📍 Cape Town

Hello, wonderful traveler! 😊

We are Nikolas, Aya, and our 10-year-old son Platon — a close, curious, and creative family exploring the world together. We’re originally from Russia, and for the past four years we’ve been traveling non stop, hiking beautiful trails, learning new cultures, and meeting remarkable people who have shaped our journey and share these experiences with our son. 🌍✨

A little about us
- Nikolas is a photographer who loves capturing quiet, honest moments of everyday life. He also enjoys programming and teaching children how to explore technology in creative and mindful ways.
- Aya is a designer, illustrator, yoga instructor, and someone who finds inspiration in everything from ceramics to sketching our travels on Instagram (@anastasia_akhmetova).
- Platon is our bright little explorer. He is used to traveling and staying in other people’s homes. He understands boundaries and is respectful of shared spaces. He loves board games, books, camping, and the simple joy of sleeping in a tent and watching the stars.

We are a vegan family and try to live gently and respectfully wherever we go.

We travel light, are very independent during the day, and fully respect the rhythm, privacy, and routines of the home we stay in.

Couchsurfing has given us some of our favorite memories. For us, it’s never just a place to sleep. It’s about meeting people with open hearts, sharing stories, exchanging cultures, and showing our son how beautiful diversity can be. We always try to bring warmth, kindness, and good energy into any home that welcomes us.

If we meet, we’d love to share a walk, cook together, chat over tea, or simply enjoy a moment of calm in this busy world. We appreciate honest conversation, mutual respect, and creating small but meaningful memories with the people we cross paths with.💛

We understand that hosting a family requires trust. We never take that lightly and always do our best to make the experience comfortable and enriching for everyone involved.

Let’s explore this big, beautiful world together! 🌟

!!! This information is especially for travelers who are considering staying with us.

Please be sure to read our updated house description and read reviews about us and don’t hesitate to ask about any details. We want to make sure your stay with us is as comfortable as possible for everyone! 😊

We truly believe in open and friendly communication, so if anything comes up during your stay, please let us know right away, we’ll do our best to resolve it together and keep the experience positive for both sides. This way we can all avoid misunderstandings or negative feedback after the experience.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We want to explore different countries, meet new and interesting people, learn about the world, and share these experiences with our little son. Couchsurfing offers a unique way to truly connect with local cultures and make lasting friendships. We believe in mutual exchange — contributing to the home we stay in and building real human connections, not just transactions. It’s all about creating meaningful exchanges and memories that last a lifetime! 🌍✨

Interests

Hiking, cycling, traveling, drawing, taking photographs, creating music, reading books

• arts
• sketching
• yoga
• board games
• piano
• hiking
• art history
• teaching
• ukulele
• bike
• indie rock
• ceramics
• boardgames
• fruits
• retro gaming
• tent
• sketchbook

Music, Movies, and Books

We all enjoy a wide variety of music. Together, we love listening to music that inspires, uplifts, and sparks creativity in our family moments.

We enjoy documentaries movies and shows about nature and cultures, and inspiring storytelling that sparks conversations with Platon.

Reading is a big part of our family life. Nikolas and Aya enjoys thought-provoking classics, while Platon is enchanted by detective stories and adventurous tales that expand his imagination. We also enjoy sharing books with each other, discussing ideas, and discovering new favorites together.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

For more than three years, our family traveled across Southeast Asia, hiking through breathtaking landscapes, exploring vibrant cultures, and meeting incredible people along the way. One amazing thing we’ve done together is embark on this long-term journey as a close-knit family, sharing the adventure with our son, Platon.

It was not just sightseeing, it was about immersing ourselves in new experiences, learning from every place we visited, and creating lasting memories as a family. From camping under starry skies to discovering hidden temples, each moment taught us patience, curiosity, and the beauty of simple joys.

Teach, Learn, Share

We believe that the best way to grow and connect with others is through the exchange of experiences and knowledge. Whether it’s sharing stories from our travels, teaching each other new skills, or learning about different cultures, every interaction adds something valuable to our lives.

We enjoy discussing our passions, like photography, design, music, and drawing, and we’re always open to learning from others. By exchanging insights, we not only enrich our own lives but also help others broaden their horizons. This mutual sharing fosters meaningful relationships and helps us all become more understanding and connected to the world around us. 🌍💬

We are also happy to help with cooking, organizing, light repairs, creative projects, or anything that makes daily life easier.

What I Can Share with Hosts

What we can share with our hosts:

- Good company: We enjoy meaningful conversations, laughing, learning new things, and sharing positive energy.
- Exciting stories from our travels: After three years of exploring Southeast Asia, we have many interesting stories to share.
- Cultural exchange: We’d love to share our life, interests, and traditions with you, and we’re also eager to learn more about your world.
- Piano lessons: If you have a piano, we can share some basic knowledge and show you how to take your first steps in playing music.
- Drawing: Aya would be happy to give a creative workshop or show how to make simple and beautiful sketches.
- We always clean up after ourselves and leave the space as we found it — or better.

We truly believe that exchanging experiences and sharing good vibes creates the best memories! 😊

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Egypt, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam