of these paragraphs are all quite "efficient and to the point". He's that kinda person)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far have met a couple of CS buddies, all very friendly and fun.
Have been hosting a few CSers, all great fun people! More...more...!

Interests

People!
Medicine!
Chatting!
Travel!
Life in general
We both like music and singing and are current working on (in a more slack sense)a two part harmony song. might take a while to perfect though...Recently Mike started rockclimbing, well, more like indoor climbing. And I'm loving it! Starting to get addicted I think...oh dear!

• singing
• cocktails
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• rock climbing
• medicine
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

On this trip we have been reading quite a bit. Mark has read The Da Vinci code, Monsoon by wilbur smith and currently working on Blue Horizon by Wilbur Smith.
I have read Monsoon, Blue Horizon, and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Just bought some more today, The Alchemist, and Short History of the World. I think I'll start on History first...
We both like our music and like to sing.
Taste of music is really almost everything, except for hardcore metal etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Oh the stories we can tell you. New Zealand is a beautiful place, and while we have been in Europe we have both done things we have never done before in our lives.

Prague and Venice...oh SO beautiful.
Ok more update: Spent a night in Western Sahara after riding out there in camels. That place is simply amazing! It astounds you how quiet the desert is. Highly recommended experience for everyone!
Held a baby! Oh My God!!!!

Teach, Learn, Share

In Morocco we learnt this: People will ask you if you have bought gifts to take home, and then ask you how much you paid (to see how rich you are). The correct answer is that you are a (fill in occupation with low income eg. Student), and didnt buy anythning.
My recent epiphany:
Some people have the vision of their perfect holiday as being 2 weeks of lying on a tropical beach sipping cocktails until the sun goes down and the cows go home.
My thoughts came to me when i was driving to school, the first day back. If someone has that kinda holiday, you just put things back at home on pause. When you go home, its just the same old routine again.
However, I thought, if you went exploring, and travelled in somewhere you've never been, and had a totally new experience for your two weeks, it would all be different.
Yes, you would be physically tired and the holiday will probably make you even more tired than before you started the time off. BUT, for the mind, it would be a break from the routine. Your mind would have had a different experience from what it has been doing for ages and it would have gotten some rest.
I think I'm mainly speaking for those with 9 to 5 kinda jobs where days merge into weeks, into months... i think it's good to give your mind a holiday too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, Taiwan, United States

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