CURRENT MISSION

To finish an Iron Man race

ABOUT ME

I strive to try something one would call 'ti dao' or 'way of life' in that particular place. I am also an escapist among other things. I run 100 miles at a stretch, kayak for days in the sea, ride a bike for 100s of miles etc.

I like long journeys, the ones where you don't take flights, but take the longest possible time to get from Place A to Place B, meeting people on the way, exploring things on my own, backpacking, having no expectations or plans. This has led me to meet many strangers along the course of the journey who have gone out of their way to provide me with an experience of a life time. Some, not all, of them include spending a week with Konyaks -> head hunting tribe of Nagaland, driving an auto rickshaw (tuk tuk) from Chennai to Mumbai 2200 km in the monsoons thro' the ghats, dressing up as pac-man with friends and running around Shanghai, time traveling in Samoa skipping Dec 30th 2011 (I am technically a man ahead of my time), singing a Chinese song at a wedding in Wuxi in front of 100s of people, driving a Renaults F3000 car in the Shanghai F1 track, scuba diving with 100 sharks and a million other things you wouldn't be interested in.

I have a habit of sending custom-made post-cards to hosts from where ever I am in the world. So please HOST me :)

I spend most of my money digging water wells for the needy in Kenya, India and Cambodia. And instead of buying gifts for my friends, I put their names on the wall next to the wells I dig. I also help with nutrition programs in Kenya. I sponsor a 7 year old kid in Andhra Pradesh (India) his clothes, food, shelter, education etc. I funded a classroom for a school in Anhui (China) and also helped with the manual labor to construct the school and do the electrical wiring for it. Back when I was in India, I used to venture out in the night, while others slept, with bags of cement and stones and fix the many pot-holes. I also donate for rations to the poor and buy 1000s of shoes for the poor school children in India. I sponsor a team of underprivileged kids who play Ultimate Frisbee, their tournament costs (travel, food and accommodation to different Ultimate Frisbee tournaments). Recently, I was at Philippines for a relief mission to help the Typhoon Haiyan victims.

I have lived without money, been to places where most people wouldn't set their foot on, been lost, starved to the point of blacking out, been stabbed and robbed from, done jobs most people wouldn't dream of, seen dead bodies floating around and people dying in front of me... I give, not because I have much, but because I know what it is to not have.

PHILOSOPHY

"Be Water, my friend." - Bruce Lee.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I host people when I can. I surf a lot. I have been hotel free since 2007.

I used to organize the CS rock climbing meetups in Singapore and I hope to start something similar in Shanghai.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Many inspire me.

Interests

Underwater Hockey. Rock Climbing. Running. Kayaking. Ultimate Frisbee. Electronics/Robotics. Fire Poi. Go (Weiqi). Archery. Ice Skating. Scuba Diving. Slack Line. Fixie Biking. Camping. Wind Surfing.

• singing
• festivals
• education
• dining
• running
• pub crawls
• flying
• electronics
• clothing
• news
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• backpacking
• kayaking
• camping
• hunting
• surfing
• scuba diving
• bungee jumping
• sports
• rock climbing
• hockey
• track and field
• archery
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: V For Vendetta, A Clockwork Orange, Volver, Without Limits, Before Sunrise/Sunset, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Amarcord, Full Metal Jacket, Amadeus, City of God, Star Wars, Darjeeling Limited, Anbe Sivam

Music: Kino - Victor Tsoi (Russia), Dylan, Coke Studio (Pakistan), Beethoven, Shostakovich, Mozart, Floyd, Led Zep, The Doors, The Beatles, Rossini

Books: The Motorcycle Diaries, Catcher In The Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, P G Wodehouse, Brave New World, 1984, City of Thieves, Maus. I read way too many books. I average about 60 novels a year.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Rescued a capsized Canadian couple in tough conditions during a Kayaking expedition (near the rock face, during a storm, 5 meter waves crashing on to us, winds pushing us towards the rocks).

Won the Shanghai 5k race and was all over the news channels and metro tv.

Last year I did a time travel. I don't have Dec 30th 2011 in my life as I traveled to Samoa and Samoa skipped the day, to push the international date line behind them. It technically is a time travel.

I drove an Auto Rickshaw with a hacked engine from Chennai to Mumbai during the monsoons, thro' the ghats without having driven a vehicle in my life.

Have sky dived, bungee jumped, seen a wild tiger up close (and didn't wet my pants), did scuba diving with 100 sharks.

Done cross country trips (2000km or more) in about 6 countries.

Started the RTFF (Roof Top Film Festival) movement in India. Organized and participated in an adventure race where we had $20, one back pack and 15 days to travel 6000km. Also participated in the Indian version of Amazing race.

Have been on relief missions. Have messed with the Shanghai cops, pub owners, Metro train officials by switching off every tv with a remote I rigged up.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you with adventure sports, traveling ideas, planning trips, activities like rock climbing, ultimate Frisbee, mountain biking, Underwater Hockey, Scuba Diving etc.

If nothing, I can teach you to read Korean in 15 minutes.

Share my knowledge on films. Share everything I know about India and China (I know way too many things to do in these two countries)

Would love to learn anything. Currently I want to learn surfing, first aid, flying a plane, wing suit flying etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, India, Singapore

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