I love travelling; the encounter with new people, places and cultures (not tourism). I'm a respectful person towards others, including, of course, when trusted to be visiting their homes. I get on with a wide range of people: my two closest friends are age 22 and 86.

Early in life I enjoyed a successful career in stockbroking and investment banking, yet there was something that did not "fit": it was the "love of money" of the clients I was serving - I could feel it was unhealthy.

So, I quit the bank in London and got a job washing dishes in a restaurant at the top of the French Alps: best career move ever.

I'm a meditator in Buddhist tradition, politics are kind of anarchist though I consider the environment to be of ultimate importance and consider we need deep radical change in our economic and political systems soon if we are to survive as a species.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Friends I visited in Brunei introduced me to couchsurfing, as they had both hosted many people, and their son had travelled using the site. The couchsurfing concept fits with my wishes to know cultures, people and places more intimately than usual trael arrangements allow. I'm not doing this to travel cheap - it's for the joy of sharing time, food, experience and learning.

Interests

• culture
• politics
• ecology
• economics
• psychology
• life
• taoism
• change
• ambient
• the future
• buddhis

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: from classical through to hip hop, dance, rare groove, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's ... there's not much I don't like except plastic pop and heavy metal.

Movies: Baghdad Cafe, Fried Green Tomatoes, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, The Green Mile.

Books: Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Joseph Conrad, Maya Angelou.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I spent two years organising for an Indian acid attack victim to travel to Pakistan from India to have free plastic surgery. I never met her, she was the cousin of my neighbours. When they asked if I could help and told me Kuldeep's story, I immediately said yes. Then burst into tears, having seen the pictures of her injuries, when they left.

I decided this was a battle I was going to win - and I did.

Her lips and face were reconstructed, eyelashes returned and sight restored in her left eye which had been welded shut by the acid.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: cooking, meditation and more.

Learn: the lessons life wants to teach me! Interested in learning Catalan language at the moment. New recipes.

Share: honesty, compassion, food, quiet, laughter, stories: It depends who with, and the circumstances.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm flexible. I enjoy hearing stories and experiences of others, discussing life, the universe and everything over a cold beer, but equally am very respectful of time and space - and the sometimes need for peace.

Cooking and sharing food is one of life's richest pleasures - one could even say it is a grounding of human relationships upon two fundamental needs: to share time, and to sustain ourselves.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Netherlands, United Kingdom