I live in Singapore. I am passionate about traveling, and have been to more than 40 countries; apart from traveling extensively across India, my home for three decades. I also enjoy books, cinema and food.

I live with my husband, Nike, who is a photographer. and digital marketer

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We couch-surfed with hosts in Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia in late 2012. We stayed with couples, with families, and with single people. The experience changed the way we travel. The most memorable moments of our ten week long trip were those that we spent with our hosts.

We also hosted many interesting travelers from across the world at our home in India, and that has been a great experience so far.

Interests

I'm a history buff so I love places with historical significance - put me in a museum or at some ruins, and I can spend the whole day and want more. I also love places with a distinct local culture and flavour. Finally, I'm always game for a getaway to the mountains for some hiking, or for just sitting and reading a book while sipping a hot chocolate and enjoying the view.

I'm something of a book addict, and you'll find me reading something or the other at any given point of time. And when I'm reading, I'm lost in my own world - which is probably a good thing, because otherwise I will talk, A LOT. I also like to write, and have a blog: www.theidleist.wordpress.com. My dream is to combine both my passions by becoming a travel writer - but I've realised it required effort and perseverance, and to be honest, I'm rather lazy about this.

Nike is an avid photographer. He has been invited by National Geographic, Getty Images, and a bunch of other sites to contribute to their stock images.

We are both passionate about travel - and we bonded over our mutual love of travel. We both are equally interested in cities and the countryside: my travel preference is for places rich in history and culture, while Nike has a preference for great photo-ops, which usually means natural landscapes. We've so far managed trips that are a fun combination of both our interests.

• culture
• writing
• books
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• hiking
• history
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: We love movies, and especially enjoy watching movies in foreign languages (as long as they have English subtitles). We enjoy all sorts of movies, especially comedies, but I'm not big on romance, action or horror genres.

Books: I'm a book addict, and I will read almost anything. But I have a strong preference for historical fiction, as well as for family/relationship based dramas. My favourite author is Kazuo Ishiguro.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2012, we went on an amazing road trip across the Ladakh region in India, and it's one of the most stunning and surreal places we've seen. It stands out as our top travel experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

Nike can share photography tips, and maybe even take a portrait for you, if you wish :-) And he cooks absolutely fabulous biryani and kebab and will be happy to teach you these dishes.

My skills and talents are rather more limited, so I'm not going to offer to teach anything here :D

Nike would love to learn how to cook a simple local dish of any place we are visiting. I would love to learn a few phrases/words of the local language, and about the history of the place we are visiting.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Italy, Singapore